Basic Thai Phrases, Numbers and Reading Dates and Prices in Phuket

Polite basics

• Sawasdee is hello, with khrap added by men and kha by women to be polite.
• Khop khun is thank you.
• Mai pen rai means it does not matter or no problem.
• Tao rai means how much.
• Mai khao jai means I don't understand, and Thais use it too.

Thai is tonal, so locals may not recognise a word at first, but they are generally patient with attempts. A translation app with audio can help. See the apps guide.

Numbers one to ten

One is neung, two song, three saam, four see, five haa, six hok, seven jet, eight paet, nine kao and ten sip. Knowing these helps at markets and with taxi and menu prices. See the bargaining guide for etiquette.

Reading Thai years

Thailand officially uses the Buddhist Era, which runs 543 years ahead of the Western year, so 2026 is 2569 BE. Sources say the year changes on 1 January, not at Songkran, and Thai dates are written day, month, year. To convert, subtract 543 from the Buddhist year. You will see BE years on official documents, receipts, product labels and some signs, so check which calendar a date uses before assuming an expiry. For visa and legal documents see the documents guide.

Signs and food

A phone camera translation can read signs and menus. Learn the words for spicy and not spicy before ordering, and for allergies see the food allergies guide. For more eating tips see the markets guide.