Learn basic Thai phrases every beginner should know
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| ช้าๆ (cháa-cháa) |
| ขอโทษนะ (khǎaw-thôot ná) |
| What do these words mean? |
| Stick around. |
| In this quick lesson, you'll learn basic Thai phrases all beginners must know. |
| Before we start, did you know that in Thailand, people use nicknames so often they might not know their friend's real name? |
| Can you guess why? |
| Keep watching for the answer at the end. |
| ใช่ (châi) |
| ใช่ (châi) |
| ใช่ is used when someone asks you a yes or no question and looks for a confirmation. |
| Questions that need a confirmation usually ends with ใช่ไหม as a question word. |
| For example, if a person asks me, Are you คุณเจ๊? |
| คุณคือคุณเจ๊ใช่ไหม? (khun khue khun Jae châi mǎi?) |
| I like to answer them by ใช่ค่ะ. |
| Yes, I am. |
| Tom helps Oscar at an electronic store. |
| คุณชอบยี่ห้อนี้ใช่ไหมครับ? (khun châawp yîi-hâaw níi châi mǎi khráp?) |
| ใช่ครับ (châi khráp) |
| ผมคิดว่ายี่ห้อนี้ดีครับ. (phǒm khít wâa yîi-hâaw níi dii khráp) |
| ไม่ใช่ (mâi châi) |
| ไม่ (mâi) |
| ไม่ (mâi) |
| ใช่ (châi) |
| ไม่ใช่ (mâi châi) |
| ไม่ใช่ is used when you want to deny something and similar to the word ใช่, it is used with the question word ใช่ไหม? |
| ใช่ไหม? (châi mǎi?) |
| ใช่ไหม actually means isn't it or right? |
| For example, คุณเป็นคนอเมริกันใช่ไหม? (khun pen khon amerikhan châi mǎi?) |
| Are you American? |
| ไม่ใช่ ฉันเป็นคนไทย. (mâi châi chǎn pen khon Thai.) |
| No, I'm Thai. |
| Jack mistakes Steve for a student. |
| คุณเป็นนักเรียนที่นี่ใช่ไหมครับ? (khun pen nák-riian thîi-nîi châi mǎi khráp?) |
| ไม่ใช่ครับ (mâi châi khráp) |
| ผมแค่มาเยี่ยมชมครับ. (phǒm khâae maa yîiam-chom khráp) |
| อีกครั้ง (ìik khráng) |
| One more time. |
| อีกครั้ง (ìik khráng) |
| อีกครั้ง (ìik khráng) |
| This word is very useful if you find people talking too fast in Thai, you can say |
| รบกวนพูดอีกครั้งได้ไหมคะ? (róp kuan phûut ìik khráng dâi mǎi khâ?) |
| Could you please say that one more time? |
| Or in short, |
| ขออีกครั้งค่ะ. (khǎaw ìik khráng khâ) |
| ขออีกครั้งครับ. (khǎaw ìik khráng khráp) |
| Or just, |
| อีกครั้งค่ะ. (ìik khráng khâ) |
| อีกครั้งครับ. (ìik khráng khráp) |
| Or another example, if you want to impress someone, you can say |
| ฉันอยากเจอคุณอีกครั้ง. (chǎn yàak jooe khun ìik khráng) |
| I want to see you again. |
| Lina asked Ratana for clarification. |
| ขอโทษค่ะ (khǎaw-thôot khâ) |
| ดิฉันฟังไม่ทัน (dì-chǎn fang mâi than) |
| ขออีกครั้งค่ะ (khǎaw ìik khráng khâ) |
| ได้เลยค่ะ (dâi looei khâ) |
| ช้าๆ (cháa-cháa) |
| Slowly |
| ช้าๆ (cháa-cháa) |
| ช้าๆ (cháa-cháa) |
| ช้าๆ (cháa-cháa) |
| In Thai, one way to change an adjective to an adverb is to double the word. |
| So, ช้า means slow, and when you double it to ช้าๆ, it becomes slowly. |
| When you want your friend to talk more slowly, you can say |
| พูดช้าๆหน่อยได้ไหม? (phûut cháa-cháa nàauy dâi mǎi?) |
| Could you talk slowly? |
| Or พูดช้าๆอีกครั้งได้ไหม? |
| Could you say that again slowly? |
| Susan needs clarification when asking Nakarin for directions. |
| ขอโทษค่ะ (khǎaw-thôot khâ) |
| ขอช้าๆค่ะ (khǎaw cháa-cháa khâ) |
| เลี้ยวซ้ายที่แยกแรกแล้วเลี้ยวขวาครับ. (líiao sáai thîi yâaek râaek láaeo líiao khwǎa khráp) |
| ขอโทษนะ. (khǎaw-thôot ná) |
| Excuse me. |
| ขอโทษนะ. (khǎaw-thôot ná) |
| ขอโทษนะ. (khǎaw-thôot ná) |
| We usually add ending particles such as นะ, ค่ะ, and ครับ to make it more polite. |
| For example, ขอโทษนะ. |
| ขอโทษนะ. (khǎaw-thôot ná) |
| ขอโทษนะคะ. (khǎaw-thôot ná khâ) |
| ขอโทษนะครับ. (khǎaw-thôot ná khráp) |
| If you are saying it with your friends, you can also use an informal slang, โทษนะ. |
| It's very informal so be careful to only use it with someone you are close with. |
