Getting to know new friends is one of the most enjoyable parts of the language-learning experience. Yes, it can be a bit intimidating at first but if you really want to get to know others, you need to learn how to have a conversation that goes beyond a basic greeting of “hello” or “my name is…”
In this article, you will learn different ways to ask “how are you” in Thai and the ways that you can respond to that question. If you can master these phrases you will be well on your way to having enjoyable conversations and making new friends.
How to say “how are you?” in Thai
1. “How are you?” in Thai – เป็นอย่างไร (ben yahng rye)
After you have greeted someone hello in Thai, a common follow-up question is เป็นอย่างไร (ben yahng rye) which literally translates to “are how?” or as we might say in English, “How are you?”
This is a commonly used phrase to ask someone how they are and can be used with just about everyone you come across.
2. Alternative “how are you?” in Thai – เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง (ben yahng rye bong)
Very similar to เป็นอย่างไร (ben yahng rye), เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง (ben yahng rye bong) is a phrase that also means “how are you?” but the extra word บ้าง (bong) changes things slightly.
The word บ้าง (bong) is used at the end of questions when you are expecting a response of more than one item. To illustrate this, we might compare it to the difference between asking, “what can I help with?” and “what are some things I can do to help?” The second question might elicit a longer more detailed response.
Similarly, using เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง (ben yahng rye bong) to ask someone how they are is inviting a longer answer and conversation. This is considered a polite and respectful question to use with everyone.
3. “Are you comfortable?” in Thai – สบายดีไหม (sah buy dee my)
In Thai, there is another way to ask someone how they are and that is สบายดีไหม (sah buy dee my). This question might seem a bit unusual in English but is a way that Thai people will show their concern for one another.
This question is not usually inquiring about a person’s actual comfort level at that moment, it is more of a question of “how are things going?” This would not be considered rude or too personal of a question to ask someone even upon first meeting them.
4. “Have you eaten rice yet?” in Thai – กินข้าวหรือยัง (ghin cow roo yahng)
Here is another example of a sentence that might seem a bit unusual the first time you hear it and that is กินข้าวหรือยัง (ghin cow roo yahng) which translates to “have you eaten rice yet?” It is not referring only to rice but carries more of a general meaning of “have you eaten anything yet?”
Oftentimes after a simple “hello” you will hear Thais ask one another กินข้าวหรือยัง (ghin cow roo yahng). This is a way that Thai people show concern for one another and is equivalent to saying “how are you?”
This phrase can be used with the vast majority of people respectfully and is a nice way to show concern for others.
How to respond to “how are you?” in Thai
5. “Comfortable” in Thai – สบายดีครับ (sah buy dee crap) or สบายดีค่ะ (sah buy dee caw)
If a Thai speaker asks “how are you?” there are several ways that you can respond. One of the more common things you can say is สบายดีครับ (sah buy dee crap) if you are male or สบายดีค่ะ (sah buy dee caw) if you are female.
สบายดีครับ/ค่ะ (sah buy dee crap/caw) literally means “comfortable” and is the equivalent of saying “I’m good.” Once again, this is not usually referring to your comfort level at that moment but is more of a comment on how things have been going for you in general.
In Thai, short answers to questions are usually not considered rude and especially not if you make sure to use the ending particle ครับ/ค่ะ (crap/caw). These two words are used to soften expressions and show respect to the person you are speaking with.
6. “Good” in Thai – ดีครับ (dee crap) or ดีค่ะ (dee caw)
Another way that you can respond to “how are you?” is by simply saying ดีครับ (dee crap) if you are male or ดีค่ะ (dee caw) if you are female. This simply means “good” and is a very appropriate response.
Similar to สบายดีครับ (sah buy dee crap) or สบายดีค่ะ (sah buy dee caw) a short answer to this question would not be considered rude especially if you make sure to use ครับ/ค่ะ (crap/caw).
7. “I have not eaten rice yet” in Thai – ยังครับ/ค่ะ (yahng crap /caw)
You might be wondering how you should answer if you are asked by someone กินข้าวหรือยัง (ghin cow roo yahng) meaning “have you eaten rice yet?” as mentioned above. You would simply answer according to your hunger levels.
