Beginner Archives - Learn Thai from a White Guy

How to Say Merry Christmas in Thai

December 22, 2024 by

Are you planning to holiday in Thailand over the Christmas period? Maybe you just want to wish your friends “Merry Christmas” in Thai? Either way, we’re going to teach you how to wish your Thai friends seasons greetings.

Nearly 95% of the people in Thailand are Buddhist, so the religious aspects of Christmas aren’t widely celebrated. Despite this, Thai people love having an excuse to have fun and celebrate something. You’ll still see lots of festive decorations in shopping malls, restaurants and coffee shops.

Additionally, the staff might even wear Christmas hats or festive jumpers. You’ll also definitely hear Christmas music in shopping malls and Starbucks.

If you already know how to say Happy New Year in Thai, then saying Happy Christmas in Thai will be a breeze.

 

merry christmas in thai

เมอรี่ หรือ แมรี่ ?

 

The Quick Answer to How to Say Merry Christmas in Thai

เมอร์รี่คริสต์มาส (meu-ree khrit-maat)

The most common way to say Merry Christmas in Thai is to simply use the English version. This is literally just the words “Merry Christmas” written in Thai script.

When Merry Christmas is written in Thai script, it’s pronounced slightly differently than the English version. Listen to the audio a few times and practice saying it with the correct Thai pronunciation.

How To Say “Happy Christmas” In Thai

This phrase is the slightly more formal Thai version of Merry Christmas. This is what you might write on a Christmas card. It’s perfectly fine to say this one as well.

This is a slightly more formal version which tends to be used more in written Thai than in spoken Thai. So if you were to write a Christmas card in Thai, you could use this version.

When you want to wish someone “happy (something)“, the word that you need to use is:

If you learn this pattern, then it will be easy for you to wish someone Happy New Year and Happy Birthday in Thai too.

Thai Polite Particles Tip:

When speaking Thai to anyone other than close friends, it’s common to add the polite particles ครับ khrap (for a male speaker) and ค่ะ kha (for a female speaker) at the end of a sentence.

So the two versions of “Merry Christmas” in Thai that we learned above would sound like this:

Useful Christmas Words

Thai Vowel Pronunciation Tip

  • เมรี่ (meh-ree) – In this word, the Thai vowel เอ is pronounced “ay” similar to “lame”. This sounds a bit more like how people pronounce “merry” in English. You may hear this version as well.

Wrap Up

It’s time to wrap up this Christmas post and say:

เมอร์รี่คริสต์มาส (meu-ree khrit-maat).

Give yourself or someone you love the gift of levelling up in Thai Language!

Filed Under: Beginner

How to Say Handsome in Thai – Compliments Guide

January 24, 2021 by

Want to know how to tell someone they are handsome in Thai? Just like in English, the word handsome is used when referring to a man. A different word is used to call a woman beautiful. (The Thai word for cute is more versatile and can be used for both sexes, animals and more).

In today’s lesson we’ll teach you how to say handsome in Thai.

How to Say Handsome in Thai

หล่อจัง

 

Handsome in Thai – LAWH ( หล่อ)

Quick Answer: The Thai word for handsome is:

This is a handy word to know in Thailand. It’s common to comment on whether a man is handsome or a woman is beautiful.

Thai Culture Tip

Thai people speak more directly about physical appearance than Westerners. For example, it’s not uncommon for a Thai person to tell a friend they look like they’ve put on weight. It’s usually not meant as an insult.

How To Say “You’re Handsome” in Thai

The Formal Way (Not Recommended)

If you search Google or look in phrasebooks, you’ll see “you’re handsome” translated as:

  • คุณหล่อ (khun lawh)
    • คุณ (khun) means “you” but is too formal for most situations. It has a feeling of “Mr” or “Mrs.” While not wrong, it’s unnatural.

The Natural Way

Thai people address each other based on age relationships. The language has built-in friendliness and respect. Thais will call family, friends, colleagues and strangers as auntie, older brother, little sister etc.

Common pronouns you’ll hear:

พี่ (pii) – older brother/sister

  • Use with people older than you (up to your parents’ age)

น้อง (nawg) – little brother/sister

  • Use with anybody younger than you

Example: Telling Someone Older They’re Handsome

Thai Grammar Tip: No “To Be” Verb

In English we say “he IS handsome” or “you ARE handsome.” In Thai, the verb “to be” is not used. We just say “he handsome” or “handsome.”

