🇹🇭 The best podcasts for learning Thai

Hundreds of audio and video lessons built around short dialogues that get broken down in English, with lesson notes, a word bank and spaced-repetition flashcards; a free account gives limited access and paid tiers run roughly $4–25 a month depending on plan length. It is a good structured listening supplement, especially in the beginner range. Treat it as one input among several — the lessons over-explain, and the constant discount emails are the price of admission.

Yuki and Miki's lesson packs run from Creamy Coconut (beginner) through Sweet Green (intermediate) to Spicy Red (advanced), teaching the colloquial Thai textbooks avoid, with transcripts and detailed vocabulary notes. Seven complete sample lessons are free, so you can judge before buying, and the humour makes repeat listening bearable. The three courses are finished rather than ongoing, and you buy lessons in packs rather than subscribing.

Grace publishes a free ten-day absolute-beginner mini course, a beginner podcast, subtitled YouTube lessons and a free phrase ebook, then sells structured courses covering beginner-to-conversational Thai, practical reading and an advanced tier, plus a graded reader and vocabulary apps. The free layer is substantial enough to be worth using on its own. Materials are spread across several platforms, so it takes a moment to work out what belongs to what.

Khru Nan is a Thai university lecturer with a PhD in linguistics, and it shows in how carefully she handles tones, vowel length and the sounds learners systematically mishear. The podcast is free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, with transcripts and Quizlet flashcard sets on the site; extra episodes sit behind Patreon. Episodes are short and conversational rather than a structured syllabus, so use it alongside a course.

Mihalis Eleftheriou records real lessons with a real student and walks you through constructing the language yourself using cognates and logic — Spanish, French, Italian, German, Greek, Turkish, Arabic and Swahili are covered. Completely free, no ads, no sign-up, funded by donations. The Spanish course in particular is one of the most recommended free resources anywhere; the trade-off is small vocabulary and no reading or writing practice.

Mark Pentleton teaches a genuine student while you listen in, across French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Swedish, Portuguese, Japanese and Gaelic. The podcast seasons are free on any podcast app and are structured as a real curriculum rather than scattered episodes; the Academy sells premium lesson notes, video and bonus audio. Ideal commuting material for beginners through B1, and the Spanish and French series are the strongest.