<\/p>\n
I remember being on the plane on my very first trip to Thailand. The airline unfortunately \u2018messed up\u2019 my connecting flight. To correct for the problem they put me on a Thai Airways flight at no extra charge \u2013 for those who don\u2019t know, Thai Airways is an expensive classy airline to fly on.<\/p>\n
Let me back track my story a bit first. Before my trip I started studying a little Thai, learning all the basics so I can be a more informed tourist. At the time my Thai vocabulary consisted of a few phrases and a hundred or so words, such as \u2018sawatdee krap\u2019 meant \u2018hello\u2019, etc.<\/p>\n
Anyway I\u2019m on the Thai Airways flight and I see in front of me a magazine titled \u2018Sawasdee\u2019. Did \u2018sawasdee\u2019 have anything to do with \u2018sawatdee\u2019? What\u2019s up with that \u2018s\u2019? A typo, maybe?<\/p>\n
Many many months later, when I started learning how to read Thai, it became clear to me that it was a transliteration mistake. In the Thai spelling it is \u2018sawasdee\u2019 \u0e2a\u0e27\u0e31\u0e2a\u0e14\u0e35, but whenever an \u2018s\u2019 \u0e2a is at the end of a syllable, it makes a \u2018t\u2019 sound. The person who transliterated the word probably didn\u2019t realize this rule doesn\u2019t hold true in English (or Englit, as they say).<\/p>\n
So as a beginner you\u2019ve probably learned that \u2018sawatdee\u2019 meant hello ages ago. But it\u2019s not that simple. Sawatdee is fairly polite, and can come off weird if you say it to your close friends or relatives. But never fear! I\u2019m here to give you more options . . . or to overcomplicate it for you \u2013 depending on your fluency level . . .<\/p>\n
The simplest way to say hello is . . . wait for it . . . \u2018hello\u2019! Yes, Thai stole the word directly from English, and is most commonly used when answering the phone. It is spelled \u0e2e\u0e31\u0e25\u0e42\u0e25, but it isn\u2019t pronounced as it is spelled. The correct pronunciation is haa1-low5. Just listen to Thais answer the phone to get the correct pronunciation.<\/p>\n
To change the politeness\/formalness of \u2018sawatdee\u2019, you simply add or remove syllables. I\u2019ve listed each way by order of politeness, with 1 being the most polite and 6 the least polite. Note that the last two are rarely used, given their informality and the possibility of confusing the meaning with the word for \u2018good\u2019. Also, women should replace the word \u2018krap4\u2019 for \u2018ka3\u2019.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1 \u2013 \u0e2a\u0e27\u0e31\u0e2a\u0e14\u0e35\u0e04\u0e23\u0e31\u0e1a \u00a0sawatdee krap<\/p>\n
2 \u2013 \u0e2a\u0e27\u0e31\u0e2a\u0e14\u0e35 \u00a0sawatdee<\/p>\n
3 \u2013 \u0e2b\u0e27\u0e31\u0e2a\u0e14\u0e35\u0e04\u0e23\u0e31\u0e1a\u00a0 watdee krap\u00a0 (notice the \u0e2b in front of the word)<\/p>\n
4 \u2013 \u0e2b\u0e27\u0e31\u0e2a\u0e14\u0e35\u00a0 watdee<\/p>\n
5 \u2013 \u0e14\u0e35\u0e04\u0e23\u0e31\u0e1a\u00a0 dee krap<\/p>\n
6 \u2013 \u0e14\u0e35\u00a0 dee<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Even this however is a bit of a simplification to all the possible ways you can say Hello in Thai. There are plenty more!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So as a beginner you\u2019ve probably learned that \u2018sawatdee\u2019 meant hello ages ago. But it\u2019s not that simple. Sawatdee is fairly polite, and can come off weird if you say it to your close friends or relatives. But never fear! I\u2019m here to give you more options . . . or to overcomplicate it for…<\/p>\n