Asking directions in Thai

อยู่ที่ไหนครับ

yùu thîi-nǎi khráp

Where is it?

Male speaker

Say the place first, then this: ห้องน้ำอยู่ที่ไหนครับ is Where is the toilet?

ห้องน้ำ

hâwng náam

Toilet. Bathroom.

The single most searched-for word in any country. Combine with yùu thîi-nǎi to ask where it is.

เลี้ยวซ้ายครับ

líao sáai khráp

Turn left.

Male speaker

You will hear this in directions more than say it. Right is ขวา (khwǎa).

ตรงไปครับ

dtrong bpai khráp

Go straight ahead.

Male speaker

The answer you will hear most often when asking the way.

ขอโทษครับ

khǎw-thôot khráp

Excuse me.

Male speaker

Open with this before any question, or you read as brusque however good your Thai is. ขอโทษ covers both sorry and excuse me, and here nobody hears an apology, it only buys you attention. A slight head dip or a small wai as you say it gives the person the two seconds they need to switch into listening, and then the question lands.

ขอโทษค่ะ

khǎw-thôot khâ

Excuse me.

Female speaker

Same opener in a woman's voice, with falling ค่ะ because this is not a question. Say it, wait for the head to turn, then ask. Firing the opener and the question out in one breath means the first half is lost while the person is still working out that a foreigner is talking to them.

ขอถามหน่อยครับ

khǎw thǎam nàwy khráp

May I ask you something?

Male speaker

The longer softener for when you are about to take up real time, for example asking a shop assistant to look at a map with you. หน่อย does the work: it turns the interruption into a small favour rather than a demand, and it belongs on almost anything you ask a stranger to do. The female version is ขอถามหน่อยค่ะ.

ตู้กดเงินอยู่ที่ไหนคะ

dtûu-gòt-ngoen yùu thîi-nǎi khá

Where is the ATM?

Female speaker

This is the frame for every where-is question on the site: put the thing in front, then yùu thîi-nǎi. Swap ตู้กดเงิน for ป้ายรถเมล์ (bus stop), ตลาด (market) or any place name. The particle here is คะ with a HIGH tone (khá) because ที่ไหน makes it a question, while ค่ะ with a falling tone is for statements. Mixing the two up is one of the most common particle mistakes foreign women make, and it lands as a flat statement rather than a request.

ร้านขายยาอยู่ที่ไหนครับ

ráan-khǎai-yaa yùu thîi-nǎi khráp

Where is the pharmacy?

Male speaker

Same frame in a man's voice, where ครับ never changes tone whatever the sentence is doing. Nearly every errand you run fits this frame, so learn the frame once and spend your effort on the vocabulary that goes in front of it. Expect a pointed finger plus a fast burst of speech, so have the slow-down request ready before you ask.

ตรวจคนเข้าเมืองอยู่ที่ไหนครับ

dtrùat khon khâo meuang yùu thîi-nǎi khráp

Where is the immigration office?

Male speaker

Nobody says it in full: on the street and inside the building it is ตม. (dtaw-maw). The other places a resident needs on this same frame are ที่ว่าการอำเภอ (thîi-wâa-gaan am-phoe) the district office where residence certificates are issued, สถานีตำรวจ (sà-thǎa-nii dtam-rùat) the police station, everyday word โรงพัก (roong-phák), ธนาคาร (thá-naa-khaan) the bank and ไปรษณีย์ (bprai-sà-nii) the post office. Ask the opening hours in the same breath, because a wasted trip out to immigration costs a whole morning.

โรงพยาบาลอยู่ที่ไหนคะ

roong-phá-yaa-baan yùu thîi-nǎi khá

Where is the hospital?

Female speaker

Four syllables, and the middle two are the ones foreigners drop, so say it slowly the first few times. โรงพยาบาลรัฐ (roong-phá-yaa-baan rát) is a government hospital and คลินิก (khlí-nìk) is the small local clinic you will use for anything minor. If it is urgent, ฉุกเฉิน (chùk-chǒen), emergency, is understood on its own and will get you pointed at the right entrance.

