Some Useful Thai words

Written by admin on January 7th, 2014. Posted in Tips & Facts

The following Thai vocabularies are those relating to traveling, places, tourist sites, vehicles which are greatly useful for tourists. When you see these words before the name of a tourist site you can tell right away what kind of place it is, an island, a mountain or a village.

Country,Residence

Thai Word Meaning
Soi  Alley
Amphor  District
Bang  City. Always used before a district’s name

Baan                             

 

Usually means house. But if used before the name of a tourist place it usually means village or district.

Marine Tourist Destinations

Thai Word Meaning                           
Hat Beach
 Koh Island
Moo Koh Group of Island
Laem Cape
Ao Bay
Khlong Cannel

Temples and Palaces

Thai Word   Meaning
Wat                                 Temple

Prang or 
“Phra Prang”      

High pointed building
Phra That    Cremated bone of Buddha. Temples whose names comprise of the word “Phra That” are temples where some part of Buddha’s bone is housed and they are important temples.
Chedi Pagoda or a high pointed dome used to house holy objects such as “Phra That”

Mountains

“Doi”, “Phu”, and “Khao” all mean mountain. Doi is usually used for mountains in the north, Phu in the northeast and Khao in the middle and the south. Sometimes two mountains have the same name but different prefixes. For example, Phu Luang is a mountain in the northeast while Khao Luang is another mountain in the south.