A colleague's mother has died, the chanting runs for several evenings, and you are going after work in black with an envelope: the temple visit a resident actually makes, not the one with a guidebook. Almost nothing that goes wrong there is vocabulary. It is where your feet point once you are sitting on the floor, the raised sill you step over, never on, the cloth a woman sets an offering on rather than into a monk's hands. Most of it arrives as an instruction from whoever is nearest you, so the line that saves you asks what you are supposed to do, and the next asks to be shown. Around it, the register a monk is spoken to in, where คุณ khun is wrong, หลวงพ่อ lǔang-phâw is right, giving is ถวาย thà-wǎai rather than ให้ hâi, and he calls you โยม yoom. Then the plain asks: shoes, shoulders, photos, the yellow สังฆทาน sǎng-khá-thaan bucket, the donation receipt your accountant wants, a blessing for a new car, and the alms bowl at your gate.
75 phrases you can use straight away, each with the male form ending in ครับ and the female form ending in ค่ะ (or คะ in questions), both with audio.
What you say first.
ถ่ายรูปได้ไหมครับ
thàai-rûup dâi mǎi khráp
Can I take a photo?
Male speaker
Ask this before raising your phone inside any temple building. Outdoor courtyards are almost always fine, but the ordination hall often is not. The pattern ได้ไหม (dâi mǎi) after any verb asks permission for anything: นั่งได้ไหม (nâng dâi mǎi), can I sit here?
Female speaker
ถ่ายรูปได้ไหมคะ
thàai-rûup dâi mǎi khá
ห้ามถ่ายรูปครับ
hâam thàai-rûup khráp
No photos allowed.
Male speaker
A hearing phrase: guards and signs use ห้าม (hâam) for any prohibition, so catch the word that follows it. ห้ามเข้า (hâam khâo) no entry, ห้ามสูบบุหรี่ (hâam sùup bù-rìi) no smoking. If you hear ห้าม while your camera is up, lower it and smile, no argument needed.
Female speaker
ห้ามถ่ายรูปค่ะ
hâam thàai-rûup khâ
วัดเปิดกี่โมงครับ
wát bpòet gìi moong khráp
What time does the temple open?
Male speaker
กี่โมง (gìi moong) asks the time of anything, reuse it for shops and buses. In the reply, listen for ปิด (bpìt, close) versus เปิด (bpòet, open): they differ only in the vowel, and ปิดแล้ว (bpìt láew) means you are too late. Most temples open around 8 in the morning and close by 5 or 6, ticket desks earlier.
Female speaker
วัดเปิดกี่โมงค่ะ
wát bpòet gìi moong khâ
ขอโทษนะคะ
khǎw-thôot ná khá
Excuse me.
Female speaker
Say this first, then the question. Every other opener in this set lands better with it in front, and in a quiet courtyard a question fired at someone's back often is not heard at all. Learn the particle split here: ค่ะ (khâ) ends a statement, คะ (khá) comes after นะ and on the end of a question. Writing or saying the female particle as an unaspirated k is the commonest foreigner error. A man says ขอโทษนะครับ (khǎw-thôot ná khráp).
พี่ครับ
phîi khráp
Excuse me. (to someone older than you)
Male speaker
Thai gets attention with a kinship word, not with a name. พี่ (phîi) for anyone who looks older than you, น้อง (náwng) for someone clearly younger, ป้า (bpâa) for the older woman at the offerings stall by the gate, which is the person you will actually deal with most. Guessing a little young is safe; guessing old is not. A woman says พี่คะ (phîi khá), ป้าคะ (bpâa khá).
ขอถามหน่อยค่ะ
khǎw thǎam nàwy khâ
May I ask you something?
Female speaker
The full opener when you are about to interrupt someone doing something: a temple worker sweeping, a stallholder counting change. ขอ is the request word that starts half the useful sentences in Thai, and หน่อย shrinks the imposition. The answer is ได้ค่ะ or a nod. A man says ขอถามหน่อยครับ (khǎw thǎam nàwy khráp).
ถอดรองเท้าตรงไหนคะ
thàwt rawng-tháo dtrong-nǎi khá
Where do I take my shoes off?
Female speaker
Ask this at the foot of the steps, before you walk onto the raised floor. Shoes go on the rack or into the plastic bag they hand you at the door; leaving them on a step where people walk is the thing that annoys everyone. The answer is usually a chin-point plus ตรงนี้ (dtrong-níi, right here), so watch the head, not the hand. A man says ถอดรองเท้าตรงไหนครับ (thàwt rawng-tháo dtrong-nǎi khráp).
