Greetings and politeness in Thai
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on. Play the ten Thai words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 11 Thai phrases in this lesson
- สวัสดีsa-wat-DEE
- Hello
- อรุณสวัสดิ์a-run-sa-WAT
- Good morning
- สวัสดีตอนเย็นsa-wat-DEE ton YEN
- Good evening
- ลาก่อนlah-GON
- Goodbye
- เจอกันนะjer gan NA
- See you
- กรุณาka-ru-NAH
- Please
- ขอบคุณkhop-KHUN
- Thank you
- ไม่เป็นไรmai-pen-RAI
- You're welcome
- ขอโทษkhor-TOHT
- Sorry
- ขออนุญาตkhor a-nu-YAHT
- Excuse me
- ยินดีที่ได้รู้จักyin-DEE tee dai roo-JAK
- Nice to meet you
Works any time of day. Add khrap if male, kha if female, at the end when you want to sound polite. Thai people prefer the phonetic feel to syllable-perfect English.
More poetic than practical: most Thais just say sawatdee in the morning too. Used mainly in formal settings or on the news.
Literally "hello, evening time". Plain สวัสดี (sa-wat-DEE) is far more common.
The formal farewell, used when you may not meet again. Day to day, people say แล้วเจอกัน (laeo JER gan), see you.
Literally "we'll meet", the friendly goodbye. ลาก่อน (laa GAWN) sounds final.
The formal written version. In speech Thais often skip this and use tone and context instead. Adding khrap or kha to an order works just as well and sounds more natural.
The workhorse. Quick, easy, used everywhere. Vendors at markets hear this hundreds of times a day and noticeably relax when foreigners say it.
Literally "it is not important". The casual Thai response to thanks, often accompanied by a wai (pressing palms together). In formal settings you say "yindee" (happy to do it).
The everyday apology, softened with ครับ (khrap) if you are male or ค่ะ (kha) if female.
Literally "I ask permission", to pass or to interrupt politely.
Literally "glad to have got to know you".