You can click on any Thai word in the dictionary to hear a high-quality sound recording of a native Thai (Kun Benjawan of Paiboon Publishing) speaking that word. Click the buttons to hear some sample sounds:

Say goodbye to robot voices and limited sound sets: our comprehensive sounds set a new standard in the industry.

Every single Thai word is accompanied by an easy-to-read, English-like pronunciation guide (also known as "Transliteration" or "Phonetics"), so you can learn to speak and recognize Thai words immediately, without needing to learn Thai script first. Our hand-edited pronunciation guides give you the tones, stress, and everything else you need to understand and to be understood.

This dictionary goes three ways!

Most dictionaries let you look up English words, and some also let you look up Thai words using Thai script. But Paiboon's revolutionary three-way design bridges the gap for English speakers by introducing a third section where you can Search-by-Sound™: you can look up Thai words that you hear by their sound using the same easy-to-read pronunciation guide:

Search-by-Sound™ has been a hallmark of all Paiboon dictionaries since 2002.

For more information on Search-by-Sound™ and why it's so useful for Thai, click here.

In addition to our signature Paiboon+ pronunciation guide system, the same system used in all Thai learning materials from Paiboon Publishing, this software lets you choose from 11 other pronunciation guide systems:

With a single click of the mouse, all pronunciation guides transform into your chosen system, and you can even look up Thai words by sound using your chosen system.

As you type the word you're looking for, the dictionary instantly jumps to the nearest word. You can often find your word by typing only a few letters:

Whether you are visiting Thailand for a short while or living there, you will find most of the vocabulary used in everyday life, including basic medical, cultural, political and scientific terms. Our software dictionary has more than five times as much vocabulary as our 2009 printed edition, totalling more than 150,000 bold entries and more than 220,000 translations. Plus an additional 28,000 place name entries (not counted above) that help you to pinpoint geographical locations in Thailand.

We are constantly improving the dictionary by adding new features and adding more vocabulary. For example, at the end of 2010 we more than doubled the size of our dictionary and this was available free for all existing Windows customers. By purchasing the dictionary now, you will be entitled to download free upgrades to our Windows software as new features and vocabulary become available, including more than 50,000 new entries that will come in January 2012. Each platform (Palm OS, Windows, Apple iOS, Android) is sold separately, so upgrades do not apply across platforms.

Existing Windows customers can download the latest Windows release free here.

Our software includes a comprehensive, interactive introduction to the Thai language, including a "Speaking and Understanding" section with clickable sounds, and a "Reading and Writing" section with examples of Thai letters in multiple, real-world fonts.

Sample Topics:

• Speaking and Listening: Consonant Sounds, Vowel Sounds, Tones, Practice Similar Sounds, Stress, Parts of Speech, Classifiers, Word Register.

• Pronunciation Guide Systems: detailed charts fully explaining each system.

• Reading and Writing: Thai Consonants, Thai Vowels, Thai Tone Rules, Dictionary Order.

• Useful Word Groups: Colors, Numbers, Months, Days, Thai Provinces, Thai Classifiers.

You can download our free, limited trial version to get a more detailed taste of what is covered in our comprehensive introduction.

Our dictionary entries are hand-crafted by a team of Thai- and English-native editors with the needs of English speakers in mind. Unlike dictionaries designed for Thais, when we provide a translation, we clarify which meanings of each English word apply to each Thai word (for example, "glass (drinking)" vs "glass (pane)"):

Classifiers are a critical part of Thai grammar, needed for even basic usage. Our dictionary provides crucial classifiers for more than 15,000 noun entries—a first in the industry. Our language introduction tells you how and when to use them.

Say goodbye to reading glasses! Our software proudly features a "Bigger" button that lets you make the Thai and English fonts as big as you want. Our software comes with a set of highly readable Thai fonts and lets you choose any fonts and colors you like.

You've probably noticed that the Thai letters appearing on signs and menus in Thailand often look nothing like what you learned in textbooks. A unique new feature of our software dictionary is that you can click on any Thai word and see that word written in a set of real-world fonts that you are likely to see on signs, menus, documents, and even in Thai handwriting. It's an indispensable feature for getting around the country:

You only need an internet connection once, when you first download, install, and activate our software. After that, all the dictionary entries and sounds are stored on your computer, so you can look up Thai words even when you are not connected to the internet. Works on a plane or on the train.

On this website, you can download a free, limited trial version that allows you to experience the look and feel of the program (its fonts, features, and sound quality). The limited trial version has around 150 words per section.

