Wai is a Thai etiquette in greeting and honouring each other. It expresses the meaning of greeting, thanking, apologizing to someone or saying goodbye. By pressing the hands together in front of the chest with fingers pointing upward and head slightly bowed forward.
The standard way to say “hello” or “hi” in Thai is สวัสดี (Sa-Wat-Dee). Thai uses gender-based polite particles. So a male would add a “khrap” at the end and a female would ad “kha.”
'สวัสดี คะ/ครับ' - 'Sawadee Ka/Krub' ? is our greeting which basically means hello. Culturally female use 'Ka' and male use 'krub' at the end of of almost every sentence in order to be polite☺️ #thaifact #thaiculture #sawadee #greeting #malagor #ossett.
2. SABAI DEE MAI? This is a phrase that is used to ask “How are you?” In casual situations, it can be a greeting similar to “What's up?” The response is easy.
Mai Dai – Can not. Mai pen rai – Nevermind. ( politeful one, most used)
Do use “ka” and “krab” – If you are a woman, it is appropriate to end sentences or greetings with “ka.” For example, “sawasdee” is hello in Thai…as a woman, you would say “sawasdee ka.” If you are a man, your sentences should end with “krab,” so “sawasdee krab” is a proper hello.
The Rule: If you are male, you end sentences with the word (khrup/krap) similarly if you are female, you end your sentences with the word (ka/kap). This is used to make your sentence or question polite and respectful.
1 – Sawasdee kha/khap: Hello in Thai
Sawasdee can also be used to say good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good day, and even good bye. Women say 'Sawasdee kha', and men say 'Sawasdee khap'.
7. Mai Aow ( I don't want …) You might find this one of the most useful phrases as you travel throughout Thailand - whether it's people trying to sell you things, asking you to go with them or when you're in a restaurant placing an order, saying what you want and don't want is easy.
Suay (สวย)
This will be the best word option for you to compliment a Thai lady. The word Suay doesn't describe the personality of a person – you can say Khun Suay Maak meaning you are very beautiful or Shud Suay meaning your dress is beautiful.
'สวัสดี คะ/ครับ' - 'Sawadee Ka/Krub' is our greeting which basically means hello. Culturally female use 'Ka' and male use 'krub' at the end of of almost every sentence in order to be polite #thaifact #thaiculture #sawadee #greeting #malagor #ossett.
To answer the question of what you should say to your friend first thing in the morning, you should use 'sawatdee tohn chao' (สวัสดีตอนเช้า), which means good morning in Thai. Ideally, you would also add the politeness particles 'ka' (ค่ะ) or 'khrap' (ครับ) at the end of the phrase too.
Ka/krub (rhymes with ha/scrub) – This tiny little syllable is vital if you want to show respect and appreciation when you come to Thailand. If you're a female, you say “ka” and if you're a male, you say “krub”. It is basically the universal word for 'please' and 'thank you', and all politeness in general tied into one.
If you were to directly translate the word yes in Thai, you would get the word 'chai' (ใช่). You can also add the respective polite word onto it to show respect to whoever you are talking to. So that would be either 'chai krab' (ใช่ครับ) for males or 'chai ka' (ใช่ค่ะ) for females.
Don't be afraid to ask for something 'mai phet' ('not spicy') or 'phet nit nawy' ('a little bit spicy').
Say 'ká' or 'kráb' – to respond to a call. It is one of the mistakes that foreigners often make. In English, when somebody calls you, you would say “yes?” to respond. However, in Thai language, we don't say “yes ” or ใช่ /chây/, instead we use คะ /ká/ or ครับ / krâb/.
In the Thai Royal Institute Dictionary, the words “ka” and “krub” are both defined as “an ending word to suggest the politeness of the message.” In my own translation, they are filler words that don't mean anything.
If the person is working, the answer might be a short “Chai ka/khrub” with a slight frown to indicate mild discontent. Or, if they have a day off (Wan yuut”), they might smile (“Yim”) and say; “Wanee mai tam ngan khrup/ka”.
ขอโทษ (khǎaw-thôot) — “Sorry” in Thai translates to this word, and this is the main word for “sorry” in Thailand. You can use this word in every situation, both formal and informal. Make sure you remember this word well.
Arai wa can be used in many different scenarios. Use as expressions when you get annoyed, use for asking 'What? ' 'What was that? ' 'Pardon me? '