18 Ways to Say Hello in Thai & Other Greetings

One of the first and most important things you can learn in a new language is how to say hello. Of course, there is much more to learning how to greet someone in a new language than simply learning the word for “hello.”

In this article, I will take you through the different words and expressions you can use to say hello in Thai along with some guidance on how to use them properly.

How to say “hello” in Thai

1. “Hello” in Thai – สวัสดี (saw waht dee)

The most commonly used expression to say hello in Thai is สวัสดี (saw waht dee). This is a greeting used by almost everyone regardless of age or status.

In Thai culture, it is important to always show respect to one another, especially those who are older than you or who are of a higher status, such as a teacher or boss. You can use the phrase สวัสดี (saw waht dee) with just about everyone.

But there is an extra word you can use though to make this phrase a bit more polite and respectful to the person you are speaking with…

2. Polite “hello” in Thai – สวัสดีครับ (saw-waht-dee-crap) or สวัสดีค่ะ (saw waht dee caw)

The Thai spoken language has these unique words called ending particles that can be added at the end of a sentence to make the speaker sound more polite and respectful to the person they are speaking with.

If you are male you add the word ครับ (crap) to the phrase สวัสดี (saw waht dee) to make it more respectful. If you are a female speaker, you add the word ค่ะ (caw) to the end of the same phrase สวัสดี (saw waht dee) to make it more polite. This is by far the most common phrase used to greet one another in Thai. It can be used to say both “hello” and “goodbye.”

3. Greeting by using the ไหว้ (why) gesture

An important part of Thai culture and communication is the ไหว้ (why) gesture. This is done by placing your hands together, palms touching, around the chest to neck level. You can also bow slightly as a sign of respect to the person you are greeting.

This gesture will often be used alongside greeting #2, สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (saw-waht-dee-crap/caw). It is not required to gesture when greeting someone but it is used quite often by Thais in day-to-day life.

If someone does the ไหว้ (why) gesture to you, it would be considered polite and respectful to return the gesture by also doing it yourself. It could be considered rude if you do not respond with the ไหว้ (why) gesture to the person you are speaking to.

How to say “how are you?” in Thai

4. “How are you?” in Thai – สบายดีไหม (sah buy dee my)

Often, after you greet someone with a สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (saw-waht-dee-crap/caw), you will want to know how the person you are speaking with is doing. One phrase that you can use to ask this is สบายดีไหม (sah buy dee my).

This expression literally translates to, “are you comfortable?” and is something that you can use with most people you are speaking with. Oftentimes you will hear the answer, สบายดี (sah buy dee) meaning, “I am comfortable.”

5. Alternative “how are you?” in Thai – เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง (ben yahng rye bong)

An additional and perhaps more commonly used way to say “how are you?” in Thai is เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง (ben yahng rye bong). This expression literally translates to, “You are how?” and you could think of it as similar to the English expression, “how are things?”

In my experience, native speakers are more likely to use this phrase as opposed to สบายดีไหม (sah buy dee my) but both are acceptable ways of asking “how are you?”

6. “How are you?” in Thai – กินข้าวหรือยัง (ghin cow roo yahng)

Here is an example of a phrase that is commonly used in Thai culture that needs a little bit of explanation. The expression – กินข้าวหรือยัง (ghin cow roo yahng) literally means, “have you eaten rice yet?”

You will often be asked this question after you have greeted someone with a สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (saw-waht-dee-crap/caw). While it might be strange in English to start a conversation with “hello, have you eaten rice yet?”, in Thailand and many Asian countries, this is a very common thing to ask.

This is one way that Thai people will show concern for one another and it is often used in place of the traditional “how are you?” If you are asked this question and you have not yet eaten, you can simply answer with ยัง (yahng) meaning “not yet.” If you have already eaten you can answer with the words กินแล้ว (ghin lay-oh) which means, “I’ve already eaten.”

7. “What about you?” in Thai – แล้วคุณล่ะ (lay-oh coon lah)

If you would to ask the person you are speaking with, “what about you?” you can use the phrase แล้วคุณล่ะ (lay-oh coon lah). This can be used after someone has asked you how you are or if you have eaten rice yet or not.

Different greetings based on the time of day

8. Formal “good morning” in Thai – อรุณสวัสดิ์ (ah-roon saw-waht)

While most people will use สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (saw-waht-dee-crap/caw) to greet one another in the morning, there is another more formal phrase that can also be used to say good morning.

The expression อรุณสวัสดิ์ (ah-roon saw-waht) means “good morning” but is something you would say to people you don’t know well or that are of a higher status. More often than not it would be more appropriate to use the common สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (saw-waht-dee-crap/caw) as mentioned earlier.

9. Formal “good night” in Thai – ราตรีสวัสดิ์ (ra-tree saw-waht)

Similar to อรุณสวัสดิ์ (ah-roon saw-waht), there is a formal way to say good night as well in Thai. The phrase ราตรีสวัสดิ์ (ra-tree saw-waht) means “good night” and would also be used with people that you do not know as well or that are of a higher status than you.

