Dialogue

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Today, we'll cover getting by at the table. After you've found your seat at the restaurant, now it's time to get a hold of the staff.

Lesson focus

You may simply say khǎaw thôot ná khá,
khǎaw thôot ná khá
Or khǎaw thôot ná khráp,
khǎaw thôot ná khráp, in which equivalent to "excuse me" in English.
We learned this phrase in a previous lesson about how to apologize.
As you may remember, khǎaw thôot ná khá is for women while khǎaw thôot ná khráp is for men.
It is very common to use this phrase to get attention from the waitstaff in any restaurant as well.
Once the waiter or waitress comes to your table, you may order your food by pointing at the item you'd like to have on the menu and say “this please.”
To say “this, please” in Thai is ao an níi.
ao an níi
Don’t forget to be polite by adding khâ or khráp at the end of the phrase.
Therefore, women say - ao an níi khâ.
ao an níi khâ.
While men say - ao an níi khráp.
ao an níi khráp.
Let’s break it down by syllable:
ao an níi khâ.
ao an níi khâ.
ao an níi khráp.
ao an níi khráp.
The first word, ao, means "would like," followed by an níi, which means "this one," and khâ or khráp is added to make it more polite. Therefore, ao an níi khâ and ao an níi khráp is equivalent to "I'd like to have this one, please."
You may ask this phrase while pointing at an item from the menu. Now, f you’re feeling a little ambitious, you can ask the waitstaff what do they recommend.
In Thai, we sya - mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi.
Of course you can add khá and khráp at the end of the phrase to make it more polite.
Therefore, women say - mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khá.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khá.
While men say - mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp.
Let’s break it down by syllable:
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khá.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khá.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp.
Now let's hear it one more time:
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khá.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp.
The first word, mii, means "have," and it is followed by jaan, which means "dish." The third word, nǎi, means "any" or "where," while náe-nam means "recommend."
The last word, mǎi, indicates that this phrase is a question.
Therefore, this phrase is equivalent to the English phrase "Do you have any recommended dishes?"
In my opinion, it is wise to go for the recommended dishes as you will find more interesting Thai dishes than you may find in the Thai restaurants in your own town. However, there is one more phrase that you will find useful. As Thai dishes are mostly spicy and hot. You may prefer non-spicy for the sake of your sensitive stomach.
For women, you may say - mâi phèt ná khá,
mâi phèt ná khá;
while men say - mâi phèt ná khráp.
mâi phèt ná khráp.
Let’s break it down by syllable:
mâi phèt ná khá,
mâi phèt ná khá;
mâi phèt ná khráp.
mâi phèt ná khráp.
Now let's hear it one more time:
mâi phèt ná khá;
mâi phèt ná khráp.
These phrases mean "Not spicy, please."

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!
"I'd like to have this one, please." for women - ao an níi khâ.
ao an níi khâ.
ao an níi khâ.
"I'd like to have this one, please." for men - ao an níi khráp.
ao an níi khráp.
ao an níi khráp.
"Do you have any recommended dishes?" for women - mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khá.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khá.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khá.
"Do you have any recommended dishes?" for men - mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp.
mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp.
"Not spicy, please." for women - mâi phèt ná khá.
mâi phèt ná khá.
mâi phèt ná khá.
"Not spicy, please." for men - mâi phèt ná khráp.
mâi phèt ná khráp.
mâi phèt ná khráp.
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.

Comments

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11 Comments
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ThaiPod101.com
2010-09-27 18:30:00

Hi ThaiPod101.com listeners! Do you have any secrets for getting a waiter's attention?

ThaiPod101.com
2022-09-27 02:04:41

Hello Lorena,

Thank you. mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp. Is sound more natural without "tîi" but it is not wrong to add "tîi" and the meaning of a sentence doesn't change. mii jaan nǎi náe-nam khráp "Which dish do you have for recommendation?" Which mean you already know they have a recommended dish. If you don't know before you would ask with yes or no question: mii jaan nǎi náe-nam mǎi khráp Do you have any recommended dishes? Hope that helps. Please feel free to let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.

Have a good day.

ปริษา Parisa

Team ThaiPod101.com

Lorena
2022-09-24 17:38:48

Hi there!

I was wondering why we say "Mii jaan naai nae-naam maai ka" instead of "Mii jaan tîi nae-naam maai ka"?

I thought "naai" already was a question-word (which)?

Thank you! :)

www.ThaiPod101.com
2018-10-23 01:01:30

Hello Terry,

Thank you very much for your comment and pointed out some problems. I will pass it to our quality control team to have a look and fix them. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help. We wish you will have a good progress with your Thai. Thanks again for your kind support.

Have a good day.

Parisa

Team ThaiPod101.com

Terry
2018-10-19 16:56:53

Hi,

You're lesson subtitle is incorrect. We covered "smoking or non smoking?" in the last lesson.

ThaiPod101.com
2018-05-08 02:39:41

Hi Mervyn,

Thank you for posting.

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Team ThaiPod101.com

mervyn walker
2018-05-02 16:05:12

Have many problems getting a lesson to start with repeated requests for upgrades.

ThaiPod101.com
2017-08-28 15:55:31

Hello Hector,

Thank you very much for your comment and question. Yes, there is a different between “ao” and “khǎaw”, but not in the usage of asking for something in a restaurant.In a restaurant “ao” and “khǎaw” + something have the same usage but "ao" is more commonly use instead of “khǎaw”. "ao" Can be use in these structure ao + something + mái means Do you want ........? or ao mái Do you want it? Hope that's help. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help. We wish you have a good progress with Thai language.

Have a nice day.

Parisa

Team ThaiPod101.com

Hector
2017-08-26 20:19:58

Hi there, whats the difference between "ao" and "khaaw"? It seems that both seem to mean "Please get me..." or "I would like...".

Thank you :)

ThaiPod101.com
2015-11-17 17:08:07

Hello Lin,

Thank you very much for your comment. For your question, ” I would like a little spicy on my dish?" in Thai is " phom/chan khaaw phet nit-naawi krap/kha". Hope that help. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.

Have a nice day.

Parisa

Team ThaiPod101.com

Lin
2015-11-11 00:25:15

I would like to know how to say" I would like a little spicy on my dish"? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

please give me romaniantion spelling. I don't read Thai yet now.

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