Learn the most common way to say "thank you"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Hello and welcome to Thai Survival Phrases brought to you by ThaiPod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Thailand. You will be surprised at how far a little Thai will go. |
| Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by ThaiPod101.com and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sà-wàt-dii khâ! |
| Hello! My name is Savinee, and I'll be your language teacher and cultural guide throughout this introductory course. |
| Many of you might have some difficulty pronouncing my name, so I’m going to break it down for you: Savinee |
| Savinee |
| Savinee |
| Wherever your destination may be, manners are a must! And in this respect, Thailand is no different. So in our very first lesson, we'll be taking a look at a phrase you have no excuse not to bring with you to Thailand. Again, I'll stress this over and over: a little a bit of the language can go such a long way! |
| In Thai, "thank you" is khàawp-khun. Khàawp-khun. |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Khàawp-khun. |
| Now let's hear it once again: Khàawp-khun. |
| What is so unique about Thai is that we have words to add at the end of the phrase to make it polite and formal or even to make it friendlier. To make it more polite and formal, we add one word at the end of the phrase. |
| For women, we add khâ. |
| And for men, we add khráp. |
| That means that when a woman says "thank you," she says khàawp-khun khâ. |
| khàawp-khun khâ. |
| And a man would say khàawp-khun khráp. |
| khàawp-khun khráp. |
| Sometimes you may hear people say it slightly different as khàawp-khun ná khâ or khàawp-khun ná khráp. |
| The word ná is usually used to express pleasantness or begging, but in this phrase, Thai people add this word to make the phrase sound smoother. You can use khàawp-khun ná khá or khàawp-khun ná khráp everywhere, at any time, and to anybody. It is the most common form of saying "thank you" in Thai. You can use it when people open the door for you, at the store, or even when someone gives you a compliment. |
| However, there are more interesting ways of saying "thank you" in Thai. If you want to say "thank you very much," just add one word and you are good to go. |
| In Thai, "thank you very much" is khàawp-khun mâak. |
| khàawp-khun mâak. |
| The meaning of mâak is equivalent to "very" in English. We add mâak at the end of the phrase along with ná to make it sound smoother. Which means, "thank you very much" for women is khàawp-khun mâak ná khâ, and for men, it is khàawp-khun mâak ná khráp. |
| Cultural Insights |
| How about saying "thanks" to a friend? Make just a little change to the word, and then the meaning is different. When you want to say "thanks" to your friends, you may say khàawp-jai. |
| Khàawp-jai. |
| You may say this to someone younger than you or someone with lower social status than you, such as your younger sister. Khàawp-jai indicates that you are very close to the person. However, we don't add the words khâ, khráp, or ná to make it more polite, but instead we add the word jà. This means, for both men and women, we say khàawp-jai jà. |
| khàawp-jai jà. |
Outro |
| Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for saying it aloud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so chôok-dii khâ, that means "good luck" in Thai. |
| Remember, khâ is for women and khráp is for men. |
| Ok, here we go! |
| The common form of politely saying “thank you” in Thai for women - khàawp-khun ná khâ |
| khàawp-khun ná khâ |
| khàawp-khun ná khâ |
| The common form of politely saying “thank you” in Thai for men - khàawp-khun ná khráp |
| khàawp-khun ná khráp |
| khàawp-khun ná khráp |
| To say “thank you very much” in Thai for women - khàawp-khun mâak ná khâ |
| khàawp-khun mâak ná khâ |
| khàawp-khun mâak ná khâ |
| To say “thank you very much” in Thai for men - khàawp-khun mâak ná khráp |
| khàawp-khun mâak ná khráp |
| khàawp-khun mâak ná khráp |
| Friendly “thanks” - khàawp-jai jà |
| khàawp-jai jà |
| khàawp-jai jà |
| All right. That’s is going to do it for today. Remember to stop by ThaiPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
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