I bet youโve quickly googled local phrases prior to a trip before, right? And the type of phrases you find are things like Hello, how are you, Iโm fine, Thank you, Youโre beautiful/handsomeโฆ The list goes on. But apart from Hello and Thank you, how often do these phrases come into play? Do you really get to use them when youโre on the trip at all? My guess is no. So hereโs what I propose: I will give you those basic Thai phrases BEFORE I start counting the first one.
Because all of the 25 that count will be authentic phrases, worded local-style by yours truly, that you WILL get to use for sure. Liking how this sounds? Enjoy reading, and I hope they come in useful on your next slow travel trip to Thailand!
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you click through & make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.ย Thank you for your support!
Thai Language Basics
Before we get into the phrases, there are a couple of things you need to understand about the Thai language. Depending on your style of learning, feel free to thoroughly study them, skim through them quickly, or skip right to the phrases. But just a word of caution, these basics will matter.

Sentence Endings
There are speech levels in Thai. The 2 important different ones youโll need to know are the casual speech AND how to make it polite since youโll very likely be talking to strangers.
To make anything polite, we add ONE simple syllable to the end of the sentences. I will call this the โsentence ending.โ If youโre a woman, youโll use one word. And if youโre a man, youโll use a different word for the same thing.
- For a woman: Add KA to every sentence.
- For a man: Add KRUB to every sentence.
Under NO circumstances will a woman ever use krub and vice versa. Later in this post, I will list out every phrase with both endings INCLUDED. Youโre free to focus only on the one youโll be using.
Tones
There are 5 tones in spoken Thai. Unlike English, Spanish, Korean, or most other languages that just flow according to the speakerโs mood, these tones are locked in and word-specific.
Thankfully, I found a video that explains this all out really well! Check it out before starting, I promise it will make everything less confusing!
Below, Iโve listed out the 5 tones, and how Iโll mark them in this post so you know the distinctions.
- Level Tone: Basically the monotonic voice, Iโll write words with this tone with no accents.
- Low Tone: The sound falls toward the end of the word. Iโll mark these with โร .โ
- Falling Tone: The sound goes up, then back down. Iโll mark these with โรข.โ
- High Tone: The sound goes straight up. Iโll mark these with โรก.โ
- Rising Tone: The sound drops then comes back up, like a dip. Iโll mark these with โฤ.โ
I will tell you now how much these tones matterโฆ โSuฤyโ means beautiful, while โSuayโ means doomed. โMรกโ means horse, while โMฤโ means dog. You get the idea ๐

Greeting and Bonus Phrases
Here is where I get all the less useful phrases, but mandatory for going with the flow!
Sa-wร t-dee kร / sa-wร t-dee-krรบb
This means hello! Say it with the local hand gesture and youโll win a million hearts. Check out my FREE E-book on visiting Thailand to learn more about this!
Khรฒb Khun Kร / Khรฒb Khun Krรบb
This is thank you, nice and simple. Again, it still works better with the same hand gesture as hello.
Sa-Bai-Dee Mรกi Kรก? / Sa-bai-dee mรกi krรบb?
How are you? Sa-bai-dee means to be doing well, while โmรกiโ is our version of the question mark.
Note: Unlike in the US, it is NOT common to ask a stranger how theyโre doing in Thai culture. You will very likely get away with it as a foreigner, especially if youโre clearly trying to speak Thai. But itโs not normally done.
Sa-bai-dee kร / Sa-bai-dee krรบb
Iโm doing well!
Fun fact: Sabaidee means โhelloโ in Lao. If youโre planning to cross the border there too, feel free to use it!
Mรขi Sa-bai kร / Mรขi Sa-bai krรบb
Iโm sick. โMรขiโ means no/not.
The Real Deal: 25 Useful Thai Phrases
And here is where we start counting. I hope these phrases will help you during your travel!
Essential Phrases
1. Kลh tรดd kร / Kลh tรดd krรบb
Iโm sorry.
2. Kลh tรดd nรก kรก / Kลh tรดd nรก krรบb
Excuse me.
Adding โNรกโ gives the โsorryโ a lighter mood, which turns it into a different kind of message.
3. chรขi kร / Chai krรบb
Yes, or That is correct!
4. Mรขi chรขi kร / Mรขi chรขi krรบb
No, Thatโs not what I meant, Thatโs the wrong one.
All of the above will make sense with this phrase depending on the context.
5. Chuรขy duรขy!
HELP! This one will quite literally save your life, but I hope youโll never have to use it!
Itโs okay to drop the endings for this. No oneโs going to care how polite you are when youโre in an emergency need of helpโฆ
Generic Communication
6. mรขi khรขo jai kร / mรขi khรขo jai krรบb
I donโt understand.
7. Pรดรดd chรก chรก nรฒi kร / Pรดรดd chรก chรก nรฒi krรบb
Please speak more slowly.
Pรดรดd = speak, Chรก = slow, Nรฒi = a bit. We usually repeat the word โslowโ to turn it into an adverb.
7.1 Chรก chรก Nรฒi kร / Chรก chรก Nรฒi Krรบb
Alternatively, if you get rid of the word โspeakโ and just say โSlowly, please,โ this means โSlow downโ. You can blurt out this phrase to your taxi or tuk-tuk driver should you need them to slow down!
8. Pรดรดd รจรจk tee dรขi mรกi kรก? / Pรดรดd รจรจk tee dรขi mรกi krรบb?
Could you repeat that please?
รรจk tee = one more time, Dรขi mรกi = could you / can you?
9. Pรดรดd pa-sฤ aang-grรฌd dรขi mรกi kรก? / Pรดรดd pa-sฤ aang-grรฌd dรขi mรกi krรบb?
Can you speak English?
Pa-sฤ = language, Aang-grรฌd = English / England
10. Pรดรดd Thai mรขi dรขi kร / Pรดรดd Thai mรขi dรขi krรบb
I canโt speak Thai.
When Thai people talk about the Thai language, we drop the word โlanguage.โ
Directions
11. Pai โฆโฆ kร / Pai โฆโฆ krรบb
Iโm going to [insert place].
You just got into the taxi and youโre going to Wat Phra Kaew, say โPai Wรกt Phrรก Kรขew kร !โ Adding the endings (kร & krรบb) automatically makes it sound like โpleaseโ so youโre good to go!

