How to say hello in Thai
Hello in Thai is one word that works all day, for hello and for goodbye. Add a polite particle and you can greet anyone.
Hello in Thai is สวัสดี sa wat di. A man says สวัสดีครับ, a woman says สวัสดีค่ะ.
How to say it
สวัสดี sa wat di is said in 3 syllables: สะ low, วัส low, ดี mid.
Say it with ครับ or ค่ะ at the end: สวัสดีครับ sa wat di krap from a man, สวัสดีค่ะ sa wat di ka from a woman.
The polite particles ครับ and ค่ะ
Thai adds a small word to the end of a sentence to make it polite. Which one you use depends on who is speaking, not who you are talking to.
- ครับ krap: polite particle for male speakers. high
- ค่ะ ka: polite particle for female speakers. falling
Use one with strangers, shop staff, anyone older and anyone you want to be polite to. In a question a woman says คะ instead, with a high tone: กินข้าวหรือยังคะ kin khâao rǔe yang khá means "Have you eaten yet?" The example sentences on this page are written for a male speaker; a woman swaps ครับ for ค่ะ.
It also means goodbye
สวัสดี works when you leave, too. Colleagues say it at the end of the day:
- กลับ back
- ก่อน before / first
- สวัสดี hello
The course also teaches ลาก่อน laa gawn, "goodbye", which is more final and less common in daily life.
How Thais actually greet you
Friends, family and neighbors often skip สวัสดี and ask a question instead. These are from the ThaiCards Situations set of things people say to you, with the answer to give.
- กินข้าว to eat (a meal)
- หรือยัง yet?; or not yet?
- ไป to go
- ไหน where; which one
- มา to come
Letter by letter
How สวัสดี is spelled, from the ThaiCards alphabet tables. Tap any character on a card in the app to see the same thing.
| Letter | Name | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| ส | สอ เสือ so suea | high-class consonant, s at the start of a syllable |
| ว | วอ แหวน wo waen | low-class consonant, w at the start of a syllable |
| ◌ั | ไม้หันอากาศ mai han akat | vowel, a (short) |
| ส | สอ เสือ so suea | high-class consonant, s at the start of a syllable |
| ด | ดอ เด็ก do dek | mid-class consonant, d at the start of a syllable |
| ◌ี | สระ อี sara ii | vowel, ii (long) |
Practice this in ThaiCards
Hello, thank you and sorry are the first three cards in the free Beginner Starter deck, with audio and tones.
Free to start: the Beginner Starter deck and the first 10 letters of the alphabet deck. Premium is $1.99 a month and opens every deck. No account needed to begin.