If you want to say “I have not eaten rice yet” you could simply use the phrase ยังครับ/ค่ะ (yahng crap /caw) which literally translates to “not yet.” Thais generally like to keep answers to small talk as short as possible and although this is a single word in Thai it carries the implied meaning, “no, I have not eaten rice yet.”
Once again, this short response is considered a perfectly respectable answer to the question you’ve been asked.
8. “I have eaten rice already” in Thai – กินแล้วครับ/ค่ะ (ghin lay-oh crap/caw)
If you have been asked กินข้าวหรือยัง (ghin cow roo yahng) and you would like to answer that you have eaten recently and are not hungry you could use the phrase กินแล้วครับ/ค่ะ (ghin lay-oh crap/caw).
This expression literally translates to “eat already” and implies the meaning of “I have eaten rice already.”
9. “I’m fine, thank you” – ดีครับขอบคุณครับ (dee crap cop coon crap) or ดีค่ะขอบคุณค่ะ (dee caw cop coon caw)
If you would like to be extra polite in your response to “how are you?” you can simply add a thank you to one of the above-mentioned responses.
To do this you simply can say ดีครับขอบคุณครับ (dee crap cop coon crap) if you are male or ดีค่ะขอบคุณค่ะ (dee caw cop coon caw) if you are female.
The way to say thank you in Thai is ขอบคุณครับ/ค่ะ (cop coon crap/caw). If you would like to learn more about the ways you can say thank you in Thai, check out these 11 ways to say “thank you” in Thai.
10. “What about you?” in Thai – แล้วคุณล่ะ (lay-oh coon lah)
If you are asked “how are you?” in Thai, it is only polite to want to know how the other person is doing as well. The way you do this is by using the phrase แล้วคุณล่ะ (lay-oh coon lah) which essentially means “and what about you?”
After you have answered that you are “good” or “comfortable” you can use the phrase แล้วคุณล่ะ (lay-oh coon lah) to redirect the question you were asked back to the person you are talking with.
This question is the same for both male and female speakers and can be used politely with almost everyone.
More ways to get to know someone
11. “Hello” in Thai – สวัสดีครับ (saw-waht-dee-crap) or สวัสดีค่ะ (saw waht dee caw)
Before you even get to ask “how are you” to your Thai friends or acquaintances, make sure that you know how to start the conversation.
If you are male, you would say สวัสดีครับ (saw-waht-dee-crap) and if you are female, you would say สวัสดีค่ะ (saw waht dee caw). You can use this phrase to start any conversation and it is considered a polite phrase to use with everyone.
If you would like to learn more about different greetings that can be used in Thai, here are 18 ways to say “hello” in Thai and other greetings.
12. “Where have you been?” in Thai ไปไหนมา (buy nigh mah)
After you have said “hello” to someone, one of the first things they might ask you is ไปไหนมา (buy nigh mah) which means “Where have you been?”
In English, this might seem like a strange question to ask someone at the beginning of the conversation before even asking “how are you?” but in Thai culture, this is a very common thing to say.
It is generally not considered rude or nosy to be asked this question and you can often respond with a general answer about where you have been or what you’ve been doing. It does not come across as an interrogation in the same way it might in English. We might think of it as an equivalent to “what have you been up to?”
13. “Nice to meet you” in Thai – ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก (yin dee tee die roo jack)
If you are meeting someone for the first time it is always a polite thing to express that you are happy to be meeting them. To do this you can use the phrase ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก (yin dee tee die roo jack) which literally translates to “pleasure that I can be familiar with you.”
In Thai culture, this is a very common and polite thing to say and will surely bring a smile to the face of the person you are talking to.
Final thoughts
Yes, it can be scary at first to dive into a conversation after greeting someone but if you learn these questions and the various ways that you can respond to them you will be well on your way to making friends and having enjoyable conversations in Thai!
If you would like to learn more about Thai and are looking for resources that can help you progress in your language ability, check out this helpful reference of books, and apps, and other resources that can help you with the Thai language.