I am looking for the most popular way to say "are you there?" in an IM. I find when chatting with language exchange participants, that I need to use that a lot. Remember, I am looking for the most popular way. Meaning, if you documented how thai people said "are you there" in an instant message, it would be the one utilized the most out of all the different variations.

This is how I have been saying "are you there" in thai.

คุณอยู่หรือเปล่าครับ

Feel free to give suggestions and or other tips relating to my question as well.

P.S. I am looking to use the phrase in an IM (not in live conversation). It will be used as a way to get someone's attention when they do not respond to a language question, etc..

Additionally, I wouldn't mind knowing the most popular way to say "are you there?" in live conversation also. Like for example, if you are at a thai restaurant and you yell back some instructions to the waiter/waitress in the kitchen and they don't reply, then I would use it in that situation to say "are you there?".

I just wanted to kick this thread up so it is more likely to be seen.

If you want to say it formally you can say;

คุณอยู่นั่นหรือเปล่าครับ

คุณอยู่หรือเปล่าครับ

คุณอยู่ไหมครับ

คุณอยู่นั่นไหมครับ

But if you want to type as most Thai chatters do, so, you can say;

คุณอยู่มั้ย

คุณอยู่เหรอเปล่า

คุณอยู่ป่ะ (this is not correct language, it's teenager's slang which shorten from เปล่า, which someone might feel irritated with this typing. )

Using คุณ seems a bit formal for an IM message to me, unless it's someone you've just met. For just normal chatting with your friends in my experience people use อยู่มั้ย, อยู่ป่้าว, อยู่ป่ะ, อยู่มั้ยเอ่ย or something similar, with optional ค่ะ/ครับ.

Edited February 14, 200719 yr by mike_l

อยู่ป่้าว is the most common I have seen in an IM context. It is frightfully informal, though.

If you want to say it formally you can say;

คุณอยู่นั่นหรือเปล่าครับ

คุณอยู่หรือเปล่าครับ

คุณอยู่ไหมครับ

คุณอยู่นั่นไหมครับ

But if you want to type as most Thai chatters do, so, you can say;

คุณอยู่มั้ย

คุณอยู่เหรอเปล่า

คุณอยู่ป่ะ (this is not correct language, it's teenager's slang which shorten from เปล่า, which someone might feel irritated with this typing. )

As an alternative, for use with someone you were previously talking with you could say หายไปไหน for where have you gone. I agree that อยู่ ไหม/ป่าว/มั้ย/ป่ะ are the most common amongst Thai teenagers using IM.

I am looking for the most popular way to say "are you there?" in an IM. I find when chatting with language exchange participants, that I need to use that a lot. Remember, I am looking for the most popular way. Meaning, if you documented how thai people said "are you there" in an instant message, it would be the one utilized the most out of all the different variations.

This is how I have been saying "are you there" in thai.

คุณอยู่หรือเปล่าครับ

Feel free to give suggestions and or other tips relating to my question as well.

P.S. I am looking to use the phrase in an IM (not in live conversation). It will be used as a way to get someone's attention when they do not respond to a language question, etc..

Additionally, I wouldn't mind knowing the most popular way to say "are you there?" in live conversation also. Like for example, if you are at a thai restaurant and you yell back some instructions to the waiter/waitress in the kitchen and they don't reply, then I would use it in that situation to say "are you there?".

Is this Thaigrit? A bit like "are you asleep?" but we all say it, and I make the same remarks about the English, it depends so much on the circumstances but lets assume it is a redundant question, is the redundancy of such a question more noticeable in Thai? I put it to the linguists.

My recommendations to wake the opposite are:

อยู่ป่าว - Are you there?

เงียบ - (you are) silence

โหล ๆ - (short for hello as thais used to talk over the phone)

หายไปไหนอ่ะ - Where are you?

เหวย - Chinese way to say hello over the phone