Thai Culture

Basic Thai Words

Introductions

hello	**sawadee (krup/ka)**	you	*khun*
how are you	sabai dee mai (rising tone)	he, she, they	*kao*
i’m fine	**sa-bai dee**	us, we	*rao*
thank you	**kharb khun**	what is your name	**khun chuu a-rai**
bye bye	*sawadee*	yes/no	*chai/mai chai*
see you again	**pob gan mai (rising tone)**	you’re welcome	*yin dee*
excuse me / sorry	**khar toort**	welcome to…	*yin dee tawn rap*
I, me	**phom (male) dee chan (female) or simply chan**	never mind	**mai pen rai**

Mai pen rai is universally used to mean, ‘its ok’, ‘oh well’, ‘you’re excused’, ‘forget about it’ and more.

Thais are very civil and polite by habit and will always add krup (male) or ka (female) to the end of the sentence when addressing others unless they are very familiar with them. Often they will also, as a matter of course, add na in front of this to soften any commands. It’s important to get into this habit from the start.

Actions

want (something)	*aow*	walk	dern (pai) as in trekking
want (action)	*yaak*	find	*phob*
go	*pai*	repair	*som*
come	*maa*	take a look	*long duu*
take	aow pai (lit; want & go)	speak	*phuut*
would like	*kor*	chat	*kui*
bring	*aow maa*	drive/ride	*kap / kii*
buy	sue (low tone)	pay	*jaai*
visit	*pai tiow*	receive	*rap*
eat	*gin / kin*	can / cannot	*dai / mai dai*
drink	*derm*	like / prefer	*chawp*
sleep	*nawn*

Every day items

money	*ngern*	motorcycle	*(rot) mor-tor-sai*
baggage/bags	*gra-pao*	boat	*ruav*
clothes	*suea*	books	*nang-sua*
mobile phone	**meu tor**	map	*preen-tee*
taxi	*tak-see*	things	*khawng*
bus	*rot but*	soap	*sa-buu*
train	*rot fai*	towel	*pra-chet-tua*
airplane	**kruang bin**	pen	*pak-ga*
car	*rot yon*	spectacles	*wen-ta*
gasoline	**naam man**

Numbers

one	*nueng*	eleven	*sib-et*
two	*sawng*	twelve	sib-sawng (and so on)
three	*saam*	twenty	*yee-sib*
four	*see*	twenty one	yee-sib-et (and so on)
five	haa (falling tone)	thirty	*saam-sib*
six	*hock*	hundred	*rooi*
seven	*jet*	thousand	*pan*
eight	*peart*	ten thousand	*mueng*
nine	**gow (short and low)**	hundred thousand	*sen*
ten	*sib*	million	*laan*

Days and time

Monday	*wan jan*	month	*due-en*
Tuesday	*wan ankhaan*	year	*pii*
Wednesday	*wan phut*	hour	**chua mong**
Thursday	*wan paruhat*	minute	na-tee
Friday	*wan suk*	morning	*dawn chao*
Saturday	*wan saow*	afternoon	*dawn bai*
Sunday	*wan ah-tit*	evening	*dawn yen*
weekend	*sao-ahtit*	night	*dawn tum*

Expressing time: this is somewhat tricky in Thai as they have traditionally broken the 24-hour clock into four sections. As a beginner, it’s too confusing to follow and your best bet is to stick to a 24-hour clock (e.g. 1pm would be sib-saam chua mong or 13 hours).

Questions

what	*a-rai*
how (action	**yaang rai**
where	(thee) nai (sometimes ‘nai’ is used on its own)
is (is not)	mai (rising tone)
when	mua-rai or gee mong (at what time)
can (cannot)	dai mai (rising tone)
how much	**tao rai**
have (action)	rue yaang (as in ‘have you finished’)
how many	gee (comes before the subject, as an exception to the rule)
are (to be)	rue plow (as in ‘are you Thai’)

Hospitality

hotel	**rong rerm**	fan	**phad lom**
guest house	**baan phak**	storey	*chan*
restaurant	**raan ah-harn**	swimming pool	*sa-wai-inaam*
toilet/bathroom	**hawng naam**	knife, fork, spoon	*met, sawm, chorn*
hot water	**naam rawn**	bill	*check bin*
room	*hawng*	telephone	*tor-ra-sap*
bed	**thii nawn**	tv	*tor-ra-tat*
massage	*nuat*	cable	*cay-bon*
air con	*air con*