More examples without “to be”:

How To Say “He’s Handsome”

Talking with your Thai friend about the handsome guy from work? You need the word เขา (khao) – “he” (also used for “she”).

Pronunciation note: The official spelling gives it a rising tone. But in everyday Thai it’s usually pronounced with a high tone เค้า (khao). You’ll often see this colloquial spelling online.

Examples:

See a handsome guy at the bar? Point and tell your friend:

Very Handsome! in Thai

Seen a really attractive guy? Add emphasis with these words:

Option 1: จัง (jang) – Really

Option 2: มาก (maak) – Very

Option 3: Super Emphasis

Example Sentences

 

Bonus: Impress Your Boyfriend

Show your love with this sweet phrase:

Conclusion – Go Tell People They are Handsome

Now you know how to say handsome in Thai! You can start telling every guy you see that they are หล่อ (lawh).

Want more Thai lessons? Try these:

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How to Say How Are You in Thai

December 22, 2020 by

“How are you?” is one of those core Thai phrases you need to know right away.  As with English there are a few different ways to ask this question in Thai language.

We’ll also go over a few different answers to these questions so that you have more than just one expression up your sleeve.

how are you in thai

เป็นยังไงบ้าง

Sabai Dee Mai ? ( สบายดีไหม) = How are you?

This is the most basic way to ask “how are you?” in Thai and the main answer you will find on the internet.  If you haven’t seen someone in a while, this is a great phrase to use, but Thai people don’t really use it as often as we say “How are you doing?” in English.

However, it is also not the BEST way to ask this question in most cases.  Thai people use a number of much more colloquial phrases when asking their friends, acquaintances and colleagues how they are doing.

Spoken Thai Tones Tip:

Thai is a tonal language and mastering the Thai tones is an important part of learning Thai.

The yes/no question marker ไหม (mai) has a RISING tone much like the intonation we use an English when we are a little skeptical of what we are hearing: REALLLY?? 

However, in real daily Thai conversation, this question marker word ends up being pronounced as มั้ย (mai) with a HIGH tone.  To say a high tone correctly, you need to start at the high end of the spectrum of your voice’s comfort zone and then slide up a tiny bit higher.

Try to click back and forth between the 2 variations and see if you can hear any difference.  Don’t be discouraged if they sound the same as your ear will probably require lots of exposure before you can distinguish them with easy.

  • ไหม (mai) with a RISING tone
    • A rising tone starts at the low end of your voice and moves across the spectrum of your voice to the top of YOUR comfort zone.
  • มั้ย (mai) with a HIGH tone
    • A high tone starts at the high end of the comfort spectrum of your voice and pops up a tiny bit higher.

The Best Ways to Ask “How are you?” in Thai (Informal)

While we have broken down the vocabulary in each phrase below, we strongly recommend that you just memorize these set phrases as Thai people use them every single day as “how’s it going?” or “what’s happening?” with their friends.

เป็นยังไงบ้าง (ppen yang-ngai baang?) – How’s it going?

Did you eat rice yet??? A Thai greeting.

You’ll often hear this phrase stacked in with a “how are you?” It literally means “Did you eat rice yet?,” but Thai people use it so often that it functions more like a greeting.  I would mark this as one of the top 5 most useful Thai sentences you will ever learn.  Check out our great post on Thai greetings for more examples of this phrase.

This Thai phrase is also used every single day and is arguably even more important than เป็นยังไงบ้าง (ppen yang-ngai baang?)  It literally means “Eat rice or not yet?”  but Thai people often use it as a show of concern for the well being of people they encounter in their daily life.

You can answer this question with either:

If you have ever spent time speaking to Thai people – you will know how much Thai people love to think and talk about food which is understandable given how delicious the food is in Thailand.  It’s a common topic of conversation and a good conversation starter so it’s often used as a greeting amongst Thais.

It’s worth learning all 3 of these phrases in the table below as you will often encounter 2 or even all 3 of them stacked together within one exchange.

Top 3 Ways to Ask “How are you?” in Thai

EnglishThaiRomanization
How are you doing? เป็นยังไงบ้างppen yang-ngai baang?
Did you eat yet? กินข้าวรึยังkkin khaao rue yang?
How are you? สบายดีมั้ยsabaai dee mai?