Once again, more often than not you would use the phrase สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ (saw-waht-dee-crap/caw) to say “goodbye” or “good night” because it can be used respectfully with most people and functions as both “hello” and “goodbye as mentioned earlier.

Getting to know others in Thai

10. “What is your name?” in Thai – คุณชื่ออะไร (coon chew uh-rye)

When you are meeting someone for the first time it is only polite to ask their name. In Thai you would say คุณชื่ออะไร (coon chew uh-rye) literally translating to, “You are called what?” This is a question that is considered polite and can be used with almost all people.

If you would like to make it a little more polite you can add the ending particle ครับ (crap) if you are male or ค่ะ (caw) if you are female to the end of the sentence. This will soften the question a little bit and is a way to show just a little bit more respect to the person you are talking to.

11. “My name is __” in Thai – ผมชื่อ __ (pohm chew __) or  ฉันชื่อ __ (chan chew __)

If you would like to tell someone your name you need to make sure you use the correct word in Thai for “I.” For male speakers, you would generally use the word ผม (pohm) and for female speakers, you would mostly use the word ฉัน (chan).

If you are male and want to tell someone your name, you would use the phrase ผมชื่อ __ (pohm chew __). The blank space at the end is where you would insert your name. For female speakers, you would use the phrase ฉันชื่อ __ (chan chew __) and once again you would insert your name in the blank space at the end of the sentence.

12. “Nice to meet you” in Thai – ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก (yin dee tee die roo jack)

After you have learned someone’s name you might want to say “it’s nice to meet you.” To do this in Thai you can use the expression ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก (yin dee tee die roo jack).

You can use this at the beginning of a conversation to show that you are happy to be talking with them and you can also use it as you are saying goodbye to someone to close the conversation.

13. “Long time no see” in Thai – ไม่ได้เจอกันนานแล้ว (my die jur gahn naan lay-oh)

If you are seeing someone that you have not been with in a long time you can use the sentence ไม่ได้เจอกันนานแล้ว (my die jur gahn naan lay-oh) which means, “long time no see.”

You would be more likely to use this phrase with friends but it would not be considered rude to use it with others you do not know as well.

How to say goodbye in Thai

14. “Goodbye” in Thai – สวัสดีครับ (saw-waht-dee-crap) or สวัสดีค่ะ (saw waht dee caw)

Yes, similar to “aloha” in Hawaiian, สวัสดีครับ (saw-waht-dee-crap) for male speakers and สวัสดีค่ะ (saw waht dee caw) for female speakers can be used to say goodbye to others. This would often be the start of a goodbye and in Thai, you might add an additional thought to this phrase such as…

15. “See you later” in Thai – พบกันใหม่ (pop gahn my)

You can use the phrase พบกันใหม่ (pop gahn my) to say “see you later” to someone you expect to see on another occasion.

It does not have to be immediate or planned but it would generally be used with colleagues or friends. It would be a little unusual to use this phrase with a stranger but would not be considered disrespectful.

16. Alternative “see you later” in Thai – เจอกันใหม่ (joo gahn my)

The expression เจอกันใหม่ (joo gahn my) is very similar to the above พบกันใหม่ (pop gahn my). These two phrases can be used interchangeably and mean the same thing.

Getting someone’s attention in Thai

17. Polite “excuse me” in Thai – ขอโทษนะครับ (core tote nah crap) or ขอโทษนะค่ะ (core tote nah caw)

If you would like to get someone’s attention or need to interrupt someone for any reason and would like to do so politely, you can use the expression ขอโทษนะครับ (core tote nah crap) if you are male and ขอโทษนะค่ะ (core tote nah caw) if you are a female speaker.

You can use this phrase to get the attention of anyone who you might need assistance from. It can also be used if someone is in the middle of something to show that you understand that you might be inconveniencing them.

18. Polite “can you help me please?” in Thai – ขอช่วยหน่อยนะครับ (core chew-ay noy nah crap) or ขอช่วยหน่อยนะค่ะ (core chew-ay noy nah caw)

After you have got someone’s attention, if you would like to ask for help in Thai you can use the phrase  ขอช่วยหน่อยนะครับ (core chew-ay noy nah crap) if you are male and ขอช่วยหน่อยนะค่ะ (core chew-ay noy nah caw) if you are a female.

This is a very polite phrase that you can use with strangers that you don’t know. You can also use it with friends if you really need help with something and you’re trying to soften them up as much as you can before you ask for a favor.

Don’t forget to say thanks after receiving help. Here’s how you can say ‘thank you’ in Thai.

Final thoughts

Greetings and introductions are a vital part of language learning. If you can master the above phrases you will find yourself equipped to navigate the vast majority of conversations you’ll find yourself in as a Thai learner, especially in the beginner stages.

Thai people are generally very kind and patient with learners and will appreciate the effort you have made to learn their language. Always endeavor to show respect to native speakers and you will undoubtedly have a great time learning this beautiful language and getting to know the kind and warm Thai people.

If you would like to learn more about the Thai language and the many wonderful resources we have available as learners please see this extremely helpful reference of apps and books that can help you on your language-learning journey.