12. Trong nรฉรฉ kร / Trong nรฉรฉ krรบb
Here, please! When you want the taxi to drop you off, just point and say this.
Nรฉรฉ means this, while Trong is a particle that marks a location.
13. Trong nรบn kร / Trong nรบn krรบb
There, please!
Nรบn = that
14. Nรชรช ta-nลn a-rai kรก? / Nรชรช ta-nลn a-rai krรบb?
What is this street called?
Nรชรช = this, Ta-nลn = street, A-rai = what
Thereโs a subtle difference in how nรฉรฉ is used versus nรชรช when you want to say โthis.โ But I wonโt go that deep into detail here. As long as you stick to these phrases and the tones I give, youโre good ๐
15. Hรดng nรกรกm yรฒรฒ nฤi kรก? / Hรดng nรกรกm yรฒรฒ nฤi krรบb?
Where is the bathroom?
Hรดng = room, Nรกรกm = water, Yรฒรฒ = to be at, Nฤi = where
And yes, we call the bathrooms โwater rooms.โ
Restaurants
16. Pรจd nรณi nรก kรก / Pรจd nรณi nรก krรบb
Not too spicy, please. Just a little bit spicy, please.
Pรจd = spicy, Nรณi = little
17. Mรขi pรจd nรก kรก / Mรขi pรจd nรก krรบb
Not spicy, please
18. Pรจd goeun PAI kร / Pรจd goeun PAI krรบb
This is too spicy!
If you really canโt handle what youโre tasting, hand the plate over while saying this, youโll get the point across and theyโll very likely cook a new one for you.
Notice that I underlined the vowel Oeu? The pronunciation is literally the same as the French vowel โoeu.โ Iโve linked it to a Youtube video, so hopefully, it helps!
Goeun = Too, Pai = goโฆ But in this context, to put go with โtooโ will mean something like โwayyyy too muchโ in Thai.

19. Mรขi sร i tรนa nรก kรก / Mรขi sร i tรนa nรก krรบb
No nuts, please.
I figured since Iโve seen a lot of tree nuts allergies, this Thai phrase will come into play at some point.
Sร i = to put in, Tรนa = nuts
20. Kลh nรกรกm รจรจk kร / Kลh nรกรกm รจรจk krรบb
More water, please.
รรจk = more
21. Arรฒi mรขk kร / Arรฒi mรขk krรบb
Very delicious!
22. Check Bill kร / Check Bill krรบb
Check, please.
Yes, this is literally English with the Thai sentence ending. Easy, peasy!
Shopping
23. Ahn nรฉรฉ tรขo rร i kรก? / Ahn nรฉรฉ tรขo rร i krรบb?
How much is this?
Ahn = a unit counter for things, Tรขo rร i = how much
24. Paeng Mรขk kร / Paeng Mรขk krรบb
So expensive!
Paeng = expensive, Mรขk = very
25. Lรณd hรขi dรขi mรกi kรก? / Lรณd hรขi dรขi mรกi krรบb?
Can you give me a discount?
Lรณd = to decrease, Hรขi = give (under this context it means to do someone a favor)
More on Thailand before you goโฆ
The most important cultural difference I can think of is that Thai people laugh A LOT. They will laugh when they think someoneโs adorable, a child, for example. They will sometimes laugh even when they feel embarrassed about something.
Because people in most cultures laugh a lot less, itโs very easy for a foreigner to quickly feel like theyโre being laughed at because of some unknown reason when in Thailand. Please do not take any local laughing personally. Itโs very likely for some obscure reason you donโt even understand. Thais avoid conflict at all costs, so the last thing theyโd want to do is offend you.
Below are some blog posts Iโve written about Bangkok, Sukhothai, and Ayutthaya. If these provinces are on your list, I highly recommend checking them out. Hopefully, they can give you ideas!
- Sukhothai Historical Park: A Comprehensive Guide
- 15 Remarkable things to do in Bangkok
- 1-day Bangkok Itinerary
- 2-day Ayutthaya Itinerary
- 2-Day Vintage Kanchanaburi Itinerary
If this blog post is helping you in Thailand, Iโd love to know! Come back and leave a comment or shoot me an email. Iโd love to hear about your adventures and which of these Thai phrases you got to use!
I enjoy reading this post so much and am sure it will be very useful for those who visit Thailand ๐๐
Thank you so much for your constant support!