ใส่แบบนี้เข้าไปได้ไหมคะ
sài bàep-níi khâo-bpai dâi mǎi khá
Can I go in dressed like this?
Female speaker
Ask before you climb the steps, not after. The line is shoulders covered and knees covered, for men and women both; leggings, vests and see-through fabric get turned away at the big Bangkok and Chiang Mai temples even when they pass at a small neighbourhood wát. Hats and sunglasses come off at the door, indoors and at the alms round both. If the answer is ไม่ได้ค่ะ (mâi dâi khâ, no), go straight to asking for a cloth. A man says ใส่แบบนี้เข้าไปได้ไหมครับ (sài bàep-níi khâo-bpai dâi mǎi khráp).
เก็บค่าเข้าไหมครับ
gèp khâa-khâo mǎi khráp
Is there an entrance fee?
Male speaker
เก็บ is the verb for a fee being collected, and ค่า in front of a noun makes it the charge for that thing: ค่าเข้า entrance, ค่าเช่า rent, ค่าน้ำ the water bill. Neighbourhood temples charge nothing; the famous ones charge foreigners at the gate. Asking rather than assuming saves you walking past a ticket window you did not see. A woman says เก็บค่าเข้าไหมคะ (gèp khâa-khâo mǎi khá).
ค่าเข้าเท่าไหร่คะ
khâa-khâo thâo-rài khá
How much is the entrance fee?
Female speaker
เท่าไหร่ is the how-much word for every price you will ever ask in Thailand, so drill it here and reuse it. The figure comes straight back with บาท (bàat) on the end and no politeness particle in the middle, so listen for the number and the word บาท. Fees at the big temples change year to year; check the board rather than trusting a figure someone told you. A man says ค่าเข้าเท่าไหร่ครับ (khâa-khâo thâo-rài khráp).
คิดราคาคนไทยได้ไหมครับ
khít raa-khaa khon-thai dâi mǎi khráp
Could I have the Thai price?
Male speaker
A resident move, not a tourist one, and it works at a fair number of ticket windows if you can back it up. Say it pleasantly, once, and drop it if the answer is no. What gets accepted is a document: ผมมีใบขับขี่ไทยครับ (phǒm mii bai-khàp-khìi thai khráp, I have a Thai driving licence), a work permit, or a pink ID card. A woman says คิดราคาคนไทยได้ไหมคะ (khít raa-khaa khon-thai dâi mǎi khá).
ซื้อดอกไม้ธูปเทียนได้ที่ไหนครับ
séu dàwk-máai thûup-thian dâi thîi-nǎi khráp
Where can I buy flowers, incense and candles?
Male speaker
ดอกไม้ธูปเทียน is one fixed set, not three shopping items: a lotus bud, three incense sticks and a candle, sold as a bundle at a stall by the gate. Say it as one run of syllables and people will hear it as the set. Light the candle first, then the incense from the candle, then plant the incense in the sand pot outside, never inside. If you want to give something to a monk rather than to the shrine, the word you need is สังฆทาน (sǎng-khá-thaan), the yellow bucket of supplies, which has its own entries below.
ขอสังฆทานหนึ่งชุดครับ
khǎw sǎng-khá-thaan nèung chút khráp
One sangkhathan set, please.
Male speaker
For a resident this is the recurring temple purchase, not the lotus bud: the yellow bucket of supplies you present for a birthday, a house blessing, a recovery in hospital or a funeral. The stalls are lined up outside the wall of any decent-sized temple. The contents are largely symbolic and the buckets get resold, which everyone knows and nobody minds; if you would rather it be useful, ask for one with medicine or with real food.
ชุดละเท่าไหร่ครับ
chút-lá thâo-rài khráp
How much per set?
Male speaker
ละ after a counting word gives you the per-unit price and works everywhere: ชิ้นละ per piece, กิโลละ per kilo, คนละ per person. Sets come in several sizes on the same table, so point at the one you mean while you ask. Prices vary by temple and by what is in the bucket, so read the tag rather than expecting a standard figure. A woman says ชุดละเท่าไหร่คะ (chút-lá thâo-rài khá).
ถวายสังฆทานยังไงครับ
thà-wǎai sǎng-khá-thaan yang-ngai khráp
How do I present the offering set?
Male speaker
ถวาย is the special verb for giving to a monk or to the temple; ให้ is the everyday one and sounds wrong here. Ask a layperson, not the monk. In practice you kneel, hold the bucket up with both hands, and either place it in his hands or set it on the cloth in front of him, then he chants a short blessing and you answer สาธุ.
