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For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 1,012 class hours. Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: almost none of the everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.
For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 1,012 class hours. These are the figures behind the how long does it take to learn a language calculator, from the US Foreign Service Institute's published language training times.
| Thai | Vietnamese | |
|---|---|---|
| FSI difficulty group | Category III | Category III |
| Class hours to working proficiency | 1,012 | 1,012 |
| Full-time weeks | 44 | 44 |
The hours are for a native English speaker in full-time classes aiming at professional working proficiency. Useful everyday conversation comes sooner, and the calculator breaks the time down by level.
Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: almost none of the everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.
A few everyday words that sound alike in Thai and Vietnamese:
| English | Thai | Vietnamese |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | บราซิลbrasil | Brazil |
| centimeter | เซนติเมตรsentimet | centimét |
| kilogram | กิโลกรัมkilokram | ki-lô-gam |
| kilometer | กิโลเมตรkilomet | ki-lô-mét |
| milliliter | มิลลิลิตรmillilit | mililit |
| Paris | ปารีสparis | Paris |
| room | ห้องhong | phòng |
| Tokyo | โตเกียวtokiao | Tokyo |
And a few everyday words that sound completely different:
| English | Thai | Vietnamese |
|---|---|---|
| France | ฝรั่งเศสfarangset | Pháp |
| button | กระดุมkradum | nút |
| dress | ชุดกระโปรงchut kraprong | váy |
| hold | ถือthue | giữ |
| mouth | ปากpak | miệng |
| price | ราคาraka | giá |
| shoe | รองเท้าrongthao | giày |
| suitcase | กระเป๋าเดินทางkrapao doenthang | vali |
| Thai | Vietnamese | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing system | Thai script | Latin alphabet with accent marks |
| Grammatical genders | None | None |
| Noun cases | None | None |
| Tones | Yes (five) | Yes (six in the standard northern accent) |
Study time will not decide this one, because the two ask for about the same. If you want to reach a particular place, a person or a job, start with the one you will actually use: steady motivation counts for more than the difference in hours.
For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 1,012 class hours. Hours are for a native English speaker reaching professional working proficiency in full-time classes; casual learning gets you to useful conversation well before that.
Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: almost none of the everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.
Study time will not decide this one, because the two ask for about the same. If you want to reach a particular place, a person or a job, start with the one you will actually use: steady motivation counts for more than the difference in hours.
No. Thai is written with the Thai script and Vietnamese with the Latin alphabet with accent marks.
Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
Watch Your Language puts Thai or Vietnamese words in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting, so the practice carries on every time you check the time.
