Thailand

How Widely Spoken is English in Thailand?

Thailand is becoming an ever more popular travel destination, not just for tourists but to live longer term due to it’s cheap and relaxed lifestyle and nice climate. Is English widely enough spoken there though to get by without needing to use Thai?

As a general rule, English is not very widely spoken in Thailand, with only around 27% of the population speaking English and many of these only to a very basic degree. Fluent English speakers are actually quite rare in Thailand among the general population so it is not a good idea to rely on English alone in daily life there.

Some English is taught in Thai schools but many Thais don’t use it often enough to become really fluent or proficient in it. As a result you will be able to get by with the usual tourist “pointing and gestures” tactics, but if you want to have a more in depth discussion about something you are planning to buy in a store for example, most Thais will struggle to converse with you in any depth in English. You will often get very broken English at best or sometimes no English.

Having said this, many tourists who go to Thailand note the general cheerful and helpful nature of Thai people, and rarely report feeling uncomfortable engaging with Thai people in shops or elsewhere despite this language barrier.

Thai people are almost always willing to help you out as best they can, and a growing number of British and American expats continue to move there and enjoy a very nice lifestyle despite the low prevalence of English there.

English Proficiency Varies By Region

This overall average of around 27% English speakers needs to clarified in a couple of ways. Firstly, it is an overall figure across the whole country, when in fact the prevalence of English in Thailand does vary a lot by region.

Secondly, this figure only captures the percentage of Thais who can speak some English – the level of fluency does vary and some may be limited to a few basic words. Fluent English speakers can be harder to come by.

English is taught in some of the middle class schools, but the proficiency tends to be basic and as we mentioned, many Thais simply don’t get to practice it enough in their lives to become really good at it. In poorer or more rural areas it is not taught at all and so shop owners for example will often simply point to prices or type them into a calculator to show you.

The official stats put the English speaking percentage of the Thai population at around 27% or just over a quarter. Expats who actually live there put this figure a little lower in their own personal experience – the figure of around 10-15% of the population comes out quite often – see here for example.

However, in tourist regions like Bangkok, you will likely find the prevalence of English higher – you should have no problems doing “touristy” things like ordering food at restaurants and getting taxis for example, since they are ready for dealing with English speakers a lot. In rural areas however, English proficiency can drop to near zero, so it depends greatly on where you are visiting. In smaller cities like Chiang Mai, proficiency will be somewhere in the middle.

As a bonus, many of the road signs as well as some hotel name signs will be in English as well as Thai in the built up areas especially, to help you navigate around a little easier. Thai staff in hotels will also almost always have basic English skills, as will staff in many higher end restaurants to a basic level. If you do converse in English, it helps to speak clearly and slowly to make it easier for them to understand you.

Spoken English in Some Major Thai Cities

Let’s be more specific – here is a summary of the most commonly reported experiences on the prevalence of English in some of the more visited cities in Thailand from tourists, expats and digital nomads.

Bangkok – The most likely place you will be able to converse in English, though overall proficiency is still low as with all of Thailand. Most hotel staff and street vendors in the central parts will have very basic English, enough to buy things and get by. Some restaurants and shops have information in English. Will need directions written for cab drivers. English proficiency is improving in Bangkok and probably the highest in Thailand, but still not great.

Chiang Mai – Popular spot in the north for digital nomads especially. English proficiency is low among the local population, and English will only get you by for the very bare day to day essentials. Anything more in depth you will need some Thai. Younger people have the best chance of being able to use spoken English. But you will likely bump into fellow English speaking expats, holidaymakers and nomads as this is a popular city for travelers.

Pattaya – Some people in the most central and tourist areas will speak at least some basic broken English. Road signs are in Thai and English. Some bigger supermarkets and stores also have labels in English. As with everywhere in Thailand, having some basic Thai phrases will really help and endear you to the locals.

Phuket – English not widely spoken. Some people in the tourism and service sector may speak a few words of English, but will not be conversational. English is somewhat more common in the Patong resort. Anywhere outside tourist areas and resorts, spoken English will be almost non existent.

Summary – There are a limited amount of people in Thailand who can speak very basic English, amounting to a few words. You are most likely to find these in the bigger cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya. However, finding people in Thailand who can speak decent or fluent English is very hard. To visit or stay in Thailand long term, you will need to learn some Thai phrases.

Learning Some Basic Thai Phrases

Given the low overall prevalence of English in Thailand, it is definitely useful to learn some basic Thai phrases to get by. Making a basic effort with some everyday phrases goes a long way in Thailand. Here are some of the more common ones you will need day to day.

 

EnglishPronounced in Thai asThai
Hello/GoodbyeSa-wat-diiสวัสดี
ThankyouKhop kunขอบคุณ
GoodbyeBaiบาย
SorryKhot horขอโทษ
YesChaiใช่
NoMaiไม่
Can you speak English?Kun pood paasaa angrit dai mai?คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหม
How are you?Sabaidii mai?สบายดีไหม
I'm fineSabaidiiสบายดี
I'm not wellMai sabaiiฉันไม่สบาย
Speak slowlyPuut chaa chaa noiพูดช้าๆ
How much?Thao-rai?เท่าไหร่
I (male/female) am from AmericaPom/chan maa jaak Ameerigaฉันมาจากอเมริกา
The bill pleaseCheck bin khap/ka (male/female)

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Thai can be a tricky language to learn. since it is a tonal language for a start – the meaning of a word depends on how it is said and certain inflections or accents. There are also different pronouns for gender (Pom/Chan for male/female) which have to be learned when addressing yourself as I/he/she etc.

However just learning some of these everyday phrases should help you get by for shopping, eating out and transport for a short holiday there. Anything else can usually be covered in the typical tourist way by gestures and pointing!

 See also our Phrasebook page for a Thai pocket phrase book.

 

Longer term visitors to Thailand should definitely consider enrolling for a Thai Language Visa to learn the language more thoroughly. This has the double benefit of allowing you to take regular Thai language classes in the country, but also providing you with a year long visa to stay in the kingdom which is far easier to renew than other types of visa, with no hassle of jumping across borders and visiting embassies every 60-90 days. See our article on the Thai Language Visa for more details on this.

Language & Travel Essentials For Visiting Thailand

  • Thailand Essential stats:
      • Population: 70 million
      • Time zone: EST +11 hours; GMT + 6 hours
      • Currency: Thai Baht ($1 = 31 Baht; £1 = 40 Baht at time of writing).
      • Calling code: +66 (see here for getting a working local SIM card/number when abroad)
      • Drives on the left.
  •  See also our Phrasebook page for a Thai pocket phrase book.
  • Longer term visitors should seriously consider taking the Thai language visa course – both for integration and to make it easier to stay longer term.
  • Luggage allowancessee here for an excellent guide on luggage allowances (checked and cabin) for all major airlines worldwide.
  • Banking – If you don’t want to get stung with high ATM fees, check out our article on the Wise Borderless Card, which allows you to open up balances in many different currencies (including Thai Baht) and spend for free on your card, plus draw out a certain amount of baht at ATMs for free each month, with low fees thereafter as well.
  • SIM Cards – If you’d rather not be messing about with physical SIM cards, E-SIMs (digital SIM cards) are now available. If your phone is unlocked and E-SIM compatible, you can take advantage of Airalo‘s cheap, data only (no calls/texts) E-SIM cards, available for 200 countries, which you can download to your phone. With customized cheap E-SIM packages tailored for your data needs and length of stayClick here to view Airalo’s E-SIMs now (almost all countries covered). Pay for what you need, for how long you need – no getting ripped off with tourist SIM cards and roaming charges.