Basic Thai phrases: how to say hello, and 40 more that get a smile

To say hello in Thai, say sawasdee (สวัสดี, sa-wat-dee) and add a polite ending: khrap if you're a man, kha if you're a woman. It works at any time of day and also means goodbye. Add thank you and a handful of basic Thai phrases for food and taxis, and you've covered most of a trip.

Nobody in Thailand expects a visitor to speak Thai, which is why a "sa-wat-dee khrap" at a noodle stall so often gets a grin back. The Tourism Authority of Thailand's list of phrases for visitors opens with the same two this post does: hello and thank you.

Every phrase below comes in Thai script, so you can show it to someone, and in one plain spelling you can read aloud. Two things help. Kh, th and ph are k, t and p with a puff of air, as in "kite", "top" and "pot". They're never the "th" in "the" or the "f" in "phone", which is why Phuket is said "poo-ket". Plain k, t and p are softer, with no puff, like the sounds in "skate", "stop" and "spot".

And add khrap or kha to the end of almost any phrase here. It's the quickest way to sound polite.

How do you say hello in Thai?

Say sa-wat-dee khrap if you're a man and sa-wat-dee kha if you're a woman. In English it's usually spelled sawasdee or sawatdee. You use the same words from morning to midnight, and again when you leave, so there's no separate "good evening" or "goodbye" to learn.

Thais often greet each other with a question. "Kin khao rue yang?" means "Have you eaten yet?" It's small talk, the way "how are you" is in English, so nobody expects a lunch plan. Answer "kin laeo" (I have) and smile.

Among friends, sa-wat-dee often shrinks to "wat-dee", with no ending. Keep the full version for anyone older than you and anyone you've just met. These are the Thai greetings you'll hear most:

Khrap or kha: which one do you say?

The polite ending goes with whoever is speaking. A man ends with khrap (ครับ) when he talks to anyone, man or woman. A woman ends with kha (ค่ะ), whoever she's talking to.

So a man who says "sa-wat-dee kha" to a woman, trying to be extra polite, sounds as if he's speaking as a woman. People will smile at that, but for the wrong reason.

In everyday speech, khrap often softens to "khap". Both endings also work as "yes" on their own. If someone asks whether you want rice, "khrap" or "kha" is a full answer.

Messaging a Thai friend on LINE? Women write ค่ะ after a statement and คะ after a question, because the two are said with different tones. Men write ครับ for both.

How do you do the wai, and when should you?

The wai (ไหว้) is the Thai greeting with palms pressed together. Put your hands together in front of your chest, fingers pointing up and elbows close to your body, then bow your head a little. Hands go higher for more respect: thumbs to the tip of your nose for an elder, and between your eyebrows for a monk. Those are the positions the Thailand Foundation describes.

The younger person, or the one with less status, usually wais first. As a visitor you rarely need to start one. Let the Thai person go first, and when an adult greets you with a wai, wai back. Most Thais now just wave to their friends, the same page notes, so with people your own age a smile and a sa-wat-dee is plenty.

You don't need to start a wai with people you're paying for a service, or with children. Mod, who teaches Thai, puts it simply on Learn Thai with Mod: "We don't wai anyone who we are paying for service such as waiters, tailors, vendors, shopkeepers or taxi drivers." The same page says "a wai is not used to greet children" and that monks don't return one. When hotel or shop staff wai you, a nod and a smile does the job.

Temples, shoes and the rest of the unwritten rules are in our post on Thai etiquette.

Which basic Thai phrases will you use every day?

Thank you, sorry and mai pen rai will get more use than anything else on this page. Mai pen rai means "never mind" or "no worries". It's the usual answer to both thank you and sorry, and to most small mishaps, like a spilled drink or a wrong turn.

Thai has no single word for yes or no. You usually answer with the verb from the question: "dai" (can) or "mai dai" (can't), "ao" (want) or "mai ao" (don't want). Chai and mai chai mean "that's right" and "that's not right". When you're not sure, khrap or kha on its own is a polite yes.

"Mai ao khrap", with a smile, turns down a street seller politely. Kho-thot gets you past someone in a crowd, too.

What should you say when you order food?

The phrase that does the most work is "kho ... noi", which means "can I have some ...". Put any noun in the gap: "kho nam plao noi" (ขอน้ำเปล่าหน่อย) is "can I have some water". Then point at what you want and say "ao an-nee", "I'll have this one".

To call staff over, Thais usually say "nong" (น้อง, younger sibling) to anyone who looks younger than them, and "phee" (พี่, older sibling) to anyone older. It sounds friendly, and it's completely normal.

Spice is where it gets serious. "Mai phet" means not spicy, but a cook's idea of not spicy can still burn. Add "loei" to make it "not spicy at all". Some dishes, like som tam (papaya salad), are built around chili, so if you ask for "phet nit-noi", a little spicy, expect a bit more than a little.

