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How to Say Who in Thai – Question Words Guide

Here’s How to Say Who in Thai

“Who” is one of the first question words you should learn in Thai (or any) language because you’ll need to use this word every day starting from day 1. Below, we’ll show you a few common phrases that use the word who, we’ll also break down the spelling in Thai so you can get an idea how the Thai alphabet works.

The Thai word for Who is:

how to say who in Thai = KRAI + picture of boy covering eyes of man

ใครอ่ะ

How to Spell Who in Thai:

Even if you can’t read the Thai script yet, it might be interesting to break this Thai word down to see how it works.

The letter in the middle is an aspirated “K” sound. Aspirated just means that there will be a strong blast of air when you pronounce this Thai letter. It’s just like the K sound in “kite” “keep” or “kill.”

ค – Kh

Click on any of the following Thai words to hear this letter in action. Don’t worry about the rest of the word right now. Just listen for the first consonant K sound.

  1. คุณ (khun) – you
  2. คน (khon) – person; people
  3. ควาย (kwaai) – buffalo

The 2nd letter which is all the way to the right in this word is the Thai “R” sound. In Thai, just like in English, you’ll find that sometimes, 2 consonants can share the same vowel sound. *The Thai R (ร) is trilled, but in informal daily conversation, most people do not pronounce the full trill so don’t worry if you can’t say it perfectly yet.

ร – R (trilled)

In the word for “who,” the K and the R come together to create a คร- KR- sound. This is called a “consonant cluster” and you already know how to say it even if you’ve never heard that term before. Here are some examples of consonant clusters in English. I’ll BOLD the clustered letters to make it easier to pick them out.

  1. Crazy
  2. Brett
  3. Three

The Thai Vowel: ใอ (ai)

The symbol on the left of ใคร (krai) is the vowel. This vowel sound makes an “ai” or “eye” sound. Click on the following Thai word to hear how it’s pronounced: ใอ

Here are some basic Thai words which use the ใอ (ai) vowel:

Example Sentences with the Thai Word “Who”

How to Say “Who” in Formal and Informal Thai

Like in English, asking someone who they are should be done in a polite way to avoid sounding rude. If a Thai person asks this question they will usually add a male or female polite particle.

An informal, sometimes impolite particle can also be used depending on certain factors like your relationship with the person you are asking.

Formal Thai Phrases with Who

You should note that these polite particles don’t always sound the same when you hear them spoken in public. Often, the R (ร) in “Khrap” is dropped and it ends up being pronounced as “Khap” ( คับ).

Informal Thai Phrases with Who

The particle “na” ( นะ) can be added to the sentence to make the question sound softer. Who are you? –

This might be used in a situation where two possible love interests have bumped into each other. Na is not impolite but should not be used in very formal circumstances.

A Very Impolite Thai Particle

Lastly, the impolite particle can be used at the end of the sentence: wa ( วะ)

Imagine a man picks up the telephone of his girlfriend and another man is on the line. This might cause him to be jealous (He’s the jealous type), and so the sentence may not sound very polite at all. The man may simply ask – “Krai wa?” ( ใคร วะ) or “Krai phoud wa?” ( ใคร พูด วะ). In English this would translate as something like “Who the hell is this?” or “Who the hell is speaking?”

Be very careful with the WA ( วะ) particle. If you use it with someone you don’t know it is very aggressive and you could get yourself into trouble. Many Thai people will use it amongst their close friends so if you stick around long enough you are going to hear this particle. I don’t recommend using it until you have gotten a bit deeper into Thai language.

*In the Thai language “who” is not used in the middle of a sentence. Thais don’t say, “That’s the guy WHO teaches me English.” In Thai, it could sound more like, “That guy. He teaches me English.”

WHO in Thai is strictly a question word.

*In the Thai language “who” is not used in the middle of a sentence. Thais don’t say, “That’s the guy who teaches me English.” In Thai, it could sound more like, “That guy. He teaches me English.”

Quick Thai Script Review:

  • ค is a K sound (Aspirated which means it has a strong blast of air when like the C sound in CUT)
  • ร is a R sound (Officially a trilled R sound, but it’s not usually trilled in normal conversation)
  • ใ is a vowel that sounds like “ai” and goes on the LEFT side of the consonant it is attached to.

All together, that spells: ใคร or WHO in Thai.

Want to learn more Thai question words? Check out these lessons:


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How to Say Good Morning in Thai

Many cultures use different greetings depending on the time of day.  While Thai language has a couple phrases that are similar to “good morning,” “good afternoon,” and “good night,” Thai people do not commonly use these very much in daily life.

However, you may hear them on Thai dramas or in Thai movies, so it’s ok to learn it.  If you want to know how Thai people say good morning to each other at different times of the day, below are both the formal and informal phrases you’ll come across either in book, classes or other websites.  Be sure to read to the end as that’s where the most common phrases are.

good morning in thai

How to Say Good Morning in Thai

Formal Thai for “Good Morning” Part 1: (What Thai language books and other websites tell you to say…)

—- Examples:

  1. อรุณสวัสดิ์ (ah-roon-sa-wat) Good morning
  2. สวัสดีตอนเช้า (sa-wat-dee ttawn-chao) Good morning

*Disclaimer: We mention these phrases, because it’s the only way to rank this page high enough on Google that you will ever see it, but I will stress that Thai people don’t say these 2 phrases and neither should you.  Except, perhaps to be silly.  If you use it (especially ah-roon-sa-wat), you will probably get a laugh or a smile so there may be some value in learning these 2 Thai phrases  just to get a reaction out of people.

Google is getting better at recognizing what’s actually used as opposed to what the top websites might tell you.

google translate search of "good morning" in thai

Don’t use SA-WAT-DEE-TAWN-CHAO

Formal Thai for “Good Morning” Part 2: (What Thai people REALLY say)

—- Examples:

  1. สวัสดี ครับ/ ค่ะ (sawat-dee + khrap/kha) – Hello + (male/female polite particle)
  2. ทานข้าวรึยัง (taan khaao rue yang) – Have you eaten yet?*

* ทาน (taan) is a slightly more polite/formal word for “to eat” in Thai.  If you frequent the same restaurant or cafe, as the staff  start getting to know you, they may use this word for a time instead of กิน (kin) which also means “to eat.”   Using ทาน (taan) instead of กิน (kin) is more formal/polite and maintains a level of distance from the person being spoken to.

Informal Thai for “Good Morning” (What you should use with your friends)

  1. หวัดดี ครับ/ ค่ะ (wat-dee + khrap/kha) – Hi
  2. กินข้าวรึยัง (kin khaao rue yanng?) – Have you eaten yet?*

You’ll use *” กิน (kin) – to eat” most of the time when speaking with friends or colleagues.

Want to Know More Thai Greetings and Basic Phrases?

To learn all about the best Thai greetings to use in every situation, check out our “How to Say Hello in Thai” post.  In that post, you’ll find the 2 most useful phrases in the Thai language so don’t miss out.

Want to learn to speak and read Thai language?  Check out my Thai foundation online course here or sign up below to try some free lessons from the program.