When you launch the dictionary on your computer, it's immediately ready to find a word for you. Use the menu at the top right to choose your dictionary section (English, Thai Sound, or Thai Script):

and then type the word or phrase you are looking for into the text entry field at the top of the window:

The dictionary instantly jumps to the closest word as you type each letter. Usually you reach your desired word before you've even typed all its letters.

You can click the icon after any Thai word to hear a high-quality sound recording of a native Thai speaking that word.

You can click the icon after any Thai word to see that word in a set of common real-world fonts (typefaces).

You can easily type Thai (and the special letters used by pronunciation guides) by bringing up our handy on-screen keyboard:

You can use the on-screen keyboard in two ways:

• You can click directly on the "keys" of the keyboard with your mouse.

• You can use your keyboard, and as you press keys, the corresponding "keys" of the on-screen keyboard will flash. Using this tool you can rapidly teach your hands to touch-type the right keys.

The Problem

The Solution: Search-by-Sound™

It all starts with pronunciation guide systems. Paiboon Publishing has developed an easy-to-use pronunciation guide system called "Paiboon+," which spells out Thai words using English-like letters. With Paiboon+, there is just one simple way to write each sound. There are other pronunciation guide systems too, and if you're already familiar with another system, our dictionary lets you choose from amongst 12 different systems in use today.

Every Thai word in our dictionary is written with the Thai alphabet and also with your chosen pronunciation guide system. But Search-by-Sound™ takes that one step further: there's a whole extra section of the dictionary where you can look up a Thai word by its pronunciation guide.

For example, if you hear someone say "sanuk," you just flip to the "Thai Sound" section of the dictionary and enter "s-a-n-u-":

The dictionary provides you with the exact pronunciation, the word written using the Thai alphabet, the definition, and a button which you can click to hear a high quality sound recording of a native Thai speaking that word.

Conquer Those Terrible Tones

Search-by-Sound™ makes this much easier by allowing you to search for a word without needing to know its tones. You can then look at all the possibilities and choose the correct meaning from context.

Throughout our dictionary, Thai words are always shown in both the Thai alphabet and using a pronunciation guide. So, if you look up an English word, you can rely on the pronunciation guide to help you pronounce the word correctly and be understood.

Paiboon Publishing is the world's leading producer of South-East Asian language learning materials, including the famous Thai for Beginners and the infamous Thai for Lovers. There's even an audio companion to the learning books, a guide to pronunciation, and a multi-volume series on how to Speak Like a Thai.

Our software dictionary is the perfect companion to these materials because it supports the same pronunciation guide system as the Paiboon Thai products (for more detail on pronunciation guide systems, see Search-by-Sound™).

If you have a mobile device, don't miss out on this indispensable learning app from Paiboon Publishing:

The Thai for Beginners App
by Benjawan Poomsan Becker
and Dominique Mayrand

For iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch: Buy Now
For Android: available mid-2012.

The best Thai language learning app available anywhere!

Paiboon Publishing’s Thai for Beginners app makes it easy to study your Thai lessons wherever you go with your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. The lessons follow the format of the Thai for Beginners book but a real Thai person speaks each of the over 3,000 words or phrases. Test your ability to hear and understand Thai or test your knowledge of written Thai with the built in exercises. Hearing the spoken Thai will help you increase the speed of learning the language that no book alone can do. Plus you’ll find many new opportunities to practice your Thai since your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch will be with you all the time.

Buy Now from the Apple iTunes App Store

For more info on Paiboon Publishing products, see www.paiboonpublishing.com. Here are just some of the titles that you can use alongside the dictionary software:

Thai for Beginners	Thai for Intermediate Learners	Thai for Advanced Readers	New Thai-English Dictionary
Thai for Travelers	Practical Thai Conversation - Vol 1	Practical Thai Conversation - Vol 2	Improving Your Thai Pronunciation
Speak Like a Thai Volume 1	Speak Like a Thai Volume 2	Speak Like a Thai Volume 3	Speak Like a Thai Volume 4
Speak Like a Thai Volume 5	Speak Like a Thai Volume 6	Speak Like a Thai Volume 7	Thai Keyboard Stickers
Thailand Fever	Thailand Fieber	Thai for Lovers	Thai for Gay Tourists
Retiring in Thailand	How to Buy Land and Build a House in Thailand	How to Establish a Successful Business in Thailand	Thai Law for Foreigners

• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows Vista
• Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Disk Space: Our software requires 350 megabytes (350 MB, or 0.35GB) of disk space.

One-Time Internet Connection: After installation, our software requires one-time activation over the internet, which means that the computer running the software must be on the internet for a few seconds. After that initial activation is complete, all the dictionary entries and sounds are stored on your computer, so you can look up Thai words even when you are not connected to the internet. Works on a plane or on the train.