In this post we’re going to learn how to say good night in Thai.  There are a number of ways to say good night depending on who you are speaking to and in what context.

Below, we’ve covered all the most common ways to say good night.  If you are looking to also learn how to say good morning Thai, check out this post.

กู๊ดไนท์

Before we get into all the possible phrases, in case you are just looking for a quick answer, this is the best way to say “good night” in Thai in most situations, both formal and informal.  It might sound familiar.  Read on to find out why.

กู๊ดไนท์ (guut nai) – good night

Thai language borrows many words from English and other languages and a large number of words are used all the time in daily conversation among Thai native speakers.

Formal:  Good Night in Thai

If you ask a Thai friend how to say “good night” in Thai, they are probably going to tell you this phrase so we need to get it out of the way.  However, the truth is that this is very rarely used in real conversation between Thai people so we don’t recommend using it unless you are trying to be silly.

Because being silly and making people laugh can do great things for helping you remember new words, and it might be worth a couple minutes of your time to learn.  Just keep in mind it’s not really a phrase that will occur naturally.

• ราตรีสวัสดิ์ (raa-ttrii-sa-wat) Good Night

ราตรีสวัสดิ์ (raa-ttrii-sa-wat)

It’s considered formal, but even that isn’t really completely accurate.  A Thai person isn’t likely to use this with their boss or an official.  Phrases like this (and sawatdee!)  were created from Sanskrit words in the 30s and 40s in an attempt to internationalize Thailand.  Some of them caught on (due to government promotion) while others primarily show up in Thai dramas and when translating foreign media.

It’s much more common (even in formal situations) to just use this phrase borrowed from English.  They will be pronounced using the Thai sound system so they may sound strange at first until you get accustomed to Thai pronunciation.

• กู๊ดไนท์(guut nai) – good night
  • This borrowed phrase is used very frequently by Thais to say good night in both formal and informal situations.  However, in a formal situation, you should add the appropriate polite gender particle.
    • Male Speaker: กู๊ดไนท์ครับ(guut nai khrap)
    • Female Speaker:  กู๊ดไนท์ค่ะ(guut nai kha)

*Pronunciation Notes:

Ir you haven’t yet mastered the Thai script and sound system then it may be a bit tricky to get the pronunciation right.

• กู๊ด (goot) – good (high tone)
  • To get the ending sound correct here, you can pretend the word ends with a T, but when you get to the T sound, your tongue has to stay in place until the sound dies off
• ไนท์ (nai) – night (high tone)
  • When saying this “nai” the back of your tongue will rise up a bit constricting the airflow in your throat, but it doesn’t cut the air off completely.

Informal Good Night in Thai (use with friends)

If you really want to be able to speak Thai fluently, then it’s a good idea to get into the habit of copying what native Thai speakers say rather than translating a set phrase from your native language which may sound strange in Thai.

Here are some phrases for “good night” that Thai people actually use with their friends and family.

And remember, if this seems too complicated, you can always just go with: กู๊ดไนท์(guut nai) – good night

• ฝันดีนะ (fan dii na) – Sweet dreams
  • ฝัน (fan) – dreams
  • ดี (dii) – good
  • นะ (na) – a particle that can be added to the end of a sentence to as a softener.

ฝันดีนะ (fan dii na) is a widely used way to say “good night” in Thai and can be used amongst family members, couples and friends alike (although it’s not very common amongst straight male friends as it sounds a bit on the sweet side).

There are also some common ways to say “good night” in Thai which have come from English including the . Let’s have a look.

กู๊ดไนท์ สวีทดรีม

• กู๊ดไนท์ (guud nai) – good night
• ไนท์ (nai) –  night (short for “good night” just like in English)
• ไนท์ๆ (nai nai) – night night
  • ไนท์ๆ feels more intimate than กู๊ดไนท์ and can be used with children or a partner.

Thai Vocabulary Related to Sleeping:

Here’s a few additional Thai words you might want to know.

Enjoyed this post?  Consider checking out our full learn Thai language program which covers all the core skills you need to start speaking and reading Thai.   Sign up below and you’ll receive some free lessons from our online courses.