จากที่นี่ไกลไหมคะ

jàak thîi-nîi glai mǎi khá

Is it far from here?

Female speaker

Ask this before you commit to walking, especially in April heat. Listen for whether ไกล arrives with ไม่ in front of it. Bare ไกล, or ไกลนะ, means give up on walking. Note that ไกล (glai, far) and ใกล้ (glâi, near) differ only by tone, so use the answer's other words as your check.

เดินไปได้ไหมครับ

doen bpai dâi mǎi khráp

Can I walk there?

Male speaker

dâi mǎi is the general is-that-possible question and works after almost any verb. A yes comes back as ได้ (dâi) or เดินได้. A no often comes back as ไกล or ไกลไป, as a push toward a วิน, or as the softer เดินไม่ไหว (doen mâi wǎi), meaning you would not manage it, which in Bangkok often means a pavement that stops halfway.

อยู่แถวนี้ไหมครับ

yùu thǎew-níi mǎi khráp

Is it around here, near here?

Male speaker

แถวนี้ means this row or this stretch of street, which is how Thais actually carve up an area. Use it when you half-know where you are and want a yes or no rather than a full route. A yes gets you a direction of travel and nothing more, which is often all you need.

เปิดกี่โมงครับ

bpòet gìi moong khráp

What time does it open?

Male speaker

Thai banks, government offices and clinics keep hours you will not guess, and immigration shuts over lunch. ปิดกี่โมงครับ (bpìt gìi moong khráp) asks the closing time and วันเสาร์เปิดไหมครับ (wan sǎo bpòet mǎi khráp) asks about Saturday. พักเที่ยง (phák thîang) means shut for lunch and is not the same as shut for the day, so ask which one you are looking at before you walk away.

ไปซอยสุขุมวิทสามสิบเอ็ดครับ

bpai soi sù-khǔm-wít sǎam-sìp-èt khráp

To Sukhumvit soi thirty-one, please.

Male speaker

A resident spends far more of the week giving directions than asking for them, and this is the opening move with a taxi, a Grab driver or a delivery rider on the phone. The shape is ไป plus the destination plus the particle, nothing else. Say the soi number as a plain number and expect it repeated back at you; if it comes back right, answer ใช่ครับ (châi khráp) and get in.

เลี้ยวซ้ายตรงนี้ค่ะ

líao sáai dtrong-níi khâ

Turn left here.

Female speaker

The three instructions that get you the last kilometre home: เลี้ยวซ้ายตรงนี้ค่ะ turn left here, เลี้ยวขวาตรงนี้ค่ะ turn right here, and ตรงไปก่อนค่ะ (dtrong-bpai gàwn khâ) carry straight on for now. ก่อน means for the moment, so it holds the driver on the road until your next instruction, which is exactly what you want when you know the way by sight and not by name.

จอดตรงนี้ครับ

jàwt dtrong-níi khráp

Stop here, please.

Male speaker

จอด is what a vehicle does, so it works for a taxi, a Grab and a win alike. ตรงนี้แหละครับ (dtrong-níi làe khráp) means right here will do, and แหละ is what stops a driver rolling another fifty metres looking for a better spot. Say it early rather than level with the place, because Thai drivers pull in the moment they hear it.

ที่เดิมครับ

thîi-doem khráp

The same place as before.

Male speaker

The whole address in three syllables, for the rider or driver who has taken you there before. It only works with someone who actually remembers you, so it belongs to the win riders at your own ปากซอย (bpàak-soi), the mouth of your lane, who will learn your destination long before you learn their names. Being able to say ที่เดิม is roughly the point at which you stop being read as a tourist. The female form is ที่เดิมค่ะ.

เจอกันอีกแล้วนะคะ

joe gan ìik láew ná khá

We meet again.

