Thai Phrases - Excuse Me

Kho literally means "can I have?" while thot means faults or mistakes. We say kho thot when we have made a mistake. It means "I'm sorry" or "I apologize."

Here are some situations where we use kho thot; when we accidentally step or spill on someone.

If the person is reasonable, she will accept your apology. The most common response to kho thot is mai pen rai, which means it doesn't matter, never mind or don't worry about it. Note that never mind, in this sense, has a positive connotation.

Here to listen to the phrases in this article:



When Thais say kho thot to someone who's older or has a higher position in society, they also make a respectful gesture called wai, by putting the palms together, in front of the chest, while bowing a little bit.

Excuse Me Kho Thot

Kho thot can also be used as "excuse me". For instance, when you interrupt a conversation or want to get someone's attention, before asking a question.

Kha And Krap

To be more polite, just put kha or krap at the end of any phrase or sentence. Kha is used by female speakers while krap is for male speakers. Here are two examples, kho thot kha and mai pen rai krap.

It's good to know, that a lot of Thais don't pronounce "r" clearly. Most of the time, "r" is either silent or pronounced as "l". For example, krap is pronounced as kap while mai pen rai becomes mai pen lai.

Practice these phrases and you'll see that Thais are very forgiving...