Learn how to greet someone
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| Introduction |
| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Thai Season 1, Lesson 2 - Greetings. In this lesson, you'll learn what to say to someone when you arrive and when you part in Thai. |
| Body |
| Eric: Here's the informal way to say "Hello" in Thai as a female speaker. |
| Jay: [Normal] หวัดดีค่ะ(wàt-dii khâ.) |
| Eric: First is a phrase meaning "Hello" informally for women. |
| Jay: [Normal] หวัดดี [Slow] หวัดดี (wàt-dii) |
| Eric: Next is the polite sentence ending for women. |
| Jay: [Normal] ค่ะ [Slow] ค่ะ(Khâ) |
| Eric: Listen again to the informal phrase meaning "Hello" as a female speaker. |
| Jay: [Slow] หวัดดีค่ะ [Normal] หวัดดีค่ะ |
| Eric: Now let's see the informal way to say "Hello." as a male speaker. |
| Jay: [Normal] หวัดดีครับ(wàt-dii khráp.) |
| Eric: First is a masculine phrase meaning "Hello". |
| Jay: [Normal] หวัดดี [Slow] หวัดดี (wàt-dii) |
| Eric: Next is the polite sentence ending for men |
| Jay: [Normal] ครับ [Slow] ครับ(khráp) |
| Eric: Listen again to the informal phrase meaning "Hello" as a male speaker. |
| Jay: [Slow] หวัดดีครับ [Normal] หวัดดีครับ |
| Eric: Next up is the informal way to say “Goodbye” as a female speaker. |
| Jay: [Normal] ไปก่อนนะคะ สวัสดีค่ะ(bpai gàawn ná khá. sà-wàt-dii khâ.) |
| Eric: Literally, this phrase means “I’m going first.” First is a verb meaning “to go" |
| Jay: [Normal] ไป [Slow] ไป(bpai) |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning "first, ahead" |
| Jay: [Normal] ก่อน [Slow] ก่อน(gàawn) |
| Eric: Then, a particle that makes the phrase smoother. |
| Jay: [Normal] นะ [Slow] นะ(ná) |
| Eric: Followed by the polite sentence ending for women. |
| Jay: [Normal] คะ [Slow] คะ(khá) |
| Eric: Last is the phrase meaning "Goodbye" as a female speaker. |
| Jay: [Normal] สวัสดีค่ะ [Slow] สวัสดีค่ะ(sà-wàt-dii khâ) |
| Eric: Listen again to the informal phrase meaning “Goodbye” for female speakers. |
| Jay: [Slow] ไปก่อนนะคะ สวัสดีค่ะ [Normal] ไปก่อนนะคะ สวัสดีค่ะ |
| Eric: Finally, here is a formal way to say “Goodbye” as a male speaker. Just as it is for female speakers, the male speaker version of this phrase literally means “I'm going now.” |
| Jay: [Normal] ไปก่อนนะครับ สวัสดีครับ(bpai gàawn ná khráp. sà-wàt-dii khráp.) |
| Eric: First is a verb meaning 'to go" |
| Jay: [Normal] ไป [Slow] ไป(bpai) |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning "first, ahead" |
| Jay: [Normal] ก่อน [Slow] ก่อน(gàawn) |
| Eric: Followed by a particle that makes the phrase smoother. |
| Jay: [Normal] นะ [Slow] นะ(ná) |
| Eric: Then, the polite sentence ending for men. |
| Jay: [Normal] ครับ [Slow] ครับ(khráp) |
| Eric: And finally, the masculine version of the word ‘thank you’. |
| Jay: [Normal] สวัสดีครับ [Slow] สวัสดีครับ(sà-wàt-dii khráp) |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning “Goodbye.” as a male speaker. |
| Jay: [Slow] ไปก่อนนะครับ สวัสดีครับ [Normal] ไปก่อนนะครับ สวัสดีครับ |
| Cultural Insight |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Jay: [Wai] is the common gesture that Thai people do when they’re saying “Hello.” Most of the time, younger people do [Wai] to people who are older than them or are of a higher social status. [Wai] is a way of showing respect toward others. If someone gives you a [Wai], it means that they are paying respect towards you, too. To return their good manners, you should do [Wai] back. Doing [Wai] is easy; simply put your palms together in front of your chest. |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: And that's all for this lesson. Don't forget to check out the lesson notes, and we'll see you in the next lesson! |
| Jay: สวัสดี ค่ะ |
Comments
HideDid you already know any of these greetings?