Female speaker

For the shopkeeper, guard or rider who now recognises you, which is a different exchange from a stranger meeting a stranger once. นะ softens the whole sentence into something friendly rather than a statement of fact. The reply is usually มาอีกแล้วเหรอ (maa ìik láew rǒe), back again, which is warmth and not an accusation. Male version เจอกันอีกแล้วนะครับ.

ตรงไปประมาณร้อยเมตรแล้วเลี้ยวขวาค่ะ

dtrong-bpai bprà-maan ráwy mét láew líao khwǎa khâ

Go straight for about a hundred metres, then turn right.

Female speaker

This is the standard shape of a Thai direction, as a shop assistant would give it: distance first, then the turn. ประมาณ (about) is the word to listen for; the number comes right after it, and the unit right after the number tells you whether it is metres (เมตร), kilometres (กิโล), minutes (นาที) or side streets (ซอย). แล้ว chains the steps, so every time you hear it another instruction is coming. The polite particle is the opposite signal: when ค่ะ or ครับ lands, the route is finished and you can start walking.

เลี้ยวซ้ายตรงไฟแดง

líao sáai dtrong fai-daeng

Turn left at the traffic lights.

ตรง in front of a landmark means right at it, not straight. Same word as in ตรงไป, different job, and mixing them up sends you through the junction instead of round it. ไฟแดง is literally red light but names the whole junction whatever colour it is showing. This one arrives bare, with no particle, which is how a rider or a passer-by in a hurry will say it.

อยู่ตรงข้ามเซเว่นครับ

yùu dtrong-khâam see-wên khráp

It is opposite the 7-Eleven.

Male speaker

Half the directions given in Thailand are anchored to a 7-Eleven, so learn เซเว่น as a landmark word. The set you need alongside it: ตรงข้าม opposite, ข้าง ๆ (khâang-khâang) next to, เลยไปหน่อย (loei bpai nàwy) a bit past it, ก่อนถึง (gàwn thěung) before you reach it. Shop staff answer with ครับ or ค่ะ attached, which also tells you the route is complete.

อยู่ในซอยห้า

yùu nai soi hâa

It is inside soi five.

Thai towns run on ซอย, the numbered lanes off a main road, and this is how anything inside one gets located, by you, by a landlord, by a delivery rider. The positions: ปากซอย (bpàak-soi) the mouth where the soi meets the main road, กลางซอย (glaang-soi) halfway down, สุดซอย (sùt-soi) the far end, ตรอก (dtràwk) the smaller alley off the soi. If you miss the number, ask ซอยอะไรครับ (soi à-rai khráp), which soi, and the answer comes back as a full address such as ซอยสุขุมวิทยี่สิบสาม. Numbers count outward from the main road with odd and even on opposite sides, and the win riders at ปากซอย know everything inside their own soi.

ข้ามสะพานลอย

khâam sà-phaan-loi

Cross the footbridge.

On a divided road the place you want is often visible and unreachable, which is what these words are for. อยู่ฝั่งตรงข้าม (yùu fàng dtrong-khâam) means it is on the other side of the road, and ฝั่ง is a side of a road or river, not interchangeable with ข้าง. กลับรถ (glàp rót) is the U-turn a driver takes when he carries you two kilometres past your door. Junction words inside a route: สี่แยก (sìi-yâek) crossroads, สามแยก (sǎam-yâek) T-junction, วงเวียน (wong-wian) roundabout, ทางม้าลาย (thaang máa-laai) zebra crossing, which grants you far less right of way than the paint suggests.

เลยไปแล้ว

loei bpai láew

You have already gone past it.

This is the reply you get when you ask a second person, and it is the one worth recognising instantly because it saves you the next ten minutes of walking. แล้ว is what puts the place behind you rather than ahead. What follows is usually ย้อนกลับไปหน่อย (yáwn glàp bpai nàwy), go back a bit the way you came, or เดินกลับไปทางเดิม (doen glàp bpai thaang doem), walk back the way you came. เลย here means to pass something, a different job from the เลย on the end of ตามมาเลย.

เดินประมาณสิบนาที

doen bprà-maan sìp naa-thii

It is about a ten minute walk.