ขอใบอนุโมทนาบัตรได้ไหมครับ
khǎw bai à-nú-moo-thá-naa-bàt dâi mǎi khráp
May I have a donation receipt?
Male speaker
A resident concern a visitor never has: a donation receipt from a registered temple is deductible against Thai personal income tax, and your accountant will want the temple's name and tax number on it. Ask before you hand over the money, not after, because once the note is in the box there is nothing to receipt. Keep it with your tax papers for the year.
ทำบุญตรงไหนคะ
tham-bun dtrong-nǎi khá
Where do I make the donation?
Female speaker
ทำบุญ is the act of making merit, not the money: giving alms, releasing fish, helping at a temple fair and putting a note in a box are all ทำบุญ. Because it names the act rather than the cash, this question does not sound like you are asking where to pay. Any amount is fine and nobody is watching the note. A man says ทำบุญตรงไหนครับ (tham-bun dtrong-nǎi khráp).
ตู้บริจาคอยู่ตรงไหนคะ
dtûu baw-rí-jàak yùu dtrong-nǎi khá
Where is the donation box?
Female speaker
The concrete version of the same question, useful when you just want the box and not a conversation. บริจาค is the neutral word for donating, the one on the box and on hospital appeal signs; ทำบุญ is the merit-making frame. Boxes usually stand at the foot of the main image and by the door, often labelled for a specific purpose such as roof repairs or electricity. A man says ตู้บริจาคอยู่ตรงไหนครับ (dtûu baw-rí-jàak yùu dtrong-nǎi khráp).
ถวายเงินตรงไหนครับ
thà-wǎai ngoen dtrong-nǎi khráp
Where should I put the money?
Male speaker
Nobody hands cash to a monk, and that is not a rule about women only: money goes in the box, into an envelope on the receiving cloth, or to the lay attendant who handles the temple's money. A foreign man pressing a note into a monk's hand is a visible mistake and this question is the way out of the moment. If the answer is a chin-point at a box, use the box.
นมัสการครับ
ná-mát-sà-gaan khráp
Hello. (said to a monk)
Male speaker
สวัสดีครับ is not an error with a monk, but นมัสการครับ is the form that shows you know where you are standing. Say it with a high wai, thumbs at the eyebrows and the head bowed to meet the hands. A monk does not wai back; he may lift a hand, or simply nod, and that is not coldness. Then the unstated rules: sit down before you talk to him and keep your head lower than his, never sit on the raised platform or bench he is on, never stand while the people around you are sitting on the floor, hat and sunglasses off, and point with an open hand rather than a finger, at a person or at an image. Money is never put into a monk's hand by anyone.
นมัสการค่ะ
ná-mát-sà-gaan khâ
Hello. (woman speaking to a monk)
Female speaker
This is the everyday form and it is correct in any temple in the country. You will also hear นมัสการเจ้าค่ะ (ná-mát-sà-gaan jâo-khâ): เจ้าค่ะ is the older, more deferential form of ค่ะ, still in everyday use with monks and in formal deferential speech, and it is yours to use if you like it, though leading with it as a foreigner can sound like a line from a period drama. (Royal address uses a different particle again, เพคะ, which you will never need.) The part that matters far more than the particle: a woman must not touch a monk or put anything into his hand. Set the object down on the cloth he lays out in front of him, or pass it through a man.
หลวงพ่อครับ
lǔang-phâw khráp
Venerable sir. (to an older monk)
Male speaker
You never say คุณ to a monk, and saying it undoes a correct greeting. Use หลวงพ่อ (lǔang-phâw) for an older monk, หลวงพี่ (lǔang-phîi) for a young one, พระอาจารย์ (phrá aa-jaan) for a teaching monk or an abbot, in place of the word you. For yourself, a man says ผม and a woman ดิฉัน (dì-chǎn). He will call you โยม (yoom), the word a monk uses for a layperson, so when you hear โยม he is talking to you.
ต้องทำยังไงคะ
dtâwng tham yang-ngai khá
What am I supposed to do?
Female speaker
The master key for any unfamiliar ritual in this country, and worth more than any single memorised phrase. Thai people like being asked it and will walk you through the whole thing. Use it at the shrine, at a funeral, at an ordination and at the alms round. A man says ต้องทำยังไงครับ (dtâwng tham yang-ngai khráp).
ทำให้ดูหน่อยได้ไหมคะ
tham hâi duu nàwy dâi mǎi khá
Could you show me how?
