Thai is called ภาษาไทย (phasa Thai), which literally means “the Thai language.”

It is a tonal language with 5 tones: mid, low, falling, high, and rising. Changing the tone can change a word’s meaning; for example, “mai” can mean “new,” “not,” “wood,” “silk,” or “burn” depending on its tone.

Thai belongs to the Tai Kadai language family.

The Thai alphabet has 44 consonants. There are also 16 basic vowel symbols that combine into 32 vowel forms.

The modern Thai script (at least traditionally believed) was created in 1283 by King Ramkhamhaeng.

Thai is written from left to right.

Thai uses 2 main sets of numbers: Thai numerals (๐, ๑, ๒, ๓…) Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3…)

Thai has no verb conjugations for tense.

Thai does not strictly use gendered articles; the pronoun เขา (khao) means both “he” and “she.”

There are no plural forms; adding หลาย (lai) or using context indicates plurality.

Thai lacks uppercase and lowercase letters.

Many English loanwords exist but are written phonetically, such as: คอมพิวเตอร์ (khomphioeto) for “computer.”

The Thai word for “Thailand,” ประเทศไทย (Prathet Thai), means poetically “Land of the Free.” Thailand is one of the few countries whose name literally signifies freedom.

Thai names for the days of the week originate from Hindu planets and deities.