Greetings and goodbyes in Thai
9 words in Thai on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: สวัสดี — hello, สวัสดี ตอน บ่าย — good afternoon, แล้ว เจอกัน — bye, สบายดี ไหม? — how are you?
9 words on the topic
- สวัสดีсаватдиhelloWorks as hi, good morning and good evening alike, at any hour. A man ends it with khrap, a woman with kha — without the particle the greeting sounds curt, like an order
- สวัสดี ตอน บ่ายсаватди тон байgood afternoonLiterally "hello in the afternoon". You will rarely hear it live: Thai just says sawatdi morning, noon and night, and builds no time of day into the greeting
- แล้ว เจอกันлаэо джёканbyeLiterally "see you then". The friendly farewell; the formal one is laa gon, said to the person who stays behind
- สบายดี ไหม?сабайди май?how are you?Literally "well or not?". The particle mai turns a statement into a question and sits at the very end
- คุณ เป็น อย่างไรкхун пен янграйhow are you? (polite)The polite "how are you getting along". Khun is the polite you, and it doubles as plain "you" for anyone who is not a close friend
- ลา ก่อนлаа конgoodbyeLiterally "I part first". Said to the person who stays; the friendly parting is laeo jer gan, "see you"
- สวัสดี ตอน เช้าсаватди тон чаоgood morningLiterally "hello in the morning". Less common than you would expect: most people just say sawatdi — the time of day is obvious anyway
- สวัสดี ตอน เย็นсаватди тон йенgood eveningLiterally "hello in the evening". Correct but rare in life, like good afternoon: people manage with plain sawatdi
- ฝัน ดีфан диgood nightLiterally "dream well": fan means "to dream". The living wish nearly always carries the particle na at the end
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- สวัสดี ครับсаватди кхрапHello (a man says it)
- สวัสดี ตอน บ่าย ครับсаватди тон бай кхрапGood afternoon (a man says it)
- แล้ว เจอกัน นะлаэо джёкан наSee you!
- สวัสดี สบายดี ไหม?саватди сабайди май?Hi, how are you?
- สวัสดี คุณ เป็น อย่างไรсаватди кхун пен янграйHello, how are you?
- ลา ก่อน ครับлаа кон кхрапGoodbye (a man says it)
What is worth knowing about these words
สวัสดี (саватди) — hello. Works as hi, good morning and good evening alike, at any hour. A man ends it with khrap, a woman with kha — without the particle the greeting sounds curt, like an order.
สวัสดี ตอน บ่าย (саватди тон бай) — good afternoon. Literally "hello in the afternoon". You will rarely hear it live: Thai just says sawatdi morning, noon and night, and builds no time of day into the greeting.
แล้ว เจอกัน (лаэо джёкан) — bye. Literally "see you then". The friendly farewell; the formal one is laa gon, said to the person who stays behind.
สบายดี ไหม? (сабайди май?) — how are you? Literally "well or not?". The particle mai turns a statement into a question and sits at the very end.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hello” in Thai?
Works as hi, good morning and good evening alike, at any hour. A man ends it with khrap, a woman with kha — without the particle the greeting sounds curt, like an order
- How do you say “good evening” in Thai?
Literally "hello in the evening". Correct but rare in life, like good afternoon: people manage with plain sawatdi
- How do you say “goodbye” in Thai?
Literally "I part first". Said to the person who stays; the friendly parting is laeo jer gan, "see you"
- How do you say “how are you?” in Thai?
Literally "well or not?". The particle mai turns a statement into a question and sits at the very end
- How do you say “good afternoon” in Thai?
Literally "hello in the afternoon". You will rarely hear it live: Thai just says sawatdi morning, noon and night, and builds no time of day into the greeting
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “hello” in Thai?
«สวัสดี», read “саватди”. Works as hi, good morning and good evening alike, at any hour. A man ends it with khrap, a woman with kha — without the particle the greeting sounds curt, like an order. It is one of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 9 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.