Thai Phrases - Shopping (Part 1)

Knowing what you want to buy is one thing, getting what you want is something else. It's more fun when you're familiar with a few Thai phrases while shopping at the local store.

By speaking a few words, you're also more likely to get the right items at a good price.

Here are some phrases that can guide you while shopping in Thailand.

mee.................mai?

Do you have..................?

[Pronounce mee like 'me' with a long vowel and mai like the first syllable in the word 'mi-cro-phone']

Kap And Kaa

In order to be polite when speaking Thai simply add the word kap, for male speakers, or kaa, for female speakers at the end of the sentence. The correct pronunciation of kap is krap but most Thais leave the r silent.

For example, if you go to a convenient store in a small village to buy soda water. You can ask the vendor the following question.

Mee......soda......mai kaa/kap?

Do you have soda water?

Mee = to have

Mai when used at the end of a sentence forms a question

Note: Soda, as well as many other foreign words are used in the Thai language. However, they are generally pronounced with a Thai accent.

It may take you some time to understand what they're trying to say. Other examples are taxi, jeans, steak and hamburger.

Common replies from vendors will be either:

Mee = have or

Mai mee = don't have (not have)

Note: mai means not when put in front of another word.

Pronounce this word the way you say 'my'.

To ask about the price, just say:

Tao rai?

How much?

Pronounce tao like the first syllable in 'tow-el' and rai like 'rye'

If the vendor doesn't know any English at all, he or she might use hand gestures or write the price down on a piece of paper.

Now, when you're happy with the price, use the following phrase while pointing to the item that you want to buy.

Ao un nee = take this one

Un is pronounced like the first syllable in un-der.

Another useful word is thank you.

Khob khun kaa = thank you (female speakers)

Khob khun kap = thank you (male speakers)

Pronounce khob like 'cob' and khun like the last syllable in ra-coon, but with a shorter sound.

Pronouncing these words might be difficult at first, since Thai is a tonal language. It gets easier though once you've spent some time in Thailand.

Practice makes perfect!

Here's the link to Thai Phrases Shopping (Part 2)...

Suggested Reading: Thai Greetings Thai Language Barriers

Feel free to share your experiences with me!
Email me at info@thailandbreeze.com