Thais answer distance in minutes far more often than in metres, so be ready for นาที after the number rather than a unit of length. Outside Bangkok the transport answer is นั่งสองแถวไป (nâng sǎwng-thǎew bpai), take a songthaew, the pickup with two benches in the back, and in Chiang Mai it is รถแดง (rót daeng). In town you will also hear ขึ้นรถเมล์สายยี่สิบห้า (khûen rót-mee sǎai yîi-sìp-hâa), take bus twenty-five, where สาย is the route number, and สถานีรถไฟฟ้า (sà-thǎa-nii rót-fai-fáa) for the BTS or MRT station.

นั่งวินไปดีกว่า

nâng win bpai dii-gwàa

You would be better off taking a motorbike taxi.

วิน is the numbered motorbike-taxi rank sitting at the mouth of most sois, and the riders wear numbered orange vests. If this is the answer to your can-I-walk question, the answer is no. ดีกว่า tacked onto any verb is the Thai way of recommending something without ordering you. Agree the fare before you get on, which is the next card.

ไปซอยห้าเท่าไหร่ครับ

bpai soi hâa thâo-rài khráp

How much to soi five?

Male speaker

A win has no meter and the fare is agreed before you get on, so this question is not optional once you have been told to take one. There is usually a fare board at ปากซอย listing the standard prices to the usual destinations, so the number you are quoted is rarely invented on the spot. Swap ซอยห้า for wherever you are going, and have small notes ready, since nobody enjoys breaking a thousand.

ลดหน่อยได้ไหมครับ

lót nàwy dâi mǎi khráp

Could you come down a bit?

Male speaker

หน่อย keeps this friendly, and the same dâi mǎi frame you used for walking does the asking. แพงไปครับ (phaeng bpai khráp), that is too expensive, is the blunter version and is better saved for a price that is clearly a foreigner price than for a fare board. Settling the number before you get on is normal and is not haggling. Arguing about it after the ride is.

ตามมาเลย

dtaam maa loei

Just follow me.

Thais very often do not describe the route at all, they walk you there, and this is what that sounds like. เลย on the end of an instruction means go ahead and do it right now. You will also hear มากับผม (maa gàp phǒm) or มากับพี่ (maa gàp phîi), come with me, พี่ being what a slightly older stranger calls themselves. Recognise it and move, because standing still while someone has already set off wastes the most generous answer you can get, and thank them properly at the other end with ขอบคุณมากครับ rather than the two-second version.

ไม่ทราบครับ

mâi sâap khráp

I don't know.

Male speaker

The single most likely reply, and without it you stand there waiting for a route that is never coming. ไม่ทราบ is the polite register you hear from shop staff and office staff; ไม่รู้เหมือนกัน (mâi rúu měuan-gan), I don't know either, is what a win rider says. The correct move on hearing either is to thank them and ask the next person, not to rephrase the question at someone who has already told you they cannot help.

ไม่ใช่คนแถวนี้ค่ะ

mâi châi khon thǎew-níi khâ

I'm not from around here.

Female speaker

The other non-answer, and it is literal: half the people on any Bangkok street are from somewhere else. The male form is ผมไม่ใช่คนแถวนี้ครับ. แถวนี้ is the same this-stretch word as in the near-here question, so hearing it come back at you is a clue about what kind of answer you are getting. Ask someone who sits in one place all day instead: shop staff, a ยาม (yaam) or รปภ. (raw-paw-phaw) security guard, or the riders at the win.

จะไปไหนครับ

jà bpai nǎi khráp

Where are you going?

Male speaker

Thai speakers answer a question with a question far more often than English speakers do, and it is not evasion: they are working out which branch, which counter or which gate you want. Answer it, จะไปโรงพยาบาลครับ (jà bpai roong-phá-yaa-baan khráp), rather than repeating your original question, and the useful reply follows. ไปทำอะไร (bpai tham à-rai), what for, comes for the same reason. Note that a bare ไปไหน between neighbours is only a greeting and wants nothing more than ไปธุระ (bpai thú-rá), out on an errand.

