If you’re anything like me, when it comes to travelling a new country there is nothing better than being able to enter a bar, ask for “2 beers please” in the local language and feel like an absolute boss in doing so…that is until I end up with 5 bottles of water 🤨
Learning a bit of the local lingo or at least trying, can be a huge part of people’s travel experiences! Personally I think it deepens your appreciation for the country, builds connection with the local people, and Thai people especially, think it’s adorable hearing you try and pronounce those difficult sounds!
At Feel Free Travel, connecting you with local people and experiences is something we very much believe in, so how about a few easy phases to give you a cheeky head start when you meet our local friends in Thailand. Whether it be a friendly welcome, haggling for those elephant pants or asking for the bill in a restaurant.. We’ve got you’ve covered!
Before we get started, one golden rule of the Thai language is based on keeping your sentences nice and polite and you’ll often hear the word “krap” or “ka” in a lot of conversations. Basically, the way you end a sentence/question politely will depend on entirely your gender.
Males – “Krap”
Females – “Ka”
HELLO – Sawadee krap/ka
THANK YOU – Kop khun krap/ka
HOW ARE YOU? – Saibadee mai?
YES – Chai krap/ka
NO – Mai krap/ka
CAN I HAVE THE BILL PLEASE – Check bin krap/ka
HOW MUCH? – Towry krap/ka
TOO EXPENSIVE – Paeng mak!
I DON’T WANT IT THANK YOU – Mai ow krap/ka
VERY TASTY – Aroi mak!
Time to get practicing 💪 Before you know it you’ll be cranking out the basics with this simple but useful introduction to the Thai language…remember your Feel Free Travel Group Leader and Local Tour Guides will be on hand to help you with some more handy words and phrases when you arrive!