Thai Greetings

[HalfSquat 9]

So we all know sabai dee mai but what are other things you can say to a Thai when you see them, perhaps in a lift, or at a shop?

In England you might say, 'alirght?', 'nice weather', 'what are you up to', 'been busy' - are there Thai equivalents it is appropriate to say to a stranger?

Also what about good byes: pop gan mai or pop gan prungi are good but is there anything else like 'take care' or 'be lucky'.

After some easy phrases to get used to speaking Thai more often with my limited Thai aquantainces.

Thanks!

[languageexpress 0]

Other things you can greet Thai people when you see them can be;

Pai nai ma? : Where have you been?

Pai nai? : Where are you going?

or

Gin kao rue yang? : Have you eaten?

Try to use it!

[dvc 0]

Other things you can greet Thai people when you see them can be;

Pai nai ma? : Where have you been?

Pai nai? : Where are you going?

or

Gin kao rue yang? : Have you eaten?

Try to use it!

(yawn) uninspired.

[painai2 13]

Other things you can greet Thai people when you see them can be;

Pai nai ma? : Where have you been?

Pai nai? : Where are you going?

or

Gin kao rue yang? : Have you eaten?

Try to use it!

(yawn) uninspired.

It may be uninspired, but pai nai ma or pai nai is what you ALWAYS hear. Same as "How are you?" for English.

[unblocktheplanet 1274]

Other things you can greet Thai people when you see them can be;

Pai nai ma? : Where have you been?

Pai nai? : Where are you going?

or

Gin kao rue yang? : Have you eaten?

Try to use it!

(yawn) uninspired.

It may be uninspired, but pai nai ma or pai nai is what you ALWAYS hear. Same as "How are you?" for English.

Bpen yang ngai? Bpen yang ngai bang? is more informal for people you’ve met before.

[krading 52]

Other things you can greet Thai people when you see them can be;

Pai nai ma? : Where have you been?

Pai nai? : Where are you going?

or

Gin kao rue yang? : Have you eaten?

Try to use it!

(yawn) uninspired.

It may be uninspired, but pai nai ma or pai nai is what you ALWAYS hear. Same as "How are you?" for English.

Bpen yang ngai? Bpen yang ngai bang? is more informal for people you've met before.

and the OP-er might like to know what sort of responses one would give or expect in reply to these greetings.

[tgeezer 917]

Other things you can greet Thai people when you see them can be;

Pai nai ma? : Where have you been?

Pai nai? : Where are you going?

or

Gin kao rue yang? : Have you eaten?

Try to use it!

(yawn) uninspired.

I can imagine a Thai speaker saying the same about 'how are you? ', 'are you well? Hello (yawn) uninspired.

How is the inspirational 'Howsit hangin man?' said in Thai?

สวัสดีครับ is the standard uninspired greeting, I say it to the same people every Monday and Thursday when I meet them for golf, that is eleven times for group and caddies and a few more for anyone else I meet on the practise green or tees. There is no need for novelty, it is a greeting.

[yvanlu 5]

Other things you can greet Thai people when you see them can be;

Pai nai ma? : Where have you been?

Pai nai? : Where are you going?

or

Gin kao rue yang? : Have you eaten?

Try to use it!

I think these greetings are only used familiarly between friends.

[languageexpress 0]

I would say yeahhh it uninspired... but I guess you are talking about general Thai that you can use.

But those are what people really say. Thai might not have fancy greetings as I see no fancy greeting in English either..

@yvanlu Yes, It's for friends or some friends whom you have not met for a long time.

In Thailand, there are levels of language. If you want to say it with your teachers or older people, in that case you can add 'kha' or 'krab' at the end of each sentences.

Hope you all enjoy learning Thai

Edited February 14, 2011 by languageexpress

[Tod Daniels 350]

Don't forget that the current thai greeting they use now was BEFORE someone (in an official capacity at the time) changed it thai to สวัสดี. I think it actually comes from Sanskrit or Pali and is not even a real "thai" word at all!