Eating and drinking

food	*ah-harn*	pork (all kinds)	*muu*
seafood	**pla talae**	beef	*neu-ah*
drinking water	**naam plao**	shrimp / prawns	*gung*
beer	*bier*	tofu	**tao hoo**
ice	**nam ken**	vegetables	*phak*
liquor	*lao*	noodles	*kwai-teow*
fruit juice	**naam pon-lamai**	bread	*ka-nom pan*
fruit	*pon-lamai*	bakes / snacks	*ka-nom*
lunch	*ah-harn klang wan*	sugar	*naam-taan*
breakfast	*ah-harn chao*	sweet	*wan*
dinner	*ah-harn yen*	salt(y)	*kem*
rice	kaow(falling tone)	spicy / chilli	*pet / prik*
fried rice	**kaow pad**	msg	**pon suu rot**
chicken	*gai*	wheat	**kao saa lii**

If you don’t want an ingredient included simply add mai ow (lit; not want) before any of these (e.g. Mai own pon suu rot).

Places

city / town	meu-ang	national park	suan sa-ta-na
village	(moo) baan	waterfall	naam tok
house	baan	museum	pee piti pan
beach	haad	bank	ta-na-karn
island	koh	bus station	sa-tar-ni rot but
bay	aow	train station	sa-tar-ni rot fai
mountains	phuu-kao	airport	sa-nam-bin
river	mae naam	police station	sa-tar-ni tam ruat
market	talad	post office	pra-sa-nii
park	suan-luang

Adjectives

fast	*reo*	slow	*cha*
big	*yaai*	small	*lek*
fat	*uan*	thin	*phawm*
early	*chao*	late	*saai*
cheap	*tuuk*	expensive	*paeng*
long	*yaow*	short	*tia*
difficult	*yaak*	easy	**ngaai (falling tone)**
full	*tem*	empty	*mot*
hot	*rawn*	cold	yen (naow – weather)
loud	**siang dang**	quiet	*niyap*
near	glai-ee (falling)	far	glai (low tone)
black	**sii dam**	white	sii khaow (rising tone)
red	**sii dang**	blue (light / dark)	**sii faa / sii nam ngerng**
yellow	**sii luang**	green	**siik Kieow**
gold	**sii tong**	grey	**sii tao**
a lot	*yerk/maak*	little	*nit noi*
long time	*naan*

Emergency

help!	**chuay duay**	danger	*aan-ta-rai*
not well	**mai sabai**	hurt / pain	**jep / puat**
stomach ache	**puat tong**	head ache	**phuat hua**
tooth ache	**puat fun**	eyes sore	**puat taa**
hospital	**Rong payabaan**	police station	sa-tar-ni tum ruat
doctor	*maw*	dentist	*maw fan*
thief / stolen	*kamoy-ee*	accident	oo-bot-tee-het
medicine	*yaa*	lawyer	**nat got-mai**
nuay	*tired*	afraid	*klua*
must have	*dong mee*

Essential phrases

I don’t understand	**mai kao jai**
Do you understand?	kao jai mai (rising tone on last word)
I want to go to …	**yaak pai…**
Do you have a room?	mee hawng wang mai (rising tone on last word)
What time will you leave?	ja pai gee mong
What time will it open?	**bert gee mong**
What time does it close?	*bit gee mong*
Which way?	*tang nai*
Turn left / right	**leo saai / kwaa**
Go straight / stop!	**trong pai / yuut!**
I don’t want any thanks	**mai ow krap / ka!**
Go away	**pai sii!!**
Can you fix this?	som nee dai mai (falling and rising tone on dai mai)
How much is this?	*nee tao rai*
Can you make it cheaper?	lot dai mai (falling and rising tone on dai mai)
I don’t like (this) …	**mai chawp (nee)…**
Can we meet again?	pob gan dai mai (rising tone on mai)
I love you	**Pom / chan rak kun**
I miss you	*kit tung khun*
… very much	*maak*