If you visit Thailand for the first time, you must be curious about how to say ‘hello’ in Thai and how to greet Thai people.
Do Thais shake hands like Americans, kiss on cheeks like the French, or rub noses together like Eskimos? Â
This post will guide you on how to greet like a local Thai as well as how to say ‘hello’Â in a proper manner in different situations
Table of Contents
"Hello" in Thai
The word for ‘hello’ in Thai is āļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļĩ (sà -wà t-dii), which literally means peace, goodness, and beauty according to Sanskrit.
One interesting thing is that this ‘āļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļĩ (sà -wà t-dii) phrase was officially announced to use commonly by Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram in 1943 (less than 100 years ago)
Use the magic word-polite ending words
 Thai people mostly say ‘sawaddii’ with polite particles: āļāđāļ° kà and āļāļĢāļąāļ krÃĄb
Each particle is used in different situations:
- kà āļāđāļ° is used by a female speaker
- krab āļāļĢāļąāļ is used by a male speaker
Many foreigners misunderstand that it’s about who you are talking to, which is wrong. It only matters about the gender of the speaker.
- Use āļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļĩāļāđāļ° sawaddii kà , if you are a lady
- Use āļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļĩāļāļĢāļąāļ sawaddii krab if you are a man
When to say "sà -wà t-dii " in Thai?
â As a greeting word when meeting someone. It is the most common way to greet at any time of the day.
â As a ‘goodbye’ at the end of a conversation and a phone call, sawaddii (āļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļĩ) could be used as ‘goodbye’ in a polite and formal way (not commonly used with friends
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Alternative Phrases to greet in Thai
"Good morning!" in Thai
Honestly, we normally use ‘sawaddii’ at any time of the day. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in the morning, afternoon, or evening, you can always use ‘sawaddii’ to greet.
However, there are still some phrases that are quite commo, suchn as ‘Good morning or Goodnight’. Please take a look at the phrases below:
- āļāļĢāļļāļāļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļīāđ /a-run sawad/
= Good morning (used in a writing term) - āļĢāļēāļāļĢāļĩāļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļīāđ /raa-dtrii-sawad/
= Good night. It is commonly used as a goodbye before going to bed rather than to greet.
Please note that Thai people do not say ‘Good afternoon or Good evening’ in a modern age anymore.
Casual Phrases to greet in Thai
If you want to level up your Thai a bit and want to know other cool phrases or slang that Thai people use to greet each other, please take a look at the phrases below with examples to use them properly.
- āļŦāļ§āļąāļāļāļĩ /wad-dii/
= Hi!
It’s a very casual way of sawaddii as it’s shortened. Again, you can use with particle ka and krab- āļŦāļ§āļąāļāļāļĩāļāđāļ° /wad-dii ka/
- āļŦāļ§āļąāļāļāļĩāļāļĢāļąāļ /wad-dii krab/
- āļ§āđāļēāđāļ /wÃĄa-ngai/
= What’s up? - āļŠāļāļēāļĒāļāļĩāđāļŦāļĄ /sa-bai-dii mai/
= How are you? - āđāļāđāļāļāļĒāđāļēāļāđāļĢāļāđāļēāļ /bpen yà ang-rai bÃĄang/
= How is it going?
You use this phrase when you have not met this person for a while - āđāļāđāļāđāļāļāđāļēāļ /bpen ngai bÃĄang/
= How is it going? (shortened version) - āļāļīāļāļāđāļēāļ§āļŦāļĢāļ·āļāļĒāļąāļ /gin-khao rue-yang/
= Have you eaten yet? - Honestly, you will hear this all the time, especially with a Thai family. My mom always asks me this question twice a day.
Thai gesture to greet
It is a big NO to hug or kiss Thai people when meeting for the first time (or anytime).Â
You might make us feel uncomfortable; instead, we ‘wai’āđāļŦāļ§āđ (putting palms together) as we normally greet.
It is because Thai society is based on Buddhism; being humble and respecting seniority are some of the main values of Thai society. There are 3 levels of traditional ‘āđāļŦāļ§āđ wÃĒi’ regarding 3 levels of age and social status:
To pay respect to Buddha, monks, or sacred places
You would put your palms together. Your thumps are in between your eyebrows and you should bend forward.
To pay respect to a senior, boss, your parents, teachers or anyone older than you
You would put your palms together. Your thumps are at the tip of your nose, and you should bend forward.
To pay respect to your colleagues or anyone who is a bit older than you.
You would put your palms together. Your thumps are positioned at your chin level, and you should bend a bit forward.
In the present day, wai still exists and is quite common in Thai society even though the 3 levels are sometimes mixed up. You can still see news reporters do the ‘wai’ while saying ‘sawaddii’ at the beginning and the end of the TV program.
To greet your friends or someone who is younger than you
If you’re comfortable calling someone a friend and they are at a similar age, you can wai at the chest level or don’t even have to the ‘wai’ anymore when greeting people nowadays. You can just say ‘sawaddii’ or ‘waddii’ with a nice smile. That’s already enough. Your friends might feel uncomfortable if you ‘wai’ them.Â
Summary
It’s quite simple to properly greet Thai people. Put a big smile on your face while saying ‘sawaddii’ in; you can use this word at any time of the day.Â
Avoid kissing or hugging people for the first time, especially Thai seniors, who tend to be more conservative. Instead, I recommend performing the “wai,” a traditional Thai greeting.Â
However, if you meet Thai individuals who are less conservative or who live in more international communities, such as those in Bangkok or who have studied abroad, this may be an exception.Â
For example, when I brought many foreign friends to my hometown to meet my family, my mom greeted them with a wai and a smile instead of hugging, while my dad was a bit more open to shaking hands.
