Using an iPhone & iPad in Thailand Tips, App Reviews and News for the iPhone and iPad by Richard Barrow

Learn Thai for Free on the iPhone

Learn Thai is a free, easy to use mobile app to give visitors to Thailand a good start to learning the language.

It is starting to be a crowded market for iPhone apps for learning the Thai language. So many have been released of varying quality. I must say that LearnThai clearly stands head and shoulders above the competition. What you have here is a simple Thai phrasebook containing about 200 words and phrases which are useful for tourists. Categories include Greetings, General Conversation, Numbers, Transportation, Directions and Places, and Eating Out. For each of the words and phrases, you can listen to a native speaker by just clicking on the words. A heart shape to the right of the phrase allows you add it to your "Favourites". By default it is a male speaker and so the word "krab" is used a lot, the polite particle for men. However, in settings you can easily change to a female speaker. At the time of my review, I was unable to switch speakers but the developer tells me that is a known bug and it will be fixed at the next update. If you are only going to download one Thai phrasebook from iTunes then I strongly suggest that you choose LearnThai. You certainly cannot go wrong with the price as it is presently free. This app is also available in the Android market.

UPDATE: The problem of changing the speaker from male to female has been corrected in the last update. It works very well now.