“Hello” in Thai: 9 Ways to Greet Someone in Thai

---

Do you want to learn how to greet someone in Thai?

Saying “hello” in Thai in a respectful way involves more than just learning the familiar phrase สวัสดี (sa-wat-dii). The greetings we use can often change depending on who we’re speaking with and the situation we find ourselves in. How can we know the right one for every occasion?

This article will help you to understand some of the most common greetings in Thai and the best ways to use them when talking to native speakers.

Quick List: 4 Common Greetings in Thai

Here is a quick list of 4 of the more common greetings used in Thai:

• สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (sa-wat-dii krap/ka) – polite “hello” (male speakers use ครับ (krap) female speakers use ค่ะ (ka))
• หวัดดีครับ/ค่ะ (wat-dii krap/ka) – casual “hello”
• สบายดีไหม (sabai dii mai) – polite “How are you?”
• เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง (bpen yaang rai baang) – casual “how are you?”

How to Say “Hello” in Thai

It is important to understand the importance of showing respect for others when speaking Thai. The words you choose to use can have a big impact on your listener and taking the time to learn proper greetings will endear you to the people you speak with.

As with many languages, Thai has differing levels of formality. While there are many grey areas, we can simplify these into 3 basic levels: casual, polite, and royal language.

Casual language is used amongst close friends, family members, and when speaking to those of a lower status. A person of lower status would include an employee relative to their boss or a student in relation to their teacher.

Polite language is used amongst people that do not know each other well and especially when speaking to someone of a higher status, like a boss or your in-laws.

Royal language is used when discussing or talking to members of the Thai Royal family who are revered in the country and treated with the utmost respect.

As learners, we will be most concerned with mastering the casual and polite ways of greeting native speakers as these situations will come up most often.

When you are first starting out on your Thai language journey, it is always a good idea to use polite versions of greetings with people you don’t know as this will be seen as respectful and because you do not already have an established relationship.

As you develop friendships, you can begin to take a few more liberties and use more casual greetings as a sign of closeness.

The Importance of Ending Particles

It is also vital to understand the role of ending particles in the Thai language. Simply put, these words are added at the end of statements as a way to show politeness and respect to the person you are talking with. These are discussed in detail in this article teaching you how to say “thank you” in Thai.

The two most common ending particles are ครับ (krap) used by male speakers and ค่ะ (ka) for female speakers. These words do not have any meaning by themselves but can be thought of as a polite period that ends the statement softly, similar in feel to saying “please” in English.

These words will often be added at the end of polite greetings or questions and are a way to show respect to others. While close friends may still use them, it is common for these particles to be dropped in casual conversations.

Now that we understand the importance of choosing the right greetings, let’s get into the proper way to say “hello” in Thai.

How to Say a Polite “Hello” in Thai – สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (Sa-wat-dii krap/ka)

สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (sa-wat-dii krap/ka) is the most common way to say “hello” in Thailand. It is a phrase that works well in almost all situations and is used at all times of the day.

It can be used as a greeting the first time you meet someone and is considered polite. It can also be used with people of a higher status and while slightly formal between friends, can still be used amongst closer associates.

As mentioned in our last section, the addition of ครับ (krap) or ค่ะ (ka) is essential as leaving them out would result in a phrase that sounds incomplete and a bit harsh to Thai ears.

สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (sa-wat-dii krap/ka) can also be used as a way to say goodbye and would be considered a polite way to bid someone farewell.

If you are not sure which greeting to use with someone it is always a safe bet to use this phrase as it strikes a nice balance between sounding respectful but not overly formal.

How to Say a Casual “Hello” in Thai – หวัดดีครับ/ค่ะ (Wat-dii krap/ka)

By simply dropping the ส (sa) in สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (sa-wat-dii krap/ka) you are saying “hello” in a slightly more casual way. This is not considered rude as you are still using ครับ/ค่ะ (krap/ka) but would not be the best phrase to use when meeting someone for the first time and especially not if they are of a higher status.

หวัดดีครับ/ค่ะ (wat-dii krap/ka) can be used in more casual settings and with friends or acquaintances you are getting to know better.

How to Say a Formal “Good Morning” in Thai -อรุณสวัสดิ์ (Arun-sa-wat)

อรุณสวัสดิ์ (arun-sa-wat) is the way to say “good morning” but it is rarely used except in more formal situations. It might be heard on television or radio programs but generally, Thai people will not use it in everyday conversation.

In the morning Thais will often greet each other with simply a สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (sa-wat-dii krap/ka) or add the word for “morning” ตอนเช้า (dton chao) giving you the phrase สวัสดีตอนเช้าครับ/ค่ะ (sa-wat-dii dton chao krap/ka).

How to Say a Polite “How Are You?” in Thai – สบายดีไหม (Sabai Dii Mai)

After you’ve greeted someone, you will likely want to know how they are doing. The more polite way to ask this is สบายดีไหม (sabai dii mai) literally translating to “are you comfortable?”