"Wan noi" is worth having for Thai iced tea and fruit shakes, which come sweet unless you say so. On menus you'll also see เช็กบิล written เช็คบิล. Both mean the bill.

Dinner with a Thai friend is a good place to try all this, because someone at the table can fix the words you get wrong. Order your own drink in Thai, say "a-roi mak" when it's good, and let them handle the rest of the menu. On Rent Thai Friend you can book a Thai friend to come along to a dinner or a night market you've planned. Every profile lists the languages a friend speaks and how well.

Which Thai phrases help in taxis and markets?

Outside restaurants, the Thai phrases tourists use most are about prices and getting somewhere. "Thao-rai?" gets you a price. At markets, the seller may type it into a calculator and turn it round to you, which saves you the numbers. Haggling is normal at clothes and souvenir stalls, and not done for street food or anything with a printed price.

With Grab or Bolt the destination is already in the app, so the phrase you'll need is "jot trong-nee", "stop here", for when the pin is on the wrong side of the road. In a taxi, say "pai" and the place: "pai Siam" gets you to Siam.

If something goes properly wrong, skip the phrasebook and call the Tourist Police on 1155. They answer 24 hours a day, in 8 languages.

How do you say "I don't understand" in Thai?

Say "mai khao-jai" (ไม่เข้าใจ). After hello, it's the phrase you'll reach for most, because a good sa-wat-dee often gets a reply in fast Thai. Follow it with "phoot pha-sa ang-krit dai mai?" (can you speak English?), or ask them to slow down.

Use the last one carefully. People take it as an invitation.

How do you count to 10 in Thai?

Thai numbers are short and regular, and you'll hear them in every price. Learn one to ten, then two quirks: 20 is yee-sip, where you'd expect song-sip, and numbers above 10 that end in 1 end in "et", so 11 is sip-et and 21 is yee-sip-et.

Thai has its own digits too (๑, ๒, ๓), but most prices you'll see use the ones you already know.

Do you need to get the Thai tones right?

It helps, but you'll manage without. Thai has five tones: mid, low, falling, high and rising. The same syllable in a different tone is a different word.

You've met two "mai"s in this post already. In mai phet (ไม่, not) the voice falls. At the end of sa-bai dee mai (ไหม, the question word) it rises, much like an English question. Say mai with a high tone and it's ไม้, wood. With a low tone it's ใหม่, new.

Here's the honest part. You'll get tones wrong, and most of the time it won't matter, because context does the work. At a noodle stall, nobody thinks you've asked for wood. If someone repeats your phrase back to you, say it again their way.

What carries you is a smile and the polite ending. A clumsy "khop-khun khrap" said while looking someone in the eye does more than a perfect one mumbled at the floor.

Where can you practise basic Thai phrases?

On real people, as early in the trip as you can. Language-exchange meetups in Bangkok pair Thais learning English with visitors learning Thai, and there's more on those in our post on solo travel in Thailand. Our post on meeting locals in Thailand has more ways to find people to talk to.

Or bring a Thai friend along to your own plans. A friend from Rent Thai Friend comes along to the dinner or night out you've already picked, for the friend's hourly rate in credits (see pricing). You try your Thai on them, they read the menu when it's only in Thai, and nobody minds when your tones wander. Friends are picked by hand, every one is 18 or over and checked against their ID, and first meet-ups happen somewhere public. Start with how it works, or browse friends in Bangkok.

Questions people ask

How do you say hello in Thai?

Say sawasdee (สวัสดี, sa-wat-dee) with a polite ending: sa-wat-dee khrap if you're a man, sa-wat-dee kha if you're a woman. It works at any time of day and also means goodbye.

What does sawadika mean?

Sawadika is sa-wat-dee kha, "hello" as a woman says it. Kha is the polite ending women use. A man says sa-wat-dee khrap instead, even when he's talking to a woman.

Can I just say sawasdee?

Yes, and people will understand you. Add khrap or kha with anyone older than you, with staff and with people you've just met, because the bare word can sound a little abrupt. With friends, a casual "wat-dee" is normal.

Do you have to return a wai?

Return a wai from an adult who greets you with one. You don't need to start one with waiters, shop staff, drivers or children, and when staff wai you, a smile and a nod is enough.

What does aroi mai mean?

A-roi mai? (อร่อยไหม) means "Is it good?" or "Is it delicious?". Thai friends ask it as soon as you've taken a bite. Answer "a-roi" (delicious) or "a-roi mak" (really delicious).

How do you say thank you in Thai?

Say khop-khun (ขอบคุณ) with your polite ending: khop-khun khrap if you're a man, khop-khun kha if you're a woman. Khop-khun mak means thank you very much.