How to say thank you in Thai
Thank you in Thai is two syllables. Here is how to say it politely, how to make it stronger and what you will hear back.
Thank you in Thai is ขอบคุณ khop khun. A man says ขอบคุณครับ, a woman says ขอบคุณค่ะ.
How to say it
ขอบคุณ khop khun is said in 2 syllables: ขอบ low, คุณ mid.
Say it with ครับ or ค่ะ at the end: ขอบคุณครับ khop khun krap from a man, ขอบคุณค่ะ khop khun 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.
Thank you very much
Add มาก mak, "very / a lot": ขอบคุณมาก khop khun mak.
In real sentences
From the ThaiCards Situations mode:
- ขอบคุณ thank you
- ที่ that / which / at
- ต้อนรับ to welcome
- อย่าง kind; sort; in the manner of
- ดี good
- ไม่ no / not
- มี to have
What people say back
The usual answer to thanks is ไม่เป็นไร mai pen rai, "it's okay / no problem". You will use it yourself all the time; see sorry in Thai.
Letter by letter
How ขอบคุณ 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 |
| บ | บอ ใบไม้ bo baimai | mid-class consonant, b at the start of a syllable |
| ค | คอ ควาย kho khwai | low-class consonant, kh at the start of a syllable |
| ◌ุ | สระ อุ sara u | vowel, u (short) |
| ณ | ณอ เณร no nen | low-class consonant, n at the start of a syllable |
Practice this in ThaiCards
Thank you is the second card in the free Beginner Starter deck. ThaiCards brings it back until it comes out without thinking.
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.