Hello Adam and เจลา,
Thank you for taking the time to write to us and for bringing the issue to our attention.
Our team will fix the error.
Please let us know if you have further questions throughout your studies; we would be happy to assist.
Sincerely,
Team ThaiPod101.com
Hi Home!
Thank you for your question! 😊 We have a variety of lessons that can help you learn how to read Thai. We recommend starting with our beginner lessons that focus on the Thai script and pronunciation. You can find these lessons on our website under the "Beginner" section. If you need any help navigating the site, please let us know!
Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.
ขอบคุณ (khop khun / Thank you)
Team ThaiPod101.com
Hi Adam!
The phrase "สวัสดีครับ" (sà-wàt-dii khráp) actually means "hello" or "goodbye" in Thai and is not used for "thank you." The phrase you should use for "thank you" is "ขอบคุณครับ" (khàawp-khun khráp) for males.
If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know!
ขอบคุณ (khàawp-khun, "Thank You")
Team ThaiPod101.com
Yeah, I saw that too. Its definitely just a mistake. Sawatdee Khà/Krap is Hello/Goodbye. And yes, Khop Khun Khà/Krap is only thank you.
Sorry, but I'm confused. The script in this lesson goes:
Eric: And finally, the masculine version of the word ‘thank you’.
Jay: [Normal] สวัสดีครับ [Slow] สวัสดีครับ(sà-wàt-dii khráp)
So does สวัสดีครับ(sà-wàt-dii khráp) mean 'Thank you' as well as hello/goodbye? Is it interchangeable with 'khop khun khrap'?
Please help!
is there a like how to read lesson because i can't find one anywhere
Hello Briana,
Thank you. bpai gàawn ná khá means ‘I’ve got to go,’ ‘I’m going,’ or ‘I’m heading out.’ sà-wàt-dii khâ adds a polite touch as a farewell (goodbye). So, saying bpai gàawn ná khá, sà-wàt-dii khâ translates to ‘I’m leaving now, goodbye!’ or ‘I’ll go ahead, goodbye!’ It’s a friendly way to say you’re departing. 👍 I hope that helps. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out. I would be happy to assist.
สวัสดีค่ะ sa-wat-dii kha
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
Why do you say bpai gàawn ná khá. sà-wàt-dii khâ? If sà-wàt-dii khâ means goodbye?
Hi Judy,
Thank you. You can check this out. Female https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSFWKQn4-u0 vs. Male https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EutdvBsJmrg&t=7s. 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
Hi, how do you greet the King of Thailand? All these I know would not be fit to say to a king.
Hi anjali,
Thank you. In real life conversation, we always skip the subject because we understand from context, body language and what is being said. So, when someone says bpai gàawn ná khá. sà-wàt-dii khâ./ bpai gàawn ná khráp. sà-wàt-dii khráp. the speaker always refers to themself. If they mean "we or us" they would use "rao" but they don't need to say "di-chan" or "pom" everytime. when the situation can be understood. Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
I am going first . this sentence when we say in thai why we do not use di chan while speaking in thai because here we used I also in sentence.
Hello Cadine,
Thank you. "laa-gaawn" means "goodbye for a long time or forever goodbye". If you just say goodbye normally from people at work or someone you know that could meet agian next day/ in a while/from time to time. You will just say "sa-wat-dii". Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
Hi,
I’m in Thailand and would like to learn the language.
However I’ve seen that good bye was laa_kon is that a synonym of sa wat dii?
Hello Teejay,
Thank you. Both could be use for informal. We appologize for that. I will sugest. Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
Sawatdii Kha,
Phase 3 for female speakers, it it formal or informal? because it says informal but the male version is formal
Hello Madikita,
Thank you. This one is still lesson 2 of this series. This serie is 3-Minutes Thai Lesson 1: is "Self Introduction/ Lesson 2: Greetings / Lesson 3: Manners and etc... Here is the link: https://www.thaipod101.com/lesson-library/3-minute-thai-greetings-and-useful-phrases/
👍👍 Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
This lesson covers the same as lesson 2 in this series, right?
This lesson covers the same as lesson in this series, right?
Hi Michael,
Sa-wat-dii kha Michael, sa-baai-dii mai 😄👍 Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com