Guest Posted June 25, 2001 Report Share Posted June 25, 2001 Hi to all, I see a list of thai/english dictionaries listed in amazon.com. As being able to browse and esp. compare the actual books like these in bookstores is rare here in US, can the students as well as the masters of the language here give us some recommendations? By the way, I'm just a rank beginner just familiarizing myself with thai alphabets on my own (hopefully I can distinguish the busses on my next trip). One feature that I would insist upon is clear printing, esp. of thai characters -- I hate cheap paperbacks that have lousy printing! (E.g.: I wish "Easy Thai" by Gordon Allison which I picked up in Bangkok on my last trip and gave me good intro to the language used clearer thai fonts for a beginner like me) Bikini line's earlier suggestion of PC dictionary is not workable for me, a proud Mac user. Thanks and Ciao! micsnee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2001 Report Share Posted June 25, 2001 The best by far is: Thai-English Student's Dictionary by Mary R. Haas http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0804705674/qid=993423292/sr=1-8/ref=sc_b_8/102-7270469-9242539 The only negative is that since it was published in 1964 it lacks some more recently coined words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2001 Report Share Posted June 25, 2001 It's not exactly a comprehensive dictionary, but the Rough Guide pocket dictionary is one of the best I've found. It has a great tutorial in the front, and many words have common phrases that explain the word in context, thus preventing you from using the wrong word. Each word is shown in Thai script, so you can show it to a Thai speaker, and get the exact pronunciation (althought the guide to pronunciation they have is very good, and easy to understand). It has little segments on Thai customs, etc., throughout, so when you look up "kiss", for example, you can read about the "sniff kiss". Finally, it has a reverse dictionary in the back, so if you hear the word in Thai, you can look up the English equivalent. And it all fits in your pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 26, 2001 Report Share Posted June 26, 2001 I keep Robertson's PRACTICAL ENGLISH THAI DICTIONARY next to my computer and glance at it while waiting for pages to load. What is important in these dictionaries besides accuracy, of course, is that the romanization system they use is very clear, to help us pronounce the Thai. I think Robertson's is one of the best. A small yellow dictionary. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2001 Report Share Posted June 27, 2001 Hi and thanks to the above 3 for the recommendations. By the way, are there good selections of thai/english dictionaries at Bangkok bookstores like Asia Books, etc? I may be able to go there next month. Thanks and Ciao! micsnee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted June 28, 2001 Report Share Posted June 28, 2001 I use "Jumbo English-Thai dic" by Gordon H Allison (625 pages with thai script) and i just bought "Thai - English dic" from Donmer & Sathienpong(700 pages), both 450 baht at Asia books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyfarang Posted June 28, 2001 Report Share Posted June 28, 2001 Thailenoi- Jumbo English Thai by Gordon Allison is great, though a little old. Too bad there is not a Thai English version of the same. Is the Donmer Thai-English romanized so those who don't read Thai can look up a word? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamock Chokaprret Posted July 19, 2001 Report Share Posted July 19, 2001 I too use Robertson's PRACTICAL ENGLISH THAI DICTIONARY which, while not comprehensive by any means, is a good one to have around. Costs about B195 at Asia Books. If only it had the reverse look up. But then I can't read Thai so it wouldn't do me any good would it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2001 Report Share Posted July 24, 2001 Hi and thanks to all for the suggestions. I'm in BKK now so I'll make a round of the bookstores during the day to get my impression of the dictionaries. Ciao! micsnee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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