Explainers on the Thai writing system and the culture around it — written for people who are actually trying to learn to read, not for people who already can.
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Thai has 44 consonant letters for about 21 distinct initial sounds. The duplicates are not a design flaw — they are how the writing system encodes tone. Here is what that means when you sit down to memorise them.
Read article →Phuket, Phetchaburi, Suvarnabhumi — Thailand's romanised signage is famously inconsistent, and even the official system throws away the information you most need. A short guide to reading it anyway.
Read article →Thailand runs on more than one calendar at once. A short guide to the festival and calendar vocabulary you will see on signs, bank holidays and shop shutters — and what each one actually marks.
Read article →Thai numerals appear on temple entrance boards, lottery tickets, government forms and occasionally on price lists. Ten shapes, one afternoon of practice, and a surprising amount becomes readable.
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