ภาษาไทย · 63 phrases · 7 categories

Basic Thai Phrases for Travelers

Hello in Thai is สวัสดี (Sawatdi), thank you is ขอบคุณ (Khop khun), and the one to memorise before anything else is ช่วยด้วย! (Chûai dûai!) — help. Below: all 63 phrases across 7 travel situations, each one tappable to copy.

Good in Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai tourist areas. Very limited in Isan and the rural provinces.

The wai — palms together, slight bow — works as both greeting and thank-you. Return one if it is offered to you, but not to children or service staff.

The Thai phrases to learn first

A greeting, a thank-you, an apology, a question, a price and an emergency — enough to get through a first day in ภาษาไทย.

Hello

สวัสดี (Sawatdi)

Thank you

ขอบคุณ (Khop khun)

Please

กรุณา (Gruna)

Excuse me / sorry

ขอโทษ (Khǎo thôht)

Do you speak English?

คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหม

How much is this?

ราคาเท่าไหร่

Where is...?

... อยู่ที่ไหน

Help!

ช่วยด้วย! (Chûai dûai!)

How Thai is written

Thai abugida with 44 consonant letters and no spaces between words, so signs are hard to parse even once you know the alphabet.

Where it gets you further

Thailand, and partly understood in Laos, whose language is closely related.

🇹🇭 Thai — Thailand

Saying ภาษาไทย out loud

  • Five tones — mid, low, falling, high and rising. Mai can mean new, wood, not or burn depending only on the tone.
  • End sentences with khrap if you are male and kha if you are female; that particle is what makes you sound polite.
  • Aspirated and unaspirated p, t and k are different sounds: paa and phaa are different words.
  • Final consonants are unreleased — the t at the end of a Thai word stops without a puff of air.
  • Vowel length is meaningful, so holding a vowel longer can change the word entirely.

The mistake travelers make in Thai: Never speak critically of the monarchy: lèse-majesté is a serious criminal offence in Thailand. Do not touch anyone's head, and never point your feet at a person or a Buddha image.

All 63 Thai phrases, by situation

Yes

ใช่ (Châi)

No

ไม่ (Mâi)

Please

กรุณา (Gruna)

Thank you

ขอบคุณ (Khop khun)

You're welcome

ไม่เป็นไร

Excuse me / Sorry

ขอโทษ (Khǎo thôht)

I don't understand

ไม่เข้าใจ

Do you speak English?

คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหม

I don't speak [lang]

ฉันไม่พูดภาษาไทย

A little

นิดหน่อย (Nít nòi)

Phrase guides in other languages

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