One of the most important phrases you’ll need to know when you’re meeting new people is asking their name.  Below we will break down everything you need to know about how to say “What’s your name?” in Thai.

How you (should) speak to people in Thai will often depend on a few factors such as your age in relation to theirs, the situation or the person’s status so we’ll cover both the formal/polite and informal sentences you can use when speaking with Thai people.

You can learn the basics of the Thai alphabet and sounds in 10-20 hours study and master it within a couple months of very part-time study.  If you put in an at least an hour a day, you can learn it a lot faster, but finding your own ideal pace is a big part of learning a new skill.

ชื่อ อะไร

Formal/Polite: How to Say “What is your name?” in Thai

First let’s take a look at the formal way to say ‘what is your name’ in Thai. Thai people might use this in a setting when they are speaking with older people or people who are higher in the social or work hierarchy.  This could be used in the context of a business meeting, for example. 

The structure of ‘what is your name’ in Thai looks like this:

• (Pronoun) + ชื่อ [cheu] + อะไร [ah-rai] + (polite particle)

Example:

• คุณชื่ออะไร (khun cheu ah-rai) – What is your name?
  • คุณ – you (polite)
  • ชื่อ – name
  • อะไร – what

Often when we speak to a person in Thai that we don’t know, someone older or someone who has some level of status, we’ll add on the polite gender based particles:  ครับ Khrap (male) and ค่ะ Kha (females).

• • คุณชื่ออะไร + ครับ (khun cheu ah-rai + khrap) – What is your name? (male speaker)
  • คุณชื่ออะไร + ค่ะ (khun cheu ah-rai + kha) – What is your name? (female speaker)

If you are in a formal setting or a situation where you don’t know who you are speaking with yet, such as on the phone, at the immigration office, at a bank or business meeting, it’s probably best to use this formal version of “what is your name?” in Thai.  But for normal social settings, you can use the informal version of ‘what is your name’ which we cover later in this article.

Formal: How to Say ‘My Name is…’

If you are in a formal setting, it is possible that you will be asked the formal version of ‘what is your name’ so it’s important to learn the formal response of ‘my name is…’

The structure of “my name is…” in Thai looks like this:

Male Speaker:

• ผมชื่อ ____  ครับ – My name is ____
  • ผม (phom) – I; me (male pronoun)
  • ชื่อ (chue) – name
  • ครับ (khrap) – polite male particle

Female Speaker:

• ฉันชื่อ ____  ค่ะ – My name is ____ (female)
  • ฉัน (chan) – I; me (female pronoun)
  • ค่ะ (kha) – polite female particle

Sample Dialogue 1: 

• Thai Female:
  • คุณชื่ออะไรคะ – What is your name?  (polite + female speaker)
• John:
  • ผมชื่อจอห์นครับ – My name is John (polite+ male speaker)

Sample Dialogue 2: 

• Thai Male:
  • คุณชื่ออะไรครับ – What is your name? (polite + male speaker)
• Sarah:
  • ฉันชื่อซาร่าห์ค่ะ (chan cheu Sarah kha) – My name is Sarah (polite + female speaker)

Bonus Tips:

*When we say “formal” or “polite,” it’s hard to define every possible situation you might encounter, but here are a few good ground rules to follow:

1.  You would never use “ คุณ (khun) – you” with children and very rarely with people much younger than you.  This word has a feeling similar to “Mr” or “Mrs” in Thai so while it’s not likely anyone will correct you, it will sound very strange.
2. It’s not IMPOLITE to drop pronouns, so if you aren’t sure which pronoun to use (or if you should use one) it’s always ok to drop them.  Just use the polite gender particle ครับ / ค่ะ (khrap/kha) and you will still be speaking politely.

Thai Vocabulary Flashcards

Now that we’ve looked at a few phrases, why don’t you spend 2 or 3 minutes drilling the key Thai words in this lesson?  It’ll make it easier for you to understand the sentences in the rest of this post.