Female speaker
The follow-up when the explanation outruns your Thai, which it will. ทำให้ดู is do it for me to watch, and copying someone is how everybody learns this, Thai children included. Watching the person next to you and doing what they do, one beat later, is never wrong in a temple. A man says ทำให้ดูหน่อยได้ไหมครับ (tham hâi duu nàwy dâi mǎi khráp).
ขอกราบพระได้ไหมคะ
khǎw gràap phrá dâi mǎi khá
May I pay my respects to the Buddha image?
Female speaker
กราบ (gràap) is the prostration everyone in the hall performs three times on entering, and it is the most visible act in a Thai temple: kneel, hands together at the chest, raise them to the forehead, then bow until forehead, forearms and open palms are on the floor. Three times, once each for the Buddha, the teaching and the monkhood. You place flowers and incense kneeling, never standing, and the incense goes into the sand pot outside. A non-Buddhist is welcome to kneel and wai instead, and nobody will mind.
ขอวางตรงนี้นะคะ
khǎw waang dtrong-níi ná khá
I'll set it down here, if I may.
Female speaker
What a woman says as she puts an offering on the receiving cloth in front of a monk instead of into his hands. Say it while you are already lowering the object, kneeling, with both hands. The cloth exists precisely so that nothing passes between a woman and a monk; using it is normal courtesy, not an apology. A man may hand the same object over directly, but never money.
ถ่ายรูปตรงนี้ได้ไหมครับ
thàai-rûup dtrong-níi dâi mǎi khráp
Can I take a photo here?
Male speaker
Ask, do not assume. Courtyards and chedis are almost always fine; the ordination hall, murals under restoration and anything with a Buddha image behind glass often are not. Two rules that are not negotiable: never turn your back on a Buddha image for a selfie, and never climb on one, which is treated as a serious offence and not as a tourist mistake. To photograph a monk, ask the monk himself.
ห้องน้ำอยู่ตรงไหนคะ
hâwng-náam yùu dtrong-nǎi khá
Where is the toilet?
Female speaker
The most useful destination in any temple compound and the one you will ask for most. Temple toilets are usually round the back near the monks' quarters, often with a small coin box on a plate. Shoes come off for the hall, not for the toilet block. A man says ห้องน้ำอยู่ตรงไหนครับ (hâwng-náam yùu dtrong-nǎi khráp).
ปิดกี่โมงคะ
bpìt gìi-moong khá
What time does it close?
Female speaker
Ordination halls are locked outside chanting and opening hours even when the grounds stay open, so this is the question that stops a wasted trip. The other form is เปิดถึงกี่โมงคะ (bpòet thǔeng gìi-moong khá, how late is it open). Thai clock time uses โมง for daytime hours and ทุ่ม for evening, and the answer for a temple is usually late afternoon. A man says ปิดกี่โมงครับ (bpìt gìi-moong khráp).
ขอบคุณมากค่ะ
khàwp-khun mâak khâ
Thank you very much.
Female speaker
Plain ขอบคุณค่ะ (khàwp-khun khâ) closes anything; add มาก when someone has actually gone out of their way, lent you a cloth or walked you round the hall. Say it with a small wai, hands at chest height, which is the right level for a layperson. To a monk you do not say ขอบคุณ; you say สาธุ or ขอบพระคุณครับ (khàwp-phrá-khun khráp). A man says ขอบคุณมากครับ (khàwp-khun mâak khráp).
ไปก่อนนะคะ
bpai gàwn ná khá
I'll be off now.
Female speaker
How you actually leave someone you have been talking to: the stallholder, the temple worker, the woman who lent you the wrap. ก่อน means before you, so it is I'll go on ahead, not goodbye forever, and it is much warmer than สวัสดี on the way out. The answer is ค่ะ or โชคดีนะคะ (chôok dii ná khá, good luck). A man says ไปก่อนนะครับ (bpai gàwn ná khráp).
วันนี้วันพระหรือเปล่าคะ
wan-níi wan-phrá rěu-bplào khá
Is today a Buddhist holy day?
Female speaker
วันพระ falls on the lunar quarters, roughly weekly, and it changes your day whether or not you are Buddhist: the temple fills up from early morning, people wear white, and on the major ones the shops and bars are legally dry nationwide. หรือเปล่า is the neutral or-not question tag, softer than ไหม for something you half expect. A man says วันนี้วันพระหรือเปล่าครับ (wan-níi wan-phrá rěu-bplào khráp).
