Step 3 of 7
Polite Speech
How to use ครับ and ค่ะ, and how to say “please give me…” and “please do…”.
End sentences with ครับ or ค่ะ
In Thai, a single word at the end of a sentence makes it polite. Male speakers use ครับpolite sentence ending (male speakers) (khráp) and female speakers use ค่ะpolite sentence ending (female speakers) (khâ). When a woman asks a question, it becomes คะ (khá), with a high tone.
| Plain | Polite (male speaker) | Polite (female speaker) |
|---|---|---|
| สวัสดีhello | สวัสดีครับ | สวัสดีค่ะ |
| ขอบคุณthank you | ขอบคุณครับ | ขอบคุณค่ะ |
| เท่าไหร่How much is it? | เท่าไหร่ครับ | เท่าไหร่คะ |
ครับ or ค่ะ on its own can also mean “yes.”
“I” depends on the speaker
Men say ผมI (male speaker) (phǒm) and women say ฉันI (female speaker) (chǎn). “You” is คุณyou (khun). People also often address someone older as พี่older sibling; older person and someone younger as น้องyounger sibling; younger person.
“Please give me…”: ขอ + item + หน่อย
ขอ (khɔ̌ɔ) means “may I have.” Adding หน่อย (nɔ̀i, “a little”) after it softens the request.
“Please do…”: verb + หน่อย or ด้วย
To ask someone to do something, put หน่อย or ด้วย (dûai) after the verb.
Quick quiz
Check this page with 5 questions. Choose an answer to see the result and explanation right away.
Q1How does a man say “thank you” politely?
Men end the sentence with ครับ (khráp). ค่ะ and คะ are used by women.
Q2How does a woman politely ask “how much is it?”
Women use high-tone คะ (khá) in questions, and ค่ะ (khâ) in statements and replies.
Q3Which word for “I” does a woman use?
Women say ฉัน (chǎn) and men say ผม (phǒm). คุณ means “you.”
Q4Which means “may I have the menu?”
The order is ขอ + item + หน่อย. หน่อย softens the request.
Q5Which means “please speak slowly”?
To ask someone to do something, put หน่อย after the verb. ขอ + verb means “let me do it.”