The time has come to explore your favorite topic. To all of you mighty beer drinkers (I know you are out there) listen up because this entry is made specifically for you to help you maximize your potential in Thai beer-drinking professional.
1. Ask your friends out for a beer.
You’ll want to say “Let’s go drink beer” = /pay kin Beer kan!/ Where:
- ไป /pay/ = to go
- กินเบียร์ /kin beer/ = drink beer casually
- กัน /kan/ =when at the end of the sentence it means let’s go
Note: ดื่ม “deum” is also sometimes used to say “drink.”
2. How to pronounce Thai beer correctly.
Singha เบียร์สิงห์
No one says SingHA! The only correct way to pronounce this beer brand is to simply say “Sing” and to cut out the “ha.” Simple.
Chang เบียร์ช้าง
Second is the matter of Chang Beer. It is not pronounced “Cheng,” but rather “CHAAANG.” Bring out that “a” sound down and then up again to a cosmic level for the best results.
Leo เบียร์ลีโอ
Next is Leo Beer. This one is easy; instead of pronouncing it how it is spelled, just switch the “e” for an “i” and pronounce it “LII – OOO.”
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3. How to order drinks in Thai.
First off, you have to learn the units of beer or classifiers of beer.
- Perhaps a glass of beer? In Thai “glass” = “kaew” แก้ว
- Perhaps a bottle of beer? So “bottle” = “khuad” ขวด
Now let’s get to the fun part.
“ขอ khoor + Beer + amount + unit”
- “I would like to have 3 bottles of beer.” = “chan khoor beer sam khuad.”
- “I would like to have two glasses of Singha beer.” = “chan khoor beer Singha soorng kaew.”
Just a tip. If you hadn’t noticed already Thailand is pretty hot, so you will sometimes see beer being served with ice!
Horrendous you might think. In order to prevent this catastrophe from happening, all you have to do is say: “I don’t want ice.” = “may aw naam-khaeng.” ไม่เอาน้ำแข็ง
4. How to say “Cheers!” in Thai
There are several ways to call out cheers in Thai language, as it has also adopted several foreign words such as “cheers” itself or “kampai”, but the original Thai way to say cheers is:
- “Chon – kaew!” ชนแก้ว which literally means hitting glasses!
Alternatively, you can say:
- “Chai- yooo.” ไซโย in which it is a word used when celebrating and it is similar to ‘cheers’ in English.
There is honestly no limit to the number of o’s you want to put there as it mostly progresses with the number of beers you’ve had.
5. “Bottoms up” in Thai
There is an additional phrase people often say: “Mhod Kaew!” หมดแก้ว
More so than “cheers”, the meaning more aptly translates to “bottoms up”, however, it is often simply used in the same way.
And there it is, you are 100% initiated into the amazing world of thai beer drinking. Now get out there and drink like there is no tomorrow. Just kidding, be sure to:
เมาไม่ขับ “Mao may Khab.”
= NO DRUNK DRIVING!
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Drinking beer is a great way to socialize with friends, colleagues, and even strangers and locals.
As it is a common and enjoyable recreational activity, it is also one that can greatly help you exercise your skills in Thai. We, therefore, invite you to head out tonight to your favorite beer place in town, order and drink like a pro, because now you are one.