• คุณ

  คุณ
  คุณ
  you(khun)

  
• พี่

  พี่
  พี่
  older-sibling(pii)

  
• น้อง

  น้อง
  น้อง
  younger-sibling(nawng)

  
• ผม

  ผม
  ผม
  I(phom) *male

  
• ฉัน

  ฉัน
  ฉัน
  I(chan) *female

  
• ถาม

  ถาม
  ถาม
  ask(thaam)

  
• ชื่อ

  ชื่อ
  ชื่อ
  name(chue)

  
• อะไร

  อะไร
  อะไร
  what(ah-rai)

  

• All Done!

  Reset

Informal: How to Ask “What is your name?” in Thai

Part of crafting the most natural sentence in Thai language is knowing whether to use a pronoun at all and in situations where they are appropriate, deciding which one to use.

As we’ve seen above, even in formal setting you can drop the pronoun คุณ (khun) entirely and just make sure to add the polite gender-based particle ครับ/ ค่ะ (khrap/kha).

In some social settings you can may hear or want to use to use an informal pronoun.

Thai speakers will often use พี่ (pii) ‘older brother/sister’ and น้อง (nong) ‘younger brother/sister’ when speaking with close friends, acquaintances, siblings and strangers alike.  It is even common for Thai speakers to call their spouse or partner พี่ (pii) or น้อง (nong).

Sample Informal Situation:

You eat at a restaurant or a cafe a number of times and start to get to know one or more of the staff at the shop and you’d like to ask their name*.  Since you are a customer, they may use the polite word for “you,” คุณ (khun) + your name to address you.  If they are clearly younger than you, you can refer to them as น้อง (nawng) which means “younger sibling.”

• ขอถามชื่อหน่อย (+ ครับ / ค่ะ) – (khaw thaam chue noi + khrap/kha) – May (I) ask your name (+ polite particle) ?
  • ขอ …. หน่อย (khaw …. noi) – Can I please have ….. ?**
  • ถาม (thaam) – to ask
  • ชื่อ (chue) – name

* In most cases, when you ask a Thai person their name, they will give you their nickname.  Thai names tend to be quite long and are rarely used informally.

**Check out our posts on ordering beer or coffee to learn more about this very important sentence pattern.

Choosing the Right Thai Pronoun:

Thai has a lot of pronouns and I don’t recommend trying to learn them all at once.  The easy answer in all situations is to use คุณ (khun) which is the polite way to say “you” in Thai.  However, it’s rarely the best or most natural answer.   Thai culture has a built-in friendliness/closeness within a status-based hierarchy.

The pronoun you use is at least partially determined by your age in relation to the other person.  So your friend who is 1 week older than you is your พี่ (pii).  If you had a twin brother/sister that was born 5 minutes before you, they are also your พี่ (pii) as they are a bit older.  You can use this word up to approximately the age of your parents.

Although these terms are somewhat informal (a student wouldn’t refer to their teacher as พี่ (pii) for example), it is still perfectly polite and respectful to use these terms in most every day social situations as it displays a level of friendliness and familiarity which is a natural part of Thai culture.

Sample Informal Situation:

You shop at a market, or a food stall you can use these terms if the food seller is considerably older than you.  There isn’t a set age difference, but think in terms of your parent’s age.  If you are 25-35 and the food seller is 50 or 70, you should use the terms for “aunt” or “uncle” in Thai.

In these situations, can just refer to them as “aunt” or “uncle,” and it isn’t necessary or unfriendly to not ask their name.

• ป้า (ppaa) auntie
• ลุง ​(loong) uncle

Go Practice Speaking Thai:

Now that you know how to ask ‘what is your name?’ in Thai for almost every situation you will find yourself in, it’s time to get out there and start making some friends. You will be sure to impress your new found Thai friends and make a great first impression.  Looking for more basic Thai language content?  I’d recommend learning all the different ways to greet people in Thai with this post on saying hello.   Looking for Thai language tutors?  Check out iTalki.

Or maybe you are looking to get conversational or fluent in Thai?  If so, check out my Thai core skills program: the Learn Thai Inner Circle

*While we have added transliteration (and AUDIO!) to the Thai words and phrases in the above Thai lesson, if you would like to be able to speak Thai conversationally (or fluently!) at some point, we strongly recommend that you learn to read the Thai script.   It can appear intimidating, but being able to separate the sounds of Thai from English (and/or your own native language) will make going deep into Thai language much easier.