Thai worth knowing
A few words in her own language, typed by you, read completely
differently from a sentence that arrived through a machine. Here is the Thai
worth having.
Up To You Ka translates both directions for you, so none of this is
necessary. It is just that everybody who has tried it knows the difference
between a translated paragraph and four words somebody clearly went and
learned. These are the four words.
The pronunciations below are written to be read by an English speaker out
loud rather than to be linguistically strict. Thai is tonal and this page
cannot teach you that, so expect to be corrected, and expect her to be
delighted that you tried.
Starting a conversation
สวัสดีครับ
sa-wat-dee khrap
Hello. Said by a man.
สบายดีไหม
sa-baai dee mai
How are you? Literally, are you well.
กินข้าวยัง
gin khao yang
Have you eaten yet? Used the way an English speaker uses "how's it going", and it is warmer than it looks.
ชื่ออะไร
cheu a-rai
What is your name?
ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก
yin dee tee dai roo jak
Pleased to meet you.
The two words that matter most
ครับ
khrap
A man ends a sentence with this. It is not a word so much as a signal that you are being polite, and leaving it off makes everything you say sound blunt.
ค่ะ
ka
The same thing, said by a woman. This is the "Ka" in the name of this service.
ขอบคุณครับ
khop khun khrap
Thank you.
ขอโทษครับ
kho thot khrap
Sorry, or excuse me.
ไม่เป็นไร
mai pen rai
It is nothing, never mind, no harm done. The most Thai sentence there is, and the correct answer to most small problems.
Asking about her day
วันนี้ทำงานไหม
wan nee tam ngaan mai
Are you working today?
เหนื่อยไหม
neuay mai
Are you tired?
ร้านวุ่นไหม
raan wun mai
Is the bar busy?
พักผ่อนนะ
pak pon na
Get some rest.
ทำอะไรอยู่
tam a-rai yoo
What are you doing?
Making a plan
พรุ่งนี้ว่างไหม
proong nee waang mai
Are you free tomorrow?
กี่โมง
gee mong
What time?
เจอกันนะ
jer gan na
See you then.
ไว้ค่อยคุยกัน
wai koi kui gan
Let's talk later. A soft way to end a conversation without it reading as a brush-off.
Being kind
คิดถึง
kit teung
I miss you, or I have been thinking about you. Ordinary between friends in Thai and much less heavy than the English.
ดูแลตัวเองนะ
doo lae tua eng na
Take care of yourself.
โชคดีนะ
chok dee na
Good luck.
ขอบคุณที่คุยกับผม
khop khun tee kui gap phom
Thank you for talking with me.
Worth knowing before you use it
ใจเย็น ๆ
jai yen yen
Cool heart. Calm down, take it easy. Losing your temper in public costs you more in Thailand than almost anywhere, and this is what somebody will say to you first.
เกรงใจ
greng jai
There is no English word for it. A reluctance to impose on somebody or put them in an awkward position. If she goes quiet rather than saying no to something, this is usually why.
สนุก
sa-nook
Fun, and a genuine measure of whether something was worth doing. "Was it sanook" is a real question, not small talk.
One thing that matters more than vocabulary
Politeness in Thai is carried at the end of the sentence rather than in the
words. A man ends with ครับ (khrap) and a woman with
ค่ะ (ka). Leave it off and a perfectly friendly sentence
lands as an order. Put it on and almost anything you say is fine.
That particle is where this service got its name.
Want to try one on somebody?
Start free. Your first
messages cost nothing, and everything you write in English gets there in
Thai anyway. See how it
works.