Unit 8 · First steps · A1
Unit 8: Where is it?
Ask where places are and understand answers like near, opposite, next to, on the left or upstairs.
6 lessons · about 46 min CEFR A1
The story
You wake up feeling unwell and your phone is dead, so you set off on foot to find a pharmacy near your condo, asking Lung Chai and the people on your soi for directions.
After this unit
- I can ask where a place is and whether it's far.
- I can understand and give simple directions with in front, behind, next to, opposite, left and right.
- I can name places in town: pharmacy, bank, hospital, market, mall.
- I can say I'm lost or my phone is dead, and ask someone to show me on a map.
The 6 lessons
Each lesson takes 5-10 minutes. Read it here, then practise it in the app: free, no sign-up.
Words and phrases in Unit 8
Tap the speaker to hear each one. Tap any Thai word to see what it means.
Places in town
Lesson page- ร้าน ráan
shop, stall, restaurant noun
Most kinds of shop start with it: ร้านกาแฟráan gaa-fae (café), ร้านขายยาráan-kǎai-yaa (pharmacy).
- ร้านขายยา ráan-kǎai-yaa
pharmacy noun
- ธนาคาร tá-naa-kaan
bank noun
- โรงพยาบาล roong-pá-yaa-baan
hospital noun
- ตลาด dtà-làat
market noun
- ห้าง hâang
shopping mall, department store noun
Short for ห้างสรรพสินค้าhâang-sàp-pá-sǐn-káa, but everyone just says ห้างhâang.
- แลก lâek
to exchange (money) verb
- ซิม sim
SIM card noun
อยากได้yàak dâi + a thing means 'I'd like (to get)…': the usual way to say what you want to buy.
- นักท่องเที่ยว nák-tâwng-tîaw
tourist noun
- โทรศัพท์ too-rá-sàp
phone noun
- แบตหมด bàet mòt
the battery is dead phrase
- หลงทาง lǒng taang
to be lost, to lose your way verb
Where is it?
Lesson page- อยู่ yùu
to be (somewhere); to live, to stay verb
Only for where things are or where you live, never for 'is' + an adjective: ร้อนráwn alone already means 'it's hot'.
- ที่ tîi
at (a place) preposition
You already know it from ที่นี่tîi-nîi (here, 'at this') and ที่ไหนtîi-nǎi (where, 'at which').
- ใกล้ glâi
near, close adjective
Falling tone, while ไกลglai (far) is mid: get the tone wrong and near becomes far! Doubled, ใกล้ๆglâi-glâi means 'close by'.
- ข้างหน้า kâang-nâa
in front; up ahead preposition
- ข้างหลัง kâang-lǎng
behind; at the back preposition
- ข้างๆ kâang-kâang
next to, beside preposition
- ตรงข้าม dtrong-kâam
opposite, across from preposition
- ใน nai
in, inside preposition
- บน bon
on; up on, upstairs preposition
- ใต้ dtâi
under, below preposition
In Bangkok, ใต้คอนโดdtâi kawn-doo means the ground floor of a condo building, where there's often a shop or a café.
- ทาง taang
way; side noun
With a direction it means 'side': ทางซ้ายtaang sáai (on the left), ทางขวาtaang kwǎa (on the right).
- แผนที่ pǎen-tîi
map noun
- ชี้ chíi
to point, to show (by pointing) verb
Grammar: Where things are: อยู่
- ร้านขายยา ráan-kǎai-yaaอยู่ yùuข้างหน้า kâang-nâa
The pharmacy is up ahead.
- ธนาคาร tá-naa-kaanอยู่ yùuตรงข้าม dtrong-kâamเซเว่น see-wên
The bank is opposite the 7-Eleven.
- อยู่ yùuข้างๆ kâang-kâangตลาด dtà-làat
It's next to the market.
Dialogue: Looking for a pharmacy
You wake up feeling unwell, and your phone is dead, so you can't look anything up. Lung Chai is at the gate of your condo. Later you ask a fruit vendor on the soi, and finally a guard at the mall.
14 lines · tap a line to hear it
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Lung Chaiลุงชัย
สวัสดี sà-wàt-diiครับ krápไม่สบาย mâi sà-baaiเหรอ rǒeครับ krápHello! Oh, aren't you feeling well?
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You
นิดหน่อย nít-nàwyร้านขายยา ráan-kǎai-yaaอยู่ yùuที่ไหน tîi-nǎiครับ krápA little. Where's the pharmacy?
Men นิดหน่อย ร้านขายยาอยู่ที่ไหนครับ Women นิดหน่อย ร้านขายยาอยู่ที่ไหนคะ
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Lung Chaiลุงชัย
ไม่ mâiไกล glaiครับ krápอยู่ yùuตรงข้าม dtrong-kâamเซเว่น see-wênNot far. It's opposite the 7-Eleven.
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You
ตรงไป dtrong bpaiใช่ châiไหม mǎiครับ krápStraight on, right?
Men ตรงไปใช่ไหมครับ Women ตรงไปใช่ไหมคะ
Culture note: Landmarks, not addresses
Ask for directions in Thailand and you'll hear landmarks, not street names or house numbers: ตรงข้ามเซเว่นdtrong-kâam see-wên (opposite the 7-Eleven), ข้างๆ ธนาคารkâang-kâang tá-naa-kaan (next to the bank), ใกล้ตลาดglâi dtà-làat (near the market). With a 7-Eleven on almost every corner, it works better than you'd think.
Big Bangkok roads have numbered side streets called sois. On Sukhumvit the odd numbers run along one side of the road and the even numbers along the other, so Soi 11 and Soi 12 are on opposite sides of a very busy road. Check which side you need before you cross.
And if you feel unwell, you're never far from a pharmacy (ร้านขายยาráan-kǎai-yaa). The pharmacist can help with everyday problems like a cold, an upset stomach or mosquito bites; for anything serious, go to a clinic or a โรงพยาบาลroong-pá-yaa-baan.
AI role-play: Lost on the soi
At the end of the unit you talk with Vendor, an AI character who answers in natural Thai and helps when you get stuck.
The scene
Your phone is dead and you're looking for a pharmacy and somewhere to exchange money. Ask the fruit vendor on the corner for directions.
Vendor starts
Are you lost?
Your goals
- 1Ask where the pharmacy is
- 2Ask whether it's far
- 3Check the details: left or right, next to or opposite what
- 4Ask where you can exchange money