News Headlines from Sanook

I'm going to try something different today. I've taken a screen shot of the Thai news website, Sanook. It's a great place to practice your Thai as you're sure to find something that interests you. As well as current events, they've also got stories about sports, health, fashion, celebrities and much more. The headlines are short for those who want quick Thai practice and you can always go and click the links to get the full story if you want something deeper.

Thai Oil Drilling Petition

Today's post isn't so much a lesson as a call for help. I received the following email in Thai yesterday about PTT's plans to conduct further drilling close to the island of Samui in the future. I thought I'd translate it for you so you could join in on the petition and hopefully give this group the chance to preserve the Gulf of Thailand in the future. Read on and click the links I've provided if possible. Thanks.

Some Thai Language Temple Signs

If you're living in Thailand, chances are that you'll visit a temple or two throughout the year. While there, you'll notice plenty of Thai language signs for you to practise with. To help you out, I'll go through three that I saw at Don Muang Temple. First, we'll look at the red sign above. Since it's written in the standard Thai font already, I'll just skip straight to the new vocabulary.

Cute Condo Sign

I noticed this sign stuck up on the bulletin boards in my condo's lifts. Although, it's only a short sentence, I still felt it was cute and creative enough to share with my readers.

Music Lesson, No 1: รักต้องเปิด (แน่นอก)

In the past week or so, a new song, รักต้องเปิด (แน่นอก) or Rak Dtawng Bpeert (Naaen Ok), has exploded across Thailand, forming an army of satisfied fans while angering some more conservative Thais. In this lesson, I thought I'd go over the lyrics to the song so you know what all the fuss is about. Before we go into more detail, watch the video and see how much you can pick up.

Controversial Thai TV Ad: Skin Whitening Drink

Let's do something a bit different for today's Thai lesson. A few days ago, a television advertisement for a skin whitening drink, L-Gluta Berry Plus, by the company, Verena, caused some controversy in Thailand as it was deemed racist (specifically towards Africans and African-Americans). I thought I'd go through the script so you could understand what's going on in the clip.

First, here's the ad so you can watch it. See how much you can pick up in the first listen.

Top Ten Nicknames in Thailand

Today I thought I'd combine a reading lesson with something a bit more informative. The above image contains a list of the top ten nicknames in Thailand. Those with Thai friends should be able to tell whether their parents had some good imaginations or not after reading this!