Learn some common phrases you may hear every day in Thailand
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| Ryan: All About Thai, lesson 5 - The Five Most Important Phrases for Learning Thai! Welcome back to all about Thai, the place to learn and to love Thai. In this lesson, we are taking years of experience in Thailand and boiling it down to a few essential phrases that are a great place to starting Thai. |
| Rawinporn: Yes! In this lesson, we will introduce you to 5 phrases that will help you every day. |
| Ryan: Yes. Words that you’ll be really glad you learn. We’ll teach you not only the phrases but more importantly, when and where to use them. |
| Rawinporn: Let’s listen to the first phrase. |
| Ryan: sà-wàt-dii khráp. |
| Rawinporn: sà-wàt-dii khâ. |
| Ryan: sà-wàt-dii in Thai is equivalent to “hello” which can be used at any time of the day, and actually, it can also be used for “goodbye.” |
| Rawinporn: You can also add khâ or khráp at the end of the phrase to be more polite. Khâ is for females. |
| Ryan: And khráp is only for males. |
| Rawinporn: Khun Ryan, do you know wâai? |
| Ryan: I’m sorry? |
| Rawinporn: wâai. wâai is the way you press your palms together near your chest and bow while you say sà-wàt-dii. You do it when you meet a person who is older or more senior in rank. |
| Ryan: I see. Do I need to wâai my Thai friends as well? |
| Rawinporn: Oh, you don’t need to, but we do wâai in business situations, instead of shaking hands as well. |
| Ryan: Oh, yes! I heard about that. |
| Rawinporn: Well, let’s go to the second phrase. |
| Ryan: khǎaw-thôot khráp. |
| khǎaw-thôot khráp. |
| khǎaw-thôot khráp. |
| khǎaw-thôot khráp. |
| Rawinporn: khǎaw-thôot khâ. |
| khǎaw-thôot khâ. |
| khǎaw-thôot khâ. |
| khǎaw-thôot khâ. |
| You know, Ryan, it’s a good phrase to use, say, if you are trying to make your way through a crowd of something. |
| Ryan: Yeah. If you ever visit any Thai festival, you should keep this word at the forefront of your brain because you might need it when you’re trying to navigate your way through all the people. |
| Rawinporn: And you can also use it to get someone’s attention. |
| Ryan: Like to call the waiter over at a restaurant, to get the attention of a shop clerk, or to get the attention of a passerby that you want to ask a question. |
| Rawinporn: Now, the correct pronunciation is khǎaw-thôot, but you might hear some people pronounce only thôot khâ or thôot tii khráp for short. It is very, very informal. |
| Ryan: Yeah, you do hear this a lot. |
| Rawinporn: khǎaw-thôot khâ in English is “I’m sorry” or “Excuse me.” |
| Ryan: Can we hear it again? |
| Rawinporn: khǎaw-thôot khâ. |
| Ryan: khǎaw-thôot khráp. Okay, let’s listen to the next phrase - khàawp-khun khráp. |
| khàawp-khun khráp. |
| khàawp-khun khráp. |
| khàawp-khun khráp. |
| Rawinporn: khàawp-khun khâ. |
| khàawp-khun khâ. |
| khàawp-khun khâ. |
| khàawp-khun khâ. |
| Ryan: khàawp-khun means “Thank you.” some people say khàawp-jai, which is normally used towards younger people or people who are lower in rank or social status. |
| Rawinporn: khàawp-khun khâ. |
| Ryan: khàawp-khun khráp. “Thank you.” |
| Rawinporn: Let’s listen to the next phrase. |
| Ryan: mâi-bpen-rai khráp. |
| mâi-bpen-rai khráp. |
| mâi-bpen-rai khráp. |
| mâi-bpen-rai khráp. |
| Rawinporn: mâi-bpen-rai khâ. |
| mâi-bpen-rai khâ. |
| mâi-bpen-rai khâ. |
| mâi-bpen-rai khâ. |
| mâi-bpen-rai means “Never mind,” “That’s okay,” or “Don’t worry.” |
| Ryan: Thai people are very flexible and easygoing, so we use this phrase all the time, everywhere. |
| Rawinporn: That’s so true. Some foreigners even say that Thais have mâi-bpen-rai culture. The tone of mâi-bpen-rai is soft. It would be better if you smile while saying mâi-bpen-rai. |
| Ryan: That’s nice. Okay, next phrase - khráp. |
| khráp. |
| khráp. |
| Rawinporn: khâ. |
| khâ. |
| khâ. |
| Ryan: khráp for males. |
| Rawinporn: And khâ for females. |
| Ryan: khráp or khâ means “Yes” or “Right.” |
| Rawinporn: khâ. Something important to note is that the phrase is often used by Thai people as they are listening to show that they are following what the speaker is saying. |
| Ryan: khráp. It doesn't necessarily mean that they agree with or are affirming anything that the speaker is saying. |
| Rawinporn: Exactly! Just keep this in mind to avoid any confusion. |
| Ryan: For female speakers, by changing the tone, this word can also be used when you aren’t able to catch what someone is saying and you would like the person to repeat what he or she has said. |
| Rawinporn: khâ. |
| Ryan: It is the equivalent of saying, “Excuse me?” or “I’m sorry?” |
| Rawinporn: And as we know, khráp or khâ can be added at the end of the sentence in order to make the sentence more polite. |
| Ryan: Knowing these will take you a long way, so keep those phrases in mind and we’ll see you next time. |
| Rawinporn: sà-wàt-dii khâ. |
| Ryan: sà-wàt-dii khráp. |
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