A LONG time ago people used to ask; อาบน้ำหรือยัง (Have you bathed or not?). About 35+ years ago up-country it was the STANDARD greeting in thai and after that it was the other one (still used today!); กินข้าวหรือยัง (Have you eaten?).

As I am TOO lazy to jump a link 2 u: research where and WHEN the now standard greeting came into effect! I think it was 1935-1938 (maybe earlier/later I dunno).

Up-country, with OLD people (60+) they'll ask if you've bathed or eaten, more times than not.

Sadly I cannot contribute more to this thai greetings thread. Mostly because I rarely exchange pleasantries with anyone; thais, foreigners, or who ever they are!

Still I thought this post might have some marginal value; then again, (in retrospect) MAYBE not. ..

Edited February 14, 2011 by tod-daniels

[tgeezer 917]

Sadly I cannot contribute more to this “thai greetings” thread. Mostly because I rarely exchange ‘pleasantries’ with anyone; thais, foreigners, or who ever they are!

Still I thought this post might have some marginal value; then again, (in retrospect) MAYBE not. ..

I am amazed that you seldom exchange pleasantries with anyone, yet I thought I remember you saying that you regularly sit outside your place and chat with people. You must be mixing in a very odd group of people if no greetings are exchanged.

[Rikker 25]

This is off topic, but as a long-time forum user I just wanted to say it's been really refreshing to see Language Express actively participating in discussions and giving tips about the language. This is exactly the sort of thing that will earn them goodwill and a good reputation among the expat community. Kudos.

[HalfSquat 9]

Thanks for the interesting replies.

Not looking for anything ground breaking, I don't really know any Thais so it would just be used on people I encounter in the shop or the guards etc

Wouldn't it be a bit odd to ask someone behind a counter where they have been?

[violet 0]

Thanks for the interesting replies.

Not looking for anything ground breaking, I don't really know any Thais so it would just be used on people I encounter in the shop or the guards etc

Wouldn't it be a bit odd to ask someone behind a counter where they have been?

By Tgeezer

Yes it would be odd. You are not going to wai a guard or shop assistant except in reply, so wait for them to initiate the greeting. If they don't, then no action is required on your part, apart from a smile when a response is assured, however they respond; smile, wai, speak, ; just reciprocate.

[dean999 195]

My wife always says Choc dee when saying goodbye to friends or Jur gun = See you.

[Tod Daniels 350]

I am amazed that you seldom exchange pleasantries with anyone, yet I thought I remember you saying that you regularly sit outside your place and chat with people. You must be mixing in a very odd group of people if no greetings are exchanged.

You caught me out on that!!

YES, I do routinely sit outside my gate and imbibe in various spirits with my thai friends , but. .. Most of the pleasantries, which a person might say to a thai in passing them day to day have been weeded out a long time ago.

Other than asking when I show up at the table; “what’s going on?” เป็นยังไงบ้าง often shortened to just a ไงบ้าง, or “drunk yet?” เมารึยัง. There’re not a lot of the day-2-day run-o-the-mill pleasantries being exchanged which I believe is more what the O/P is looking for rather than the old stand bys.

Now granted both of the above phrases do fall under the "polite pleasantry" category, so I stand humbly erected!

I guess what I should have said was, other than nod in acknowledgment to the thais I see every day as I walk hither and yon, I don't engage them too much in conversation.

As far as a farewell, I've always found using เจอกันวันหน้า works best if I'm not sure I'll see them tomorrow. Thais use the word construct วันหน้า to mean an unspecified day in the future. It could be tomorrow or it might be several days as the word หน้า only denotes sometime in the future (forward in time).

Of course after a hard nite at the table; solving the world’s problems, ogling pretty women who pass by and the normal political, sports, etc conversations, a ขับรถดี ๆ or "drive very good" at least eases my mind as they climb onto their motorbikes to make the slog to their homes, half or sometimes fully in their cups.

Perhaps I’m not the best contributor for this thread. Sorry about that . ..

Sorry I make the thai font so big I can't read it if I don't, age and all..

Edited February 24, 2011 by tod-daniels