This is a basic Thai lesson that will help your vacation be more enjoyable as you can interact with Thais using their language. At least you can try!
Thai language is quite difficult to learn if you are only trying to do so on your vacation, so this will give you a jump-start on the process by learning some now before you arrive. If you only learn 20 basic Thai words or so, that would help you a lot!
Knowing some basic Thai words before you visit is a game-changer. It helps you connect with locals on a more personal level and shows that you’re making an effort to embrace the culture. You don’t need to be fluent, but even a few words can make interactions smoother, especially since English isn’t widely spoken outside tourist hotspots. It can really help with simple things like ordering food, getting around, and even negotiating prices.
Also, picking up some Thai helps you avoid misunderstandings. Thai culture places a big emphasis on respect, and you’ll find that just adding “krup” (for men) or “ka” (for women) at the end of a sentence makes a huge difference. It’s a little gesture, but it makes things go way smoother. Plus, it can even lead to friendlier service and more positive experiences during your trip. So, learning some Thai before you arrive is totally worth it!
Speak Thai Politely Like Thais Do
Thais take their time to be polite with each other, you should too. Males use “Krup” which sounds more like “kup”, and females use “Ka” at the end of nearly every sentence to be polite.
In the examples below I will use “krup” since I’m a man. Substitute “ka” for “krup” where you see it below if you are a woman.
Thai Language “Tones” and How To Pronounce Thai Words
There are five tones that make the Thai language a bit difficult to grasp at first. If you’re in Bangkok or southern Thailand they tend not to use the tones as much as they do in the north and northeast regions. You will be understood more in these places. Tones are very difficult to teach without sound, so I will have another Thai lesson on tones with sound clips coming shortly.
Lastly, Thais don’t aspirate the last sound in their words. What that means is when you say something like “krup”, there is no “pa” sound for the “p” like we would enunciate in English. Instead the Thais close their mouths for the ‘p’ sound and that’s it, no ‘pa’ and release of air. Practice saying all words without the aspiration on the last sound.
Simple Thai Words You Can Learn Now
On the right side of each vocabulary word is an approximate pronunciation. If you’re using American English you’ll probably read it and pronounce it correctly. I’ve put tips in parenthesis to clarify.
Basic Opposites
- Hello – sawat dee krup
- Good Bye – sawat dee krup
- Yes – chy kup
- No – my chy kup or just, my krup. By putting “my” in front of nearly anything you can create a negative.
- Correct – chai krup
- Incorrect – my chy krup
- Woman – poo ying
- Man – poo chy
- Left – sy
- Right – kwah
- Large – yi (long i sound)
- Small – lek
- Fast – lay o (long o sound)
- Slow – Cha Cha
- Have, there is – Mee
- Don’t have, there isn’t – my mee
- Feel fine – sa by
- Don’t feel good – my sa by
- I know – pom roo or pom loo
- I don’t know – pom my roo or pom my loo
Other Basic Thai Words
- To go – ow bpy (pronounce the b and p together)
- Speak – poodt
- Funny, fun – sanook
- Friend – pew-un
- Maybe – bahng tee
- Restroom – hong naam
- Shower – ab naam
- Again – eek
- Sorry – kar todt krup
- I am an American – pom kon uhmerigun krup
- Thai language – pasa Thai
- English language – pasa ungrit
- Never mind – my pen ry often sounds like, may buh ly
Wants
- I want – ow
- Do you want? – ow my? When using my at the end it acts as a question, like “You want, no?”
- Do you want to see a movie – by doo nung my?
- Shopping – shopping
- I want to rent a car – yaak rote chow kup (long o in rote, chow sounds like the italian “ciaobella”
- I want to rent a motorbike – yaak rote moto-sy chow krup
Food (a hahn) in Thai
- Eat – gin (g as in go)
- Drink – doo-eum
- Hungry – hue (long u)
- Water – naam
- Hot water – naam ron or naam lon (Thais change the R sound to L, a lot)
- Cold water – naam yen
- Ice – naam kang
- Salt – glue-uh (long u in glue, short in uh)
- Rice – kow
- Sticky rice – kow nee ow
- Fried rice with pork – kow pad moo
- Fried rice with chicken – kow pad gy
- Fried rice with shrimp – kow pad goong
- Spicy (with peppers) – pet
- Not spicy – my pet
- Snack/desert – ka nom
- Delicious – aloy or aroy if you can roll your r’s.
- My stomach is full – im lao
Places in Thai
- Bathroom / Toilet – hong naam
- Where is the toilet? – hong naam yoo tee ny krup?
- Hotel – rong ram – if you roll your r’s you’ll have more people understand you.
- Store – ron
- Restaurant – ron a hahn
- Airport – sa naam bin
- Train – rote fy (long o)
- Bus – rote may (long o and a)
- Taxi – taak see
- Post Office – post or, tee tahm gahn bpry sa nee
There are hundreds of books you can choose from to help you learn Thai language but here is the best dictionary I’ve found for learning Thai, “Robertson’s Practical English-Thai Dictionary.” Thai Audio courses like Pimsleur Thai Learning Course and interactive language lessons online are highly effective.
Thai Alphabet and Learning Simple Thai Words
If you’re interested in learning the Thai letters for helping you to learn the Thai language, here are some examples of how to pronounce common words, and their Thai spelling using Thai alphabet characters.
- Hello – sa-wat-dee (sah-wah-dee) – สวัสดี
- Thank you – khop khun (kawp-koon) – ขอบคุณ
- Yes – chai (chai) – ใช่
- No – mai chai (mai-chai) – ไม่ใช่
- Sorry – kor tort (kawr-tort) – ขอโทษ
- Excuse me – kor tod (kawr-tod) – ขอโทษ
- Goodbye – la gon (lah-gon) – ลาก่อน
- I – phom (pawm) – ฉัน
- You – khun (koon) – คุณ
- Where – tii nai (tee-nai) – ที่ไหน
- How much – gee baht (gee-baht) – กี่บาท
- Water – nam (nahm) – น้ำ
- Food – a-harn (ah-hahn) – อาหาร
- Rice – khao (cow) – ข้าว
- Spicy – pet (pet) – เผ็ด
- Chicken – gai (guy) – ไก่
- Fish – plaa (plah) – ปลา
- Pork – moo (moo) – หมู
- Beef – neua (new-ah) – เนื้อ
- Vegetables – pak (puck) – ผัก
- Fruits – phak waan (puck-wahn) – ผลไม้
- Bathroom – hong naam (hong-nahm) – ห้องน้ำ
- Hotel – roong raem (roong-raem) – โรงแรม
- Beach – haad (haht) – หาด
- Mountain – phu (poo) – ภูเขา
- Temple – wat (watt) – วัด
- Market – ta-laat (tah-laht) – ตลาด
- Taxi – taek-si (tek-see) – แท็กซี่
- Money – ngern (nern) – เงิน
- ATM – ATM (ay-tee-em) – เอทีเอ็ม
- Post office – prai sa-nee (prai-sa-nee) – ไปรษณีย์
- Police – taamruat (tahm-ruat) – ตำรวจ
- Hospital – rong-payabaan (rong-pa-yah-bahn) – โรงพยาบาล
- Doctor – maw-ray (mah-ray) – หมอ
- Medicine – ya (yah) – ยา
- Head – hua (wah) – หัว
- Stomach – Tong
- Heart – bua jy (boo-ah jy)