Thank you and hello in ThaiWith pronunciation, and the replies you'll hear back
Thai rewards the smallest effort more than almost any language on this list. Two words, hello and thank you, said with the right ending, will change how a whole day goes. Here are 18 phrases people actually use in Thailand, in the order worth learning them. The replies you will hear back are included too.
"Thank you" in Thai
ขอบคุณครับ / ขอบคุณค่ะ
kop-KOON krap (men) / kop-KOON kah (women)
khop khun khrap / khop khun kha
The ending depends on your own gender, not the listener's.
Thank you
ขอบคุณครับ / ขอบคุณค่ะ
kop-KOON krap / kop-KOON kah
khop khun khrap / kha
Hello
สวัสดีครับ / สวัสดีค่ะ
sa-wat-DEE krap / sa-wat-DEE kah
sawatdee khrap / kha
Works morning to night, hello and goodbye both.
Sorry / excuse me
ขอโทษครับ / ขอโทษค่ะ
kaw-TOAT krap / kaw-TOAT kah
khor thot khrap / kha
Use it to squeeze past people and to start a question.
That's right / No
ใช่ / ไม่
chai / my
chai / mai
There is no plain yes in Thai. Often the whole answer is just khráp or khâ.
It's fine / never mind
ไม่เป็นไร
my pen RAI
mai pen rai
The most Thai phrase there is. Use it for no worries, forget about it, and you're welcome.
The respelling is an approximation. Thai has five tones plus long and short vowels, and an English respelling carries neither. The syllable written here as my is doing duty for several different Thai words that differ only by tone, so expect to be misheard sometimes and do not take it personally. Say it, then show the Thai script if the first attempt does not land. Reading the script off a screen is genuinely the fastest fix, and people are used to travellers doing it.
Five phrases is genuinely enough for Thai
You do not need to work through a phrasebook before you go. Almost everything a traveller says falls into these five shapes, and they are listed under "Start with these five" above.
- Thank you … The one you will use most. If you learn a single word, make it this one.
- Hello … Said the moment you walk into a shop. Whether you say it changes how you are treated.
- Excuse me … Some languages split calling someone over and apologising into different words. Check the list above.
- How much is it? … Needed for every purchase and every meal. If you miss the number, ask them to show it.
- I don't understand … Without this you end up nodding along and walking off in the wrong direction.
Getting these five automatic beats memorising twenty. Twenty phrases you have to search your memory for are worth nothing at the moment you need them.
Every sentence ends with a particle, and it is set by your gender
Thai politeness lives in one syllable stuck on the end of the sentence. Men say khráp, women say khâ, and it is fixed by the speaker, so a man says khráp to everyone he meets for the rest of his life. Leaving it off is not rude exactly, but it lands flat and blunt, the way barking water at a waiter would in English. Add it to hello, to thank you, to sorry, to yes, to anything. If you remember nothing else on this page, remember to put khráp or khâ on the end of it.
The hard part is not speaking, it is understanding the reply
Almost every phrasebook only covers what you say. What actually stops people is the second after they finish talking, when the other person answers. How many of you. For here or to go. Card or cash. Go quiet and the exchange dies. Nod along and you get the wrong thing.
The good news is that the replies are a small, predictable set. Choose "You hear" in the list above and you will see only the ones that actually come back at you in Thailand. Reading them once before you go is most of the work.
If you still cannot catch it, ask them to write it down. Numbers and place names are far easier to read than to hear.
Say it clearly rather than say it perfectly
Thai has five tones plus long and short vowels, and an English respelling carries neither. The syllable written here as my is doing duty for several different Thai words that differ only by tone, so expect to be misheard sometimes and do not take it personally. Say it, then show the Thai script if the first attempt does not land. Reading the script off a screen is genuinely the fastest fix, and people are used to travellers doing it.
The usual failure is not a wrong vowel, it is going quiet because you are unsure. Keep it short, say it at normal volume, and finish the phrase in one breath. Everyone can tell you are a visitor attempting Thai, and if it does not land they will simply ask again. Copy the written form to your phone so you have something to show when speaking does not work.
Other languages
FAQ
Q.How do you say thank you in Thai?
ขอบคุณครับ / ขอบคุณค่ะ, pronounced roughly kop-KOON krap (men) / kop-KOON kah (women). The ending depends on your own gender, not the listener's. If you learn one word before you travel, make it this one. It works at the till, when someone gives you directions, and when someone gives up a seat.
Q.Will the pronunciation guide alone get me understood?
Thai has five tones plus long and short vowels, and an English respelling carries neither. The syllable written here as my is doing duty for several different Thai words that differ only by tone, so expect to be misheard sometimes and do not take it personally. Say it, then show the Thai script if the first attempt does not land. Reading the script off a screen is genuinely the fastest fix, and people are used to travellers doing it.
Q.How much should I learn before I go?
Five phrases. Thank you, hello, excuse me, how much is it, and I don't understand. That covers nearly every situation a traveller hits. Getting those five automatic matters far more than adding a sixth, because at the moment you need them there is no time to think.
Q.Why bother when I have a translation app?
For getting something done, the app wins. People still learn a few words because it changes how they are treated. In a 2025 Preply survey of 1,526 US adults, 47 percent of those who used the local language said locals treated them better, 80 percent said learning phrases before a trip is important, and 58 percent actually did it. A greeting is less about transferring information and more about signalling that you made an effort.
Q.I can ask the question, but I cannot understand the answer.
That is the most common way this goes wrong, and it is why this page includes the other side. Choose "You hear" in the list above to see only what gets said back to you in Thailand. There are not many variations: how many of you, eat in or take away, card or cash. Reading them once removes most of the surprise.
Q.Does this work offline?
Yes. Everything runs in the browser, with no account and nothing sent to a server. Open it once before you fly and it will usually still be there on the plane or in a dead zone. You can copy any phrase and show the screen when speaking does not work.
Reading a phrase is not the same as saying it
You can recognise every phrase on this page and still freeze at the counter, because there is no time to think. Inko lets you say Thai out loud to an AI for 60 seconds a day, and afterwards it shows you what you could have said instead. A week before you fly is enough to make a difference.