ปิดแล้วค่ะ

bpìt láew khâ

It's closed already.

Female speaker

The reply that ends the trip, and the reason to ask the hours before you travel. แล้ว is the change of state again, exactly as in เข้าใจแล้ว: it is shut now, whatever it was an hour ago. Before you walk away, ask พรุ่งนี้เปิดกี่โมงคะ (phrûng-níi bpòet gìi moong khá), what time does it open tomorrow, and you save the second wasted trip.

เข้าใจแล้วครับ

khâo-jai láew khráp

I understand now.

Male speaker

แล้ว marks the change of state, so this means I understand now, as opposed to a second ago, and it stops the person adding landmarks you do not need. Do not treat the route as true yet, though. Someone who does not know may still produce a confident set of directions rather than admit it, because saying no to a person who asked for help is uncomfortable, so a fast confident answer is not evidence. Ask a second person once you are close, opening again with ขอโทษครับ, ขอถามหน่อยครับ. Anyone who genuinely does not know will usually say ไม่ทราบครับ straight away, which is why hearing that is good news about all the other answers you get.

เข้าใจแล้วค่ะ

khâo-jai láew khâ

I understand now.

Female speaker

This one is a statement, so the particle is ค่ะ with a FALLING tone (khâ). Compare it with the question form คะ (khá) used when asking where something is. The pair sits on almost every sentence a woman says in Thai, and the tone is the whole difference between answering and asking. Say it once you have the route, then check it with a second person as you get near.

ขอบคุณครับ

khàwp-khun khráp

Thank you.

Male speaker

The phrase that closes every one of these exchanges, and leaving it off is the thing foreigners get noticed for. ขอบคุณมากครับ (khàwp-khun mâak khráp) is for someone who actually walked you there and earns a small wai as well; a two-second answer does not need the wai. If an older person answers you with ขอบใจ (khàwp-jai), that is the downward-speaking form and is warmth, not rudeness.

ขอบคุณค่ะ

khàwp-khun khâ

Thank you.

Female speaker

Falling ค่ะ, because thanking is a statement and not a question. Say it while you are still facing the person rather than over your shoulder as you leave. If someone has gone out of their way, ขอบคุณมากค่ะ with a small wai, hands at chest height and a slight bow of the head, is the right size of gesture.

พูดช้า ๆ ได้ไหมครับ

phûut cháa-cháa dâi mǎi khráp

Could you say that slowly?

Male speaker

The most valuable phrase in this set. Directions come out fast and Thais rarely slow down unasked. ๆ is the repeat mark, written with a space around it, and doubling an adjective softens it, so ช้า ๆ is a bit slower rather than a demand to crawl. Ask once. If the second attempt is still too fast, stop asking for words and ask them to point.

พูดช้า ๆ ได้ไหมคะ

phûut cháa-cháa dâi mǎi khá

Could you say that slowly?

Female speaker

Same request in a woman's voice, with คะ high because it is a question. Every repair phrase on this site ships in both voices for a reason: this is the stage where you have no spare capacity to work out a particle, so learn it until it comes out without assembly. Ask once, and if the second attempt is still too fast, ask for a finger instead.

ชี้ให้ดูหน่อยได้ไหมคะ

chíi hâi duu nàwy dâi mǎi khá

Could you point it out for me?

Female speaker

When the words are not landing, a finger settles left or right instantly. หน่อย turns a request into a small favour instead of an instruction. Hold your phone out flat rather than pushing it into the person's hands, and if you have stopped a monk, a woman must not pass anything to him hand to hand: set the phone down or let a man hold it. A shorter and very natural alternative is อยู่ทางไหนคะ (yùu thaang nǎi khá), which way is it, which invites the gesture without asking for it.

ชี้ให้ดูหน่อยได้ไหมครับ

chíi hâi duu nàwy dâi mǎi khráp

Could you point it out for me?

