A cold at the doctor in Thai
A clinic, a physician's office, morning hours in Thai. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «สวัสดี ครับ ไม่ สบาย สาม วัน แล้ว» — Hello, I have been feeling bad for three days; «มี อาการ อะไร คะ» — What are the symptoms? The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a clinic, a physician's office, morning hours. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- สวัสดี ครับ ไม่ สบาย สาม วัน แล้วсаватди кхрап май сабай саам ван лаэоHello, I have been feeling bad for three days.
- มี อาการ อะไร คะми акан арай кхаWhat are the symptoms?
- มี ไข้ ปวด ลำ คอ และ จามми кхаай пуат лам кхо лэ джамA temperature, a sore throat and sneezing.
- ไข้ สูง ไหม คะкхаай суунг май кхаIs the temperature high?
- สูง หน่อย แต่ ไม่ มากсуунг ной тэ май макA little, but not badly.
- อาการ นี้ เป็น ไข้ หวัด ค่ะакан ний пен кхаай ват кхаThese are the symptoms of a cold.
Lines one by one
| Thai | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| สวัสดี ครับ ไม่ สบาย สาม วัน แล้ว | саватди кхрап май сабай саам ван лаэо | Hello, I have been feeling bad for three days. |
| มี อาการ อะไร คะ | ми акан арай кха | What are the symptoms? |
| มี ไข้ ปวด ลำ คอ และ จาม | ми кхаай пуат лам кхо лэ джам | A temperature, a sore throat and sneezing. |
| ไข้ สูง ไหม คะ | кхаай суунг май кха | Is the temperature high? |
| สูง หน่อย แต่ ไม่ มาก | суунг ной тэ май мак | A little, but not badly. |
| อาการ นี้ เป็น ไข้ หวัด ค่ะ | акан ний пен кхаай ват кха | These are the symptoms of a cold. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Thai in this situation?
“สวัสดี ครับ ไม่ สบาย สาม วัน แล้ว” (саватди кхрап май сабай саам ван лаэо) — Hello, I have been feeling bad for three days. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.