| Jack expresses interest in an item at a store. |
| ขอโทษนะครับ (khǎaw-thôot ná khráp) |
| อันนี้ราคาเท่าไรครับ? (an níi raa-khaa thâo-rai khráp?) |
| ยี่สิบบาทครับ (yîi-sìp bàat khráp) |
| เอาไหมครับ? (ao mǎi khráp?) |
| ขอโทษ. (khǎaw-thôot) |
| I'm sorry. |
| ขอโทษ. (khǎaw-thôot) |
| ขอโทษ. (khǎaw-thôot) |
| ขอโทษ has two meanings, excuse me and sorry. |
| We usually add ครับ or ค่ะ at the end to be more polite. |
| Again, you can use the slang โทษที if you want to be slightly informal when speaking with your friends and people you are close with. |
| Steve apologizes to Oscar for a misunderstanding. |
| ขอโทษครับ (khǎaw-thôot khráp) |
| เป็นความผิดพลาดของผมเองครับ. (bpen khwaam phìt-phlâat khǎawng phǒm eeng khráp) |
| ไม่เป็นไรครับ (mâi bpen rai khráp) |
| ไม่มีปัญหา. (mâi mii bpan-hǎa) |
| ขอบคุณ. (khàawp-khun) |
| Thank you. |
| ขอบคุณ. (khàawp-khun) |
| ขอบคุณ. (khàawp-khun) |
| Another way to say thank you is ขอบใจ. |
| It is slightly less formal and only used with your friends or people who are younger than you. |
| And with ขอบคุณ or ขอบใจ, please don't forget to add a polite ending particle ค่ะ or ครับ to make it more sincere and polite. |
| Susan thanks Lina for a party invite. |
| ขอบคุณที่เชิญมากๆนะคะ. (khàawp-khun thîi chooen mâak-mâak ná khâ) |
| ด้วยความยินดีค่ะ (dûuai khwaam-yin-dii khâ) |
| ดีใจที่คุณมาได้ค่ะ. (dii-jai thîi khun maa dâi khâ) |
| ด้วยความยินดี. (dûuai khwaam-yin-dii) |
| You are welcome. |
| ด้วยความยินดี. (dûuai khwaam-yin-dii) |
| ด้วยความยินดี. (dûuai khwaam-yin-dii) |
| When people thank you for something and you want to respond to them, you can use this phrase. |
| It is quite formal though, so a more natural way to respond to people thanking you is to say ไม่เป็นไร or in English, it's okay or that's fine. |
| Prani provides legal advice to Steve. |
| ขอบคุณที่ช่วยมากๆนะครับ. (khàawp-khun thîi chûuai mâak-mâak ná khráp) |
| ด้วยความยินดีค่ะ (dûuai khwaam-yin-dii khâ) |
| ดีใจที่ได้ช่วยค่ะ. (dii-jai thîi dâi chûuai khâ) |
| ขอ. (khǎaw) |
| Please. |
| ขอ. (khǎaw) |
| When you want to ask for something in a polite way, use this word ขอ with a noun. |
| For example, at a restaurant, you might say ขอช้อนค่ะ. |
| May I have a spoon, please? |
| or Spoon, please? |
| Another way to say it but less polite is to use the word เอา. |
| For example, เอาต้มยำกุ้งที่นึงค่ะ. |
| May I have one ต้มยำกุ้ง? |
| Jack asked Pratana for a drink. |
| ขอน้ำครับ. (khǎaw nám khráp) |
| ได้ค่ะ. (dâi khâ) |
| นี่ค่ะ. (nîi khâ) |
| Let's review. |
| You see the words in English and your job is to say the words in Thai. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say Yes? |
| ใช่. (châi) |
| And how to say No? |
| ไม่ใช่. (mâi châi) |
| What about one more time? |
| อีกครั้ง. (ìik khráng) |
| Do you remember how to say Slowly? |
| ช้าๆ. (cháa-cháa) |
| Let's try Excuse me. |
| ขอโทษนะ. (khǎaw-thôot ná) |
| What about I'm sorry? |
| ขอโทษ. (khǎaw-thôot) |
| Now, let's see if you remember how to say Thank you. |
| ขอบคุณ. (khàawp-khun) |
| Another one. What about You're welcome? |
| ด้วยความยินดี. (dûuai khwaam-yin-dii) |
| And finally, do you remember how to say Please? |
| ขอ. (khǎaw) |
| Did you know that in Thailand, people use nicknames so often they might not know their friend's real name? |
| Can you guess why? |
| Thai names are usually long and complex, so parents give their kids short nicknames after birth. |
| These nicknames are used so often in daily life that they often overshadow real names. |
| This makes interactions friendlier and keeps a casual atmosphere even in formal settings. |
| Thanks for watching. |
| Don't forget to practice these new words and phrases. |
| And see you next time. |
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