ใส่บาตรตรงไหนคะ
sài-bàat dtrong-nǎi khá
Where do I give alms?
Female speaker
ใส่บาตร is putting food into the bowl on the morning round, and if you live in Thailand the monks probably pass your gate before seven. Buy the food ready-made from the stall on the corner; you take your shoes off to give it, even in the street, stand still and hold the food up, and you do not say anything while he chants. A woman sets the food in the bowl herself but does not touch him or the bowl rim. Answer สาธุ at the end. A man says ใส่บาตรตรงไหนครับ (sài-bàat dtrong-nǎi khráp).
งานศพเริ่มกี่โมงครับ
ngaan-sòp rôem gìi-moong khráp
What time does the funeral start?
Male speaker
For a resident this is the most likely real temple visit and the one where a mistake costs most: a neighbour's parent, a colleague's grandmother. Thai funerals run several evenings of chanting before the cremation day, and the evening sessions usually start after work. You are welcome at any of them and going to one is a real kindness. Ask the family which evening they would like you to come. A woman says งานศพเริ่มกี่โมงคะ (ngaan-sòp rôem gìi-moong khá).
ต้องใส่ชุดสีอะไรครับ
dtâwng sài chút sǐi à-rai khráp
What colour should I wear?
Male speaker
For a funeral the answer is black, or black and white, and covered up; bright colours are the visible error. Take a white envelope with a banknote in it and hand it in at the table by the door, where someone will write your name in a book. You will be given a small memorial book and a drink; sit, wai the coffin once, and follow the room. A woman says ต้องใส่ชุดสีอะไรคะ (dtâwng sài chút sǐi à-rai khá).
ขอแสดงความเสียใจด้วยครับ
khǎw sà-daeng khwaam-sǐa-jai dûay khráp
My condolences.
Male speaker
Said once to the immediate family, with a wai, when you arrive. It is formal and that is correct; there is no casual version and inventing one sounds wrong. Do not follow it with questions about how it happened. Then sit down, stay a while, and let being there do the rest, because attendance is the message. A woman says ขอแสดงความเสียใจด้วยค่ะ (khǎw sà-daeng khwaam-sǐa-jai dûay khâ).
ขอให้พระเจิมรถหน่อยได้ไหมครับ
khǎw hâi phrá joem rót nàwy dâi mǎi khráp
Could a monk bless my car?
Male speaker
A genuinely common resident errand, done for a new car, a new pickup and often a new house. เจิม is the anointing itself, the paste marks on the ceiling of the car and above the door. Drive it into the temple grounds, ask at the office, and expect a short chant, a sprinkling of water and a garland on the mirror. Leave a donation in the box afterwards. A woman says ขอให้พระเจิมรถหน่อยได้ไหมคะ (khǎw hâi phrá joem rót nàwy dâi mǎi khá).
What they will say back, and how you answer it.
ถอดรองเท้าไว้ตรงนี้ค่ะ
thàwt rawng-tháo wái dtrong-níi khâ
Take your shoes off and leave them here.
Female speaker
This is what comes back at you, usually from the woman selling offerings by the door. ไว้ after a verb means leave it in that state, so this is take them off and leave them, not take them off and carry them. Answer ครับ or ค่ะ and do it. Socks are fine inside. If she points with a lift of the chin instead of a finger, that is the polite way to point, not indifference.
ฝากรองเท้าไว้ที่ผมได้ครับ
fàak rawng-tháo wái thîi phǒm dâi khráp
You can leave your shoes with me.
Male speaker
Offered by the man on the door at busier temples, sometimes with a numbered tag. ฝาก is the verb for leaving something in someone's keeping and you will use it for bags, keys and parcels all over Thailand. There is nothing to pay for this; if a tip box is out, it is a tip box, not a fee. Answer ขอบคุณครับ or ขอบคุณค่ะ.
ได้ค่ะ
dâi khâ
Yes, you can.
Female speaker
Half the questions in this set end in ได้ไหม, and this is the whole answer. Thai answers a can-I question by echoing the verb, not with a word for yes. Listen to the delivery: a quick flat ได้ค่ะ is a real yes, while a slow ได้ with the vowel drawn out, often with a small intake of breath, is a soft no and you should stop. A man says ได้ครับ (dâi khráp).
ไม่ได้ค่ะ
mâi dâi khâ
No, you can't.
Female speaker
The flat refusal. It is not rude and it is not the opening of a negotiation, which is the mistake foreigners make most often at temple doors. Answer ครับ or ค่ะ, or ขอโทษค่ะ