How to say "Hello" in Thai
Thai greetings are easy to learn
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April 2, 2021
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(Beginner) One standard greeting for every situation
Greeting people in Thai is very easy. Thais don't say Hello / Good Morning / Good Day / Good Afternoon / Good Evening / Goodbye. They use one single phrase in all these situations:
- If you are female:
- If you are male:
Here is a short video how to say it. You can also see the hand gesture to use for greetings, called "wai". You should repeat that gesture when you greet someone.
You can use this greeting in formal situations as well as in everyday life or on the phone. It is also appropriate when you get introduced to someone (you don't need to say "nice to meet you" in Thai. Just say /). There are less formal greeting you can use with friends, but if you are not sure, better be safe and use /
You can use this greeting in formal situations as well as in everyday life or on the phone. It is also appropriate when you get introduced to someone (you don't need to say "nice to meet you" in Thai. Just say /). There are less formal greeting you can use with friends, but if you are not sure, better be safe and use /
(Beginner) Polite particles
The word at the end of the greeting that changes is the polite particle: or
- If you are female, you use
- If you are male, you use
- It does NOT depend on who you are talking to.
These polite particles make the greeting sound friendly. There are other polite particles that you could use, but using or is always correct.
(Beginner) Less formal greetings
There are many less formal ways to say hi/hello in Thai. Here are the easiest
For women:
For women:
- (for friends, colleagues, at parties, etc)
- (teenagers, online chats)
Similar for men:
Here you see a video of the different versions for women:
(Advanced) Other informal greetings
If you are walking, a typical Thai greeting is to ask "where are you going?" This is not really meant to check where you go, but more colloquial. It is ok to answer "I'm going to eat something", or "just walking for fun", even if you are going somewhere else.
Other typical Thai greetings are "have you eaten?" or "how is it going?"
Other typical Thai greetings are "have you eaten?" or "how is it going?"