Male speaker

The same repair in a man's voice, and worth having ready before the route arrives rather than after. Point with your whole hand rather than one finger when you indicate a person, and beckon with the palm down and the fingers moving toward you, never palm up, which is how you call a dog. Keep your feet still and aimed at nobody while you talk, since a foot pointed at a person or a shrine cancels every polite particle you have used.

ซ้ายหรือขวาครับ

sáai rěu khwǎa khráp

Left or right?

Male speaker

For when you caught the landmark but missed the turn. An either-or question forces a one-word answer instead of the whole route again. In speech หรือ reduces to รึ, so it comes out ซ้ายรึขวาครับ (sáai réu khwǎa khráp), and you will hear the short form far more often than the written one. Say it while making the two gestures with your hands and you will get an unmistakable reply even from someone who has given up on your Thai.

ซ้ายหรือขวาคะ

sáai rěu khwǎa khá

Left or right?

Female speaker

Same repair for a woman, with คะ high because it is a question. The spoken form drops to ซ้ายรึขวาคะ (sáai réu khwǎa khá). Hold one hand out to each side as you say it: the gesture does half the work and gets you a one-word answer instead of the whole route delivered again at the same speed.

ไม่เข้าใจครับ

mâi khâo-jai khráp

I don't understand.

Male speaker

Say this instead of nodding. A nod ends the exchange and leaves you with nothing, and it will be taken at face value. ยังไม่เข้าใจครับ (yang mâi khâo-jai khráp), I still don't understand, is softer and signals that you want another attempt rather than that you are giving up. Follow it with the slow-down request so the person knows what to change.

ไม่เข้าใจค่ะ

mâi khâo-jai khâ

I don't understand.

Female speaker

Falling ค่ะ, because it is a statement. This is the exact negative of เข้าใจแล้วค่ะ, and being able to say both is what keeps you in the conversation rather than nodding your way out of it. ยังไม่เข้าใจค่ะ, still not understanding, buys a second attempt without closing anything down.

ตรงไปแล้วเลี้ยวขวาใช่ไหมครับ

dtrong-bpai láew líao khwǎa châi mǎi khráp

Straight on and then turn right, is that right?

Male speaker

The highest-yield repair there is: say back whatever you think you heard and put ใช่ไหมครับ on the end. The frame detaches, so it works with any route, any landmark, any soi number. Back comes ใช่ (châi), yes that's right, or ไม่ใช่ (mâi châi), no. ไม่ใช่ arriving on its own is not rudeness, it means listen again, and it has just saved you a wrong kilometre.

ตรงไปแล้วเลี้ยวขวาใช่ไหมคะ

dtrong-bpai láew líao khwǎa châi mǎi khá

Straight on and then turn right, is that right?

Female speaker

Same check with คะ, high because it is a question. Repeating the route back tests your comprehension, while เข้าใจแล้วค่ะ only asserts it, and that is the difference between finding the place and finding out you were wrong ten minutes later. Say it slowly and watch the face, since the head shake usually arrives before the word does.

ผมหลงทางครับ

phǒm lǒng-thaang khráp

I am lost.

Male speaker

หลงทาง is lost in the sense of having taken a wrong turn, not lost as in missing. Open with this rather than with a question and people usually walk you to the corner instead of describing a route you will not follow. Say the place you want straight afterwards. Choose someone stationary, a shopkeeper, a ยาม (yaam) security guard or a win rider, rather than a passer-by who may be as new to the street as you are.

หลงทางค่ะ

lǒng-thaang khâ

I am lost.

Female speaker

Thai drops the subject whenever it is obvious, so no pronoun at all is the natural street form and is no less polite. ฉัน (chǎn) is the everyday female I, but it is more casual than ผม and reads as blunt or textbook to a stranger; the formal counterpart of ผม is ดิฉัน (dì-chǎn). A younger woman speaking to a clearly older stranger can use หนู (nǔu), literally mouse, which is normal self-lowering rather than childish, and many women use their own nickname in place of a pronoun. Falling ค่ะ, because this is a statement. If someone offers to walk you there and it is a monk, do not pass him your phone hand to hand.