Basic Thai Phrases: Phrasebook for a Trip to Thailand

Basic Thai phrases are useful for greeting people, saying thank you, ordering food, asking the price, and explaining your route. For tourists or new expats, they are a handy support in everyday conversation: you can choose a short line that fits the situation, say it aloud, or show it to the other person on screen. Start with greetings and thank-yous, then save expressions for cafes, shopping, and getting around.

The transliteration is approximate: it helps you start a conversation but does not capture every feature of pronunciation. The Thai script next to a phrase lets you show exactly what you want to say; where there is none, use the transliteration with care. Useful for expanding this phrasebook is etiquette in Thailand — a separate guide to rules of conduct.

Current as of publication. Fares and service contacts may change; check official pages before use. Neither a polite particle nor a well-chosen request guarantees being understood the first time.

Basic Thai Phrases: Greetings and Polite Essentials

Add a polite particle to greetings and thank-yous: “sawatdi khrap” or “sawatdi kha,” “khop khun khrap” or “khop khun kha.” The choice depends on the speaker, not on whom you are addressing. We cover the difference between men’s and women’s forms below.

“Sawatdi” can be used both when meeting and when parting. To start, you don’t need a long line: a short greeting with the right particle is enough to signal that you want to say hello.

Don’t try to learn everything at once. Choose the expression you need now and save it together with its translation. A dash in the table means the Thai script is not given here; it is not part of the phrase you should say.

Polite particles “khrap” and “kha” and pronouns

Polite particles in Thai are added at the end of a line. Men use ครับ, roughly “khrap,” in both statements and questions.

Women’s forms differ. Statements use ค่ะ, and questions use คะ; in this guide’s transliteration, both are written as “kha.”

Here the transliteration hides a useful distinction: on paper the two women’s particles look the same, but in Thai they are written differently and differ in tone. So one “kha” spelling is not enough to convey the pronunciation of both forms.

The pronoun “I” for men is roughly “phom,” and for women “chan.” These words are useful to recognize, but you don’t need to build long sentences with them on your own: word order and the other parts of a line also require knowledge of the language.

A particle helps make your speech polite, but it does not make every request appropriate. A calm tone and respect for the other person’s answer remain a separate part of the conversation.

Tones and Pronunciation: How to Use the Transliteration

Thai has five tones: high, mid, low, rising, and falling. Tone affects a word’s meaning, so the same transliteration can hide different Thai words.

For example, the syllable “ma” can mean “come,” “dog,” or “horse,” depending on the tone. This explanation shows the role of tone but does not replace listening: a single transliteration cannot tell you how to pronounce each of these words.

It is easier to learn basic Thai phrases as whole short lines. First look at the translation, then listen to the pronunciation and try to repeat the phrase. Use the transliteration as a reminder, not as an exact phonetic record.

If the other person did not understand you, don’t repeat yourself louder. Show the Thai script or switch to written communication. Context can help, but don’t count on it to fix every mistake in tone.

What to say if you don’t understand the other person

Asking a question is only the beginning of a conversation: you also need to understand the answer. If the speech is unfamiliar or too fast, you can openly say you’re having trouble and ask the person to speak more slowly.

The line ไม่เข้าใจครับ already includes the men’s polite particle ครับ. Save the whole expression together with its translation so you don’t confuse it with the request to speak more slowly. For these lines, you can use the Thai text on screen.

If the conversation still isn’t working, show the item you want to buy, the menu item you need, or the address. You can suggest writing the answer down, and when using a translation app, remember that its output can also be inaccurate. The most useful next step is to make sure you are discussing the same question before agreeing to a purchase or a ride.

Numbers in Thai: Counting and Understanding Prices

Thai numbers are useful when discussing quantities and prices. Start by counting to ten, then pay attention to the tens and the special form of twenty. In the “Continuing the count” rows, the pronunciation is given in order, from left to right.

Tens are built with “sip”: thirty is “sam-sip,” forty is “si-sip.” Twenty sounds like “yi sip,” not “song sip”; it is better to memorize this form separately.

Learning the table does not mean you will immediately understand every price by ear. If an amount is unclear, ask for it to be written down and match it with what you are buying. Don’t guess the cost from a single familiar word in the seller’s reply.

At a Cafe: Menu, Spice Level, Ingredients, and the Bill

In a cafe it is convenient to go in order: greet, ask for the menu, choose a dish, discuss spice level, and at the end ask for the bill. You don’t need to combine all requests into one long sentence; short lines are easier to use depending on the situation.

In “khrap/kha,” choose the particle that fits you, and don’t say both. You can save the menu request and the request for the bill separately so you can quickly find the line you need.

“Mai phet” means asking for the dish to be made not spicy, and “mai sai phrik” means not adding chili. A request about spiciness does not guarantee what is in the dish: these are different questions, even if they come up next to each other in conversation.

If you have an allergy, prepare clear information in advance about which foods you cannot eat. A short note “แพ้…” is a prompt for reporting an allergy, but it is not a sufficient medical card or a guarantee of a safe order. Do not replace discussion of a specific restriction with a general request for “not spicy.”

The words ใส่ and ไม่ใส่ help clarify ingredients, but the name of the product you need must also be clear to the other person. Additional tips on how to order Thai food, will help when choosing food.

Shopping and Bargaining: Price, Discounts, and Calm Communication

For a purchase, start with a question about the price. “Tao rai?” means “how much is it?” and the fuller, more common line “ni tao rai?” means “how much does this cost?”

First find out the cost, then discuss a discount. This way you won’t mix up the question about price with an offer to bargain, and you can decide whether the purchase works for you.

At a street market or a small shop you can ask for a lower price, but the mere existence of a market does not mean the seller agrees to bargain. In a supermarket or a store with fixed price tags, don’t count on a discount just because of a familiar phrase.

Discuss the purchase calmly. A smile can accompany a request but does not oblige the seller to give in; if the answer is no, don’t repeat the question with more pressure. If you don’t understand an amount, go back to the written price before agreeing.

In a Taxi and on the Street: Meter, Address, and Directions

For a taxi ride, save the request to turn on the meter and your accommodation address in Thai. You can show the address on a screen, on a hotel business card, or together with a point on a map. This is extra support if verbal explanation isn’t working.

For Bangkok the government publication on taxi fares lists the cost of the first kilometer: 35.00 ฿ for small cars and 40.00 ฿ for large ones. Check the current fare before your trip.

These amounts refer to the first kilometer, not the whole trip. Don’t use them as a ready estimate of the route’s cost: asking to turn on the meter and discussing full payment are different parts of communicating with the driver.

The directions “left,” “right,” and “straight ahead” help with short cues but do not replace the destination address. Details on ordering and paying for rides are covered in the guide to taxis in Thailand.

Useful Expressions and Emergency Numbers

“Mai pen rai” roughly means “it’s no problem, never mind.” You can use this expression to smooth over a small awkward moment, but don’t turn it into a universal answer to any serious situation.

For emergency help, save the contacts separately from everyday phrases:

• 1669 — emergency medical assistance.
• 1155 — tourist police; the hotline is listed on the official tourist police page.

Save the numbers and your accommodation address offline so they are available without an internet connection. Keep the Thai address next to a translation you understand or the name of your accommodation.

If communication is difficult, ask for language assistance. Don’t count on service in a particular language in advance, and don’t treat a short phrasebook line as a sufficient description of a medical problem.

Read in advance what to do in an emergency, so you understand which steps may be needed. For trip preparation, also useful are safety tips for Thailand.