Learn how to decline an offer politely
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Hello and welcome to Thai Survival Phrases brought to you by ThaiPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Thailand. You will be surprised at how far a little Thai will go. |
| Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by ThaiPod101.com. There, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| In today’s lesson, we'll introduce you to some useful phrases for when you've had enough, or want to turn something down politely. One of these phrases just may make your trip! |
| In Thai, to politely say no is mâi bpen rai. |
| mâi bpen rai |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: mâi bpen rai. |
| Now, let’s hear it once again, mâi bpen rai. |
| You can make it even more polite by adding khâ and khráp at the end of the phrase. |
| Therefore, women say mâi bpen rai khâ. |
| mâi bpen rai khâ |
| And men say mâi bpen rai khráp. |
| mâi bpen rai khráp |
| The first word, mâi means "no" followed by bpen rai, which means "matter." Altogether, this phrase literally means "Doesn't matter" but with Thai culture, this phrase then is equivalent to the English phrase "It's ok." |
| Now, you might like to add "Thank you" after you say no. Do you still remember how to say thank you in Thai? |
| For women, it's khàawp-khun khâ. |
| khàawp-khun khâ |
| And men say khàawp-khun khráp. |
| khàawp-khun khráp |
| Therefore, to say, "No, thank you" for women is mâi bpen rai khâ khàawp-khun khâ. |
| mâi bpen rai khâ khàawp-khun khâ |
| And men say mâi bpen rai khráp khàawp-khun khráp. |
| mâi bpen rai khráp khàawp-khun khráp |
| These two phrases can be used together when you want to politely decline some offer such as an invitation to join a meal, when someone offers to help you, or even when you had enough food and someone offers you more. This phrase simply helps you get out of something you don't want without explaining why. |
| The phrase mâi bpen rai can also be used separately to respond to questions like "Are you ok?", "I'm sorry" or even a "Thank you!" For example, if someone accidently bumps you and he says khǎaw-thôot khráp, which means "I'm sorry," you can quickly say mâi bpen rai back to him to indicate that "It's ok." The phrase mâi bpen rai is one of the most common phrases in Thailand. I can guarantee that you will hear this phrase very, very often when traveling to Thailand. |
| Thai people tend to use the phrase mâi bpen rai and mâi bpen rai khâ khàawp-khun khâ very, very often. Sometimes, I quickly say mâi bpen rai khâ khàawp-khun khâ before I even think if I want to take an offer or not. |
| This phrase often come with one important Thai custom, but since we are running out of time today, I’m going to cover that later. |
Outro |
| Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible of saying it aloud. You will 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! |
| “It's ok.” (for women) - mâi bpen rai khâ |
| mâi bpen rai khâ |
| mâi bpen rai khâ |
| “It's ok.” (for men) - mâi bpen rai khráp |
| mâi bpen rai khráp |
| mâi bpen rai khráp |
| “No, thank you.” (for women) - mâi bpen rai khâ khàawp-khun khâ |
| mâi bpen rai khâ khàawp-khun khâ |
| mâi bpen rai khâ khàawp-khun khâ |
| “No, thank you.” (for men) - mâi bpen rai khráp khàawp-khun khráp |
| mâi bpen rai khráp khàawp-khun khráp |
| mâi bpen rai khráp khàawp-khun khráp |
| All right. That’s 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. |
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