How to Say "Hello" in Thai

To say hello in Thai, say สวัสดี (sà-wàt-dii). Men add ครับ (khráp) and women add ค่ะ (khâ), giving สวัสดีครับ or สวัสดีค่ะ. It is the one greeting you truly need — it works at any time of day, and the very same word also means "goodbye."

That single word will open almost every conversation you have in Thailand. But there's a little texture worth knowing, and getting it right is one of the warmest first impressions you can make.

One word for the whole day

English splits its greetings by the clock — good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Thai mostly doesn't bother. สวัสดี covers all of them, and it covers hello and goodbye besides. There are formal time-specific greetings (อรุณสวัสดิ์, à-run-sà-wàt, for "good morning"), but you will almost never hear them spoken; they live on greeting cards and in news broadcasts. As a learner, สวัสดี is all you need to carry.

The politeness particles: ครับ and ค่ะ

Thai adds a small word to the end of a sentence to mark courtesy, and it changes with the speaker's gender, not the listener's. Men say ครับ (khráp); women say ค่ะ (khâ). So a man greets with สวัสดีครับ and a woman with สวัสดีค่ะ — even when greeting the same person. These are the same particles you'll meet everywhere in polite Thai, including in our guide to saying thank you in Thai. Skipping them isn't wrong, exactly, but it lands as curt — the difference between a nodded "hey" and a genuine "hello."

The wai

A greeting in Thailand is often paired with a wai — palms pressed together at the chest, with a small bow of the head. As a foreigner you're never obliged to start one, and you shouldn't wai shop staff or children. But when someone offers you a wai, returning it with a quiet สวัสดีครับ or สวัสดีค่ะ reads as respectful, and it's a lovely habit to fall into.

Beyond hello

Once สวัสดี is automatic, two more phrases carry you a long way. สบายดีไหม (sà-baai-dii mǎi) is "how are you?" — literally "are you well?" — and the natural reply is สบายดี (sà-baai-dii), "I'm fine." Meeting someone for the first time, you can add ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก (yin-dii thîi dâai rúu-jàk), "nice to meet you." And don't be surprised if a friendly local greets you with ไปไหน ("where are you going?") or กินข้าวหรือยัง ("have you eaten yet?") — these aren't nosy questions, they're the Thai equivalent of "how's it going," and a vague, smiling answer is all that's expected.

The mistake to avoid

The slip we hear most often isn't the word itself — it's the tones flattening out. สวัสดี starts low and only the final ดี is mid-pitch; many beginners chirp it up into a bright, even "sa-wa-DEE," which a Thai ear clocks instantly even while understanding you perfectly. Tones carry meaning in Thai the way vowels do in English, which is exactly why hearing them beats reading rules about them — and why the Paiboon tone marks above each card are there to guide you.

Study the deck at the top of the page in both directions — recognising สวัสดี when you read it, and recalling it when you see "hello" — and within a few days the greeting and its particle will come out without a thought. It's a tiny phrase that buys an enormous amount of goodwill.