4 Ways to Answer “How are you?” in Thai

*Thai Grammar Note:

Even though we’ve translated the phrases below to include “I’m,” in Thai, you usually drop the pronoun so we have not included the Thai pronoun since you it’s a bit unnatural to use it in most situations where you’d say these sentences.

Just like in English, there are a number of commonly used variations that let people know that you are doing just fine (or at least that’s what you’d like them to believe!)

This is the vanilla answer to ” sa-baai dee mai / how are you?” and what you’d learn in a beginner text book or a Thai language class.

This is a soft “I’m good” and feels like when you say “I’m fine” in English and it’s ambiguous whether you mean it or not.

This comes from the “OK” you already know in English.  Sometimes people drop the “K” and just say โอ (Ohh).

While this expression is tricky for beginners to pronounce, it’s also a really great answer.  เรื่อยๆ means something that something is happening continuously so in this context, if someone asks you “How’s it going?” it would be like answer “Yeah, it’s going.”  This phrase isn’t negative, so it’s a neutral way to answer similar to “I’m doing ok.”

Need help learning the tone system or how to pronounce the tricky vowels of Thai?  Check out my online Thai program which has 4 courses to get you started at speaking and reading Thai

 

Other Common Phrases to Answer “How are you?” in Thai

It’s useful to add in a time phrase when you want to say things like “today I’m …..” or “lately I’m ….”

I'm tired today. วันนี้เหนื่อย (wan-nee nueay)
I'm very busy lately ช่วงนี้ยุ่งมาก(chuang-nee yung maak)
Lately, I'm great. ช่วงนี้ดีมาก (chuang-nee dee maak)
So-so; meh เฉยๆ (cheoy-cheoy)

 

Sample Thai Conversations for “How are you?”

Now let’s look at a few short exchanges in Thai so you can see how these phrases might come up in the wild.

Formal / Polite:

We have to include this, but it’s very stiff and we recommend using more fun phrases than these.

Example 1:

Example 2:

This is a much more colloquial and often used exchange.  The reply here can have a feeling like “yeah nothing special is happening.”

Example 3:

You aren’t always going to be feeling great and there are times when you want to tell people how you really feel.  So, here’s an example to use when you want to say you are tired in Thai.

Example 4:

In this dialogue, see how you can stack 2 of the main sentence patterns together.  This is very common in Thai greetings.

Example 5:

Remember how we said that we usually drop the pronouns?  Well, if you want to ask someone how someone else is, you’ll need to specify that person.  In this example, one person asks their friend how their mother is.  We know WHOSE mother we are talking about based on the context alone.  It is not necessary (or natural) to clarify that we are talking about their mother.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to say “how are you” in Thai (and how to answer) it’s to get out there and practice!

Enjoyed this lesson?  Sign up to our mailing list and we’ll send you plenty more high quality lessons like this one.

Filed Under: Beginner

How to Say How Much in Thai – Shopping Phrases

December 1, 2020 by

Whether you’re browsing in the street markets of Thailand or want to take a taxi to the airport, if there’s one Thai phrase that you need to know, it’s how to say “How Much” in Thai.

If you are just starting to learn Thai language then this is one of the most useful phrases to learn as you will have plenty of opportunities to practice it in real life situations every day.

Even if you don’t know the Thai numbers yet, a good way to start hearing them is by asking people how much things cost.

How to say How Much in Thai

เท่าไหร่ครับ

 

How To Say “How Much?” In Thai

The Quick Answer:

  • เท่าไร (tao rai) – how much?
    • *You can point at anything in Thailand and say “how much?” with this phrase and all kinds of fun things will start to happen.

*Thai Grammar Note: Polite Particles

Thai language has these little “words” that are called particles.  These particles don’t generally mean anything on their own, but they add the same emotional color/flavor/feeling to sentences that we do with intonation in English.  The most common of these are the gender polite particles.

  • (male speaker): เท่าไรครับ (tao rai khrap)
    • ครับ (khrap) is added to the end of sentences by males to make a sentence more polite/respectful.  In more formal situations, you’ll use it a lot, but when you are talking to people you are very close to, you’ll use it much less or not at all.
  • (female speaker): เท่าไรคะ (tao rai kha)
    • คะ (kha) is the female polite particle.

More Ways to Say How Much in Thai

This is just a longer version of of เท่าไร (tao rai) where you mention the word “price” and sounds slightly more formal.  It’s good to keep in mind that in everyday spoken Thai, phrases are often shortened so it’s not necessary to use this longer version, but ราคา (raa-kaa) is a word you’ll need to know.