This is most often not a question regarding someone’s literal comfort levels at that moment but more of the Thai equivalent of, “how are things going?” As it is considered polite, this phrase can be used without fear of being overly casual or rude, even with ones you have just met.

You will often get a response of สบายดี (sabai dii) meaning, “I am comfortable,” or ไม่สบาย (mai sabai) which translates to, “I am not comfortable.” Similar to asking someone, “how’s it going?” you might get a completely different response as the person you’re speaking with could see it as an invitation to discuss what they have going on in their lives.

How to Say a Casual “How Are You?” in Thai – เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง (Bpen Yaang Rai Baang)

If you are more familiar with the person you are speaking with, you can use the more casual เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง (bpen yaang rai baang) to ask them how they are.

Literally translating to “things are how?” this phrase could be considered the equivalent of “what’s up?” You can use this greeting amongst friends and while not considered rude, you would not want to use this with people you don’t know too well.

##How to Say Another Polite “How Are You?” in Thai – กินข้าวหรือยัง (gin kaao ruu yang)

A phrase that can leave students of Thai puzzled is กินข้าวหรือยัง (gin kaao ruu yang), which translates to “have you eaten rice yet?” The first time you are asked this question you might be caught off guard and not sure how to respond but this phrase is really more of a polite way to ask, “how are you?”

Most of the time, the person asking this question is not actually wanting to know if you’ve eaten rice recently. It is a way to show their concern for you and check if you are well-fed and taken care of.

To answer this question you can reply with the simple phrase กินแล้ว (gin leeo) meaning “eaten already,” or ยัง (yang) meaning “not yet.” It is not usually an invitation to describe your last meal so you can keep your response simple and return the question in kind.

How to Say a Polite “What’s Going On?” ไปไหน (Bpai Nai)

If you are on the move you might be greeted with the simple phrase ไปไหน (bpai nai) which literally translates to, “go where?” Similar to the last greeting we discussed, this might seem like an unusual way to greet someone, but in Thai, it is extremely common.

While it may sound like the person asking is being nosy, the question could be likened to someone asking “what’s up?” or “whats going on?” Often times the person asking is just wondering what you’re up to, whether it be going to the market or going to the mall.

A short answer will suffice such as กลับบ้าน (glap baan) meaning “going home,” or a ไปตลาด (bpai dta-laat) meaning “going to the market.” The intent of the question is not to get into a detailed explanation of what you’re doing, but rather to show a general level of concern to the person you’re speaking with and wondering what they have going on.

How to Say a Polite “Nice to Meet You” in Thai – ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก (Yin Dee Tii Dai Ruu Jak)

If you would like to express your pleasure at meeting someone for the first time, you can use the phrase ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก (yin dee tii dai ruu jak). This is a more polite statement that translates to “it’s a pleasure to be able to know you.”

If you would like to express your joy at seeing someone again that you have already met in the past you can use the slightly different ยินดีที่ได้เจอกันอีก (yin dee tii dai jer gan iik).

How to Say “My Name Is ” in Thai – ชื่อ (Chuu ___)

Often after a greeting, it is customary to go straight into introducing yourself by stating your name. You do this by using the word ชื่อ (chuu) followed by your name. This is simply the Thai verb for “called.”

In Thai, it is very common to drop the pronoun when it is implied who you are talking about. If you would like to ask someone their name you can use the question ชื่ออะไร (chuu a-rai).

How to Properly Use the ไหว้ (Wai) Gesture in Greeting Someone

The ไหว้ (wai) gesture plays a large role in Thai greetings and is an important part of showing respect to one another within the culture. The gesture is done by placing your hands together, palms touching, in front of your face.

The ไหว้ (wai) will often accompany a greeting of สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (sa-wat-dii krap/kha). As a rule of thumb, you will always ไหว้ (wai) to someone of a higher status or a person that is older than you. It is usually the responsibility of the younger person to ไหว้ (wai) first. The gesture is not often used between close friends

Generally, when someone does the ไหว้ (wai) to you, it is considered respectful to return the gesture. However, employees of businesses will often ไหว้ (wai) to customers, and in this situation, it is not expected to ไหว้ (wai) in return.

As someone learning the language, you will not always get it right but that’s okay, Thai people are very patient with those who try to show genuine respect for their language and culture. Your sincere efforts will be appreciated and even if you find yourself using the ไหว้ (wai) too often, it is better than not using it at all.

Interestingly, there are three levels of the ไหว้ (wai) which is determined by the placement of the hands on the face. The higher the hands are on the face, the more respectful. Generally placing the tips of your fingers at your nose is a good baseline to use.

You now have everything you need to make new friends in Thai!

• How to Order Your Favorite Thai Dishes IN Thai
• Reading Thai and its tones isn’t as hard as you think
• Getting along with other learners & conclusions of Thai mission
• “Thank You” in Thai: 11 Ways to Express Appreciation in Thai
• LingQ Review: An Honest, In-Depth Review of the LingQ Language Learning Tool