Useful Phone Talk

[Johnniey]

Useful telephone phrases:

1. โทรหา.... [toh hăa…..]
to call… (somebody)

2. โทรศัพท์ดัง [toh-rá-sàp dang]
the phone rings

3. รับสาย [ ráp săai]
to answer a phone call

4. วางสาย/ตัดสาย [waang săai / dtàt săai]
to hang up the phone

5. วางสายใส่.... [waang săai sài….]
to hang up on ….

6. ถือสายรอ [tĕu săai ror]
to hold the line

7. โอนสาย/ต่อสาย [ohn săai / dtòr săai]
to put through

8. โทรกลับ [toh glàp]
to call back

9. โทรไม่ติด [toh mâi dtìt]
to call but fail to be connected

10. สายไม่ว่าง [săai mâi wâang]
the line is busy

11. แบตอ่อน [bàet òn]
low battery

12. แบตหมด [bàet mòt]
no battery (the phone is dead)

13. เงินหมด [ngern mòt]
to have no credit

14. เติมเงิน [dterm ngern]
to top up

15. ไม่มีสัญญาณ [mâi mee săn-yaan]
to have no reception

16. สัญญาณไม่ดี [săn-yaan mâi dee]
to have bad reception

17. โทรผิด [ toh pìt]
to call the wrong number

[PT4]

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​Very useful. Thank you, Johnniey, for posting that.

[eric67]

It would be better if you gave credit to the person you copied it from...

[Sawan Chan 7]

Very useful.Thanks a lot, wherever it came from.

[Saastrajaa]

แค่นี่นะ common way to end a phone conversation ("okay, we're done talking"...sounds abrupt in English, but it's normal in Thai and not rude at all)

[tgeezer]

I wonder where วางสายใส่ comes from, I am rather old so I still say วางหู which doesn't come from English, but I can't see สายใส่ . On the subject ถือสายรอ is also strange. I don't use the phone often but notice that English is used, ie. call > เรียก

I often get the message ไม่มีเล็ดที่คุณเรียก . 'Not have number which you call'

I like to answer with my name followed by พูด "Fred speaking" . สาย I use for a line, "ขอ สาย Fred" "Can I speak to Fred? "

Everyone knows the universal word "Hello" which was first coined by Edison I believe, at the time the technology was new and that choice which we all take for granted could have equally been some other word, The fact of "Hello" blinds me to the possibility of any other word, can anyone think of one as good?

[Saastrajaa]

I wonder where วางสายใส่ comes from, I am rather old so I still say วางหู which doesn't come from English, but I can't see สายใส่ . On the subject ถือสายรอ is also strange. I don't use the phone often but notice that English is used, ie. call > เรียก

I often get the message ไม่มีเล็ดที่คุณเรียก . 'Not have number which you call'

I like to answer with my name followed by พูด "Fred speaking" . สาย I use for a line, "ขอ สาย Fred" "Can I speak to Fred? "

Everyone knows the universal word "Hello" which was first coined by Edison I believe, at the time the technology was new and that choice which we all take for granted could have equally been some other word, The fact of "Hello" blinds me to the possibility of any other word, can anyone think of one as good?

One Thai telephone greeting which never ceases to amuse me, which I learned early on in my days in Thailand by listening to people answering their cellphones on the Skytrain, is อยู่ไหนเนี่ย? (of course, it's only said to a close friend whose number one recognizes on the screen before one starts speaking!)...there's also, of course, ว่าไง? (also only said to someone you know well)

Oh, and not to be "the spelling police" or anything, but "number" is spelled เลข

[bearpolar]

It's nice and refreshing to see someone use understandable transliterations

[tgeezer]

Saastrajaa, thanks for the spelling correction, it is useful to have mistakes pointed out in case it's not a typo.

[tgeezer]

Predictive text and spell checker is a nightmare on language sites; I am constantly frustrated when a simple job takes twice the time it should. I was entering a word in Longdoo (Longdoo produces only a red underline here!) I typed ป ร ะ จ ำ ประยำ in Longdoo, (as you can see this programme doesn't accept it either) but Longdoo actually shows the word typed then changes it as you hit 'search' , only to proudly pronounce that ประยำ doesn't exist!!

I do mean 'thanks Saastrajaa but I hardly ever point out typos now because I sympathise and assume that the poor poster has done his best. Typing ประจ is fine but meaningless, add ำ and you get ประยำ also meaningless, the mind boggles especially since if I type ประ ยำ thus > ประจำ ! magically I get the word I want.