How to say sorry in Thai
One Thai word covers sorry and excuse me. Here is how to say it politely and the answer you will hear back.
Sorry in Thai is ขอโทษ kho thot. It also means excuse me. A man says ขอโทษครับ, a woman says ขอโทษค่ะ.
How to say it
ขอโทษ kho thot is said in 2 syllables: ขอ rising, โทษ falling.
Say it with ครับ or ค่ะ at the end: ขอโทษครับ kho thot krap from a man, ขอโทษค่ะ kho thot 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.
Sorry and excuse me
ขอโทษ covers both: "sorry / excuse me". Use it to apologize, and use it to get past someone or to get a server's attention before you ask something.
In real sentences
From the ThaiCards Situations mode:
- ขอโทษ sorry / excuse me
- ผม I (male)
- จะ will (future)
- ไป to go
- สาย late
- ประมาณ approximately
- สิบ ten
- นาที minute
- ขอโทษ sorry / excuse me
- ที่ that / which / at
- ตอบ to answer
- ช้า slow
The answer: ไม่เป็นไร
ไม่เป็นไร mai pen rai means "it's okay / no problem". It is what people say when you apologize, when you thank them, and when something goes wrong and it does not matter. falling mid mid
- หมด all gone
- แล้ว already / and then
Letter by letter
How ขอโทษ 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ข | ขอ ไข่ kho khai | high-class consonant, kh at the start of a syllable |
| อ | ออ อ่าง o ang | here a vowel: after a consonant, อ spells the long o sound |
| โ | สระ โอ sara o | vowel, o/oh |
| ท | ทอ ทหาร tho thahan | low-class consonant, th at the start of a syllable |
| ษ | ษอ ฤๅษี so ruesi | high-class consonant, s at the start of a syllable |
Practice this in ThaiCards
Sorry is in the free Beginner Starter deck, next to hello and thank you.
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.