English

Thank you, excuse me and "please"

Thank you is easy: ขอบคุณ (khopkhun), boosted with มาก — mak, "very much". For example: “ขอ น้ำ ครับ” — Water, please (a man says it). A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

How it works

Thank you is easy: ขอบคุณ (khopkhun), boosted with มาก (мак) — mak, "very much".

"Please" is trickier. The word กรุณา (karuna) lives on signs, in announcements and in loudspeaker speech — nobody says it in a cafe. A request is built with the verb ขอ (kho, "I ask for, I will take"). Add a polite particle at the end: ขอ น้ำ ครับ (кхо нам кхрап) — water, please.

There is no separate "don't mention it" at all: Thais smile or answer ไม่ เป็น ไร (mai pen rai) — "nothing happened". The same phrase answers "sorry".

By example

  • ขอ น้ำ ครับ
    кхо нам кхрап
    Water, please (a man says it)
  • ขอบคุณ มาก
    кхопкхун мак
    Thank you very much
  • ไม่ เป็น ไร
    май пен рай
    No problem

How the rule settles in your head

A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.

Frequently asked

How to say please in Thai?

"Please" is trickier. The word กรุณา (karuna) lives on signs, in announcements and in loudspeaker speech — nobody says it in a cafe. A request is built with the verb ขอ (kho, "I ask for, I will take"). Add a polite particle at the end: ขอ น้ำ ครับ — water, please.

Karuna vs kho in Thai?

"Please" is trickier. The word กรุณา (karuna) lives on signs, in announcements and in loudspeaker speech — nobody says it in a cafe. A request is built with the verb ขอ (kho, "I ask for, I will take"). Add a polite particle at the end: ขอ น้ำ ครับ — water, please.

How do Thais ask for something?

"Please" is trickier. The word กรุณา (karuna) lives on signs, in announcements and in loudspeaker speech — nobody says it in a cafe. A request is built with the verb ขอ (kho, "I ask for, I will take"). Add a polite particle at the end: ขอ น้ำ ครับ — water, please.

How to reply to thank you in Thai?

Thank you is easy: ขอบคุณ (khopkhun), boosted with มาก — mak, "very much".

What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?

“ขอ น้ำ ครับ” (кхо нам кхрап) — Water, please (a man says it). A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.

Next

Test the rule on examplesPractice