If you are browsing the markets in Thailand and want to know how much a specific item costs you can point at the item and say:

You can also use เท่าไร (tao rai) when asking someone’s birthday.  You just need to put add the word อายุ (aayoo) – age – at the front.

Another common way to say “how much” in Thai uses the word กี่ (gii) which is a question word asking for quantity.  With this word, you put it in front of a classifier word to ask how many of that item/thing there are.

Other Useful Phrases with กี่ + classifier:

Again – If you want to ask about a specific item, just as you can say อันนี้เท่าไร (an nii tao rai), you can swap เท่าไร (tao rai) for กี่บาท (gii baht). Like this:

*There is no rule for when it is more appropriate to use เท่าไร (tao rai) vs กี่บาท (gii baht) as both can be used interchangeably in every situation where you want to ask “how much”.

How Much Per…

Another useful phrase that you might need to say when you’re shopping is “how much per…”. The structure for asking “how much per” is:

Or

Examples:

If you want to ask “how much per ___” just add เท่าไร or กี่บาท:

*Depending on what you are asking about, a classifier could be “per hour”, “per person”, “per kilogram” etc.

Example with เท่าไร (tao rai) at the massage shop.   If you’d like to learn more Thai massage phrases, check out How to get a Massage using Thai language.

Example with กี่บาท (gii baht) at the bus station:

How Much To Go To .. (Taking a Taxi, Tuk-Tuk or Other forms of Transportation)

If you’re using a taxi, tuk tuk even motorcycle taxi to get around then you should agree the price with the drive before you sit down.  If you agree the destination with a tuk tuk driver but don’t agree on the price, then when you arrive at your destination you may find that the driver will ask you for (or demand) an inflated price and we can tell you from personal experience that it’s not fun.  It’s always best to agree the price before you start your journey and if the price you are quoted seems like a rip-off, you can try to negotiate the price down or just walk away and find another driver.

The way to ask “how much to go to” in Thai is:

OR

Example 1 with กี่บาท :

Example 2 with เท่าไร :

How To Say Something Is Cheap Or Expensive in Thai

Although prices have increased in recent years as the Thai Baht has strengthened, there are many things that are still a bargain when compared with Western countries, particularly food and services, such as taxis.

The way to say that something is expensive in Thai is

If you are shopping for something and think that it’s too expensive, you shouldn’t use this word directly with the seller since it would come across as confrontational which is something that Thai people usually try to avoid.

To say that something is cheap in Thai you can just add the word ไม่ (mai) followed by แพง (paeng). Like this:

Useful Thai Grammar:

For example:

Another way to say that something is cheap is:

At any street food stall or local-style restaurant the price of each dish is around $1.50. Given that Thailand has some of the best street food in the world you might consider this to be good value.

How To Ask For The Bill or Check in Thai

There are a couple of different ways to ask to pay for the food you’ve just eaten, depending on the type of place you’ve just eaten at.

If you’ve just eaten at a restaurant and you want to ask the waiter or waitress to bring the bill to your table, you can say:

This sounds more on the polite side and would be used at a restaurant (rather than at a street food stall).

The more informal way to ask for the bill uses the informal word for money – ตังค์ (ttang).  ด้วย (duay) may also be dropped in an informal setting.

If you are eating at a street food stall, you often don’t need to ask for the bill to be brought to the table – you just need to walk up to the owner and pay them directly. Since you’re not asking for the bill, you can just say:

Another way of asking for the bill that you will hear is:

This comes from the English “check bill” but when translated into Thai, the “L” sound at the end of “bill” sound becomes an “N” sound.  Thai does not have an ending L or R sound.

Conclusion

Asking “how much” in Thai is definitely one of the first phrases you are going to need to know as you can use it pretty much every day whether you’re shopping for clothes, eating at a restaurant or having a coffee or a beer.  So it’s time to get out there and practice what we’ve just learned.

 

Filed Under: Beginner Tagged With:

How to Say Happy New Year in Thai

December 1, 2020 by

🎉 Happy New Year in Thai – Quick Navigation

3 Main Phrases
Bonus Phrases
Cultural Tips
Practice Tips
What’s Next?

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to improve your Thai? Maybe you’re planning to visit Thailand for the holidays?

Either way, learning to say “Happy New Year” in Thai is super useful!

🎊 Two New Year Celebrations in Thailand

Thailand actually celebrates New Year twice:

Songkran is the famous water festival. It’s based on the Buddhist calendar and is absolutely amazing to experience!

The good news? The same “Happy New Year” phrase works for both celebrations.

📅 Quick Note About Thai Years

Thailand uses the Buddhist Era calendar. This means Thai years are 543 years ahead of our calendar.

Simple math: Western year + 543 = Thai year

Example: If you were born in 2000, your Thai birth year is 2543.

happy new year in thai

แฮปปี้นิวเยียร์

3 Ways to Say Happy New Year in Thai

1. สวัสดีปีใหม่ (sawad dee ppee mai)

Most common way to say Happy New Year in Thai:

You probably know the first part already. สวัสดี (sawad dee) is the standard Thai greeting.

The second part is ปีใหม่ (ppee mai). This translates as “new year”.

Word breakdown:

This phrase works everywhere. Use it with family, friends, or strangers on the street.

Grammar Tip

In English, we use adjective + noun structure. In Thai, it’s reversed to noun + adjective.

Examples:

2. สุขสันต์วันปีใหม่ (suk san wan ppee mai)

Another way to say “Happy New Year” in Thai:

สุขสันต์ (suk san) means “happy” or “blessed”.

You can use สุขสันต์ for other celebrations too:

3. แฮปปี้นิวเยียร์ (happy new year)

The English version of Happy New Year:

This might sound weird at first. But many Thai people use the English version for other greetings too.

Thai people love using English for certain phrases. If you’re not confident with Thai pronunciation, this works perfectly!

You’ll hear this version a lot in Bangkok and tourist areas.

When to Use Each Version

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Bonus Phrases for New Year

Wishing Someone Happiness

Want to add more to your New Year wishes? Try these:

  • ขอให้มีความสุขมากๆ (not found)
    (kǒr hâi mii khwaam suk mâak mâak)
    May you have lots of happiness
  • ขอให้โชคดี (not found)
    (kǒr hâi chôok dii)
    Good luck
  • ขอให้สุขภาพแข็งแรง (not found)
    (kǒr hâi sùk-khà-phâap khǎeng raeng)
    May you have good health

Talking About Resolutions

If someone asks about your New Year resolutions:

  • ตั้งใจเรียนภาษาไทย (not found)
    (dtâng jai riian phaa-sǎa thai)
    I’m determined to learn Thai
  • อยากไปเที่ยวประเทศไทย (not found)
    (yàak bpai thîao bprà-thêet thai)
    I want to visit Thailand

Cultural Tips

Songkran (Thai New Year)

If you’re in Thailand during Songkran, expect to get soaked! This water festival is incredible fun.

Songkran basics:

  • People throw water on each other for good luck
  • It’s respectful to ask before soaking elderly people
  • Protect your phone and electronics!
  • Join in the fun – locals love when foreigners participate

New Year Traditions

Thai people often:

  • Visit temples to make merit
  • Give money to monks
  • Spend time with family
  • Share special meals together

Knowing these phrases helps you connect with Thai culture and people.

Practice Tips

  1. Start with สวัสดีปีใหม่ – It’s the most useful
  2. Practice the tones – Thai is a tonal language
  3. Use it in context – Try it with Thai friends or language partners
  4. Listen to natives – Pay attention to pronunciation in Thai media

Remember, Thai people appreciate any effort to speak their language. Don’t worry about perfect pronunciation at first.

The important thing is trying to connect and show respect for Thai culture.

สุขสันต์วันปีใหม่! (Happy New Year!)

🚀 What’s Next? Keep Learning Thai!

You’ve mastered Happy New Year phrases! Here are the perfect next steps to continue your Thai learning journey:

🎂 Birthday Wishes

Learn how to wish someone Happy Birthday in Thai with proper etiquette and cultural tips.

Learn Birthday Phrases →

🎄 Holiday Greetings

Master Merry Christmas and other holiday greetings that Thai people use year-round.

Learn Holiday Phrases →

🙏 Basic Greetings

Build your foundation with essential Thai greetings for any time of day or situation.

Master Thai Greetings →

🏆 Complete Thai Course

Ready to speak Thai confidently? Our comprehensive course covers everything from basics to advanced conversation.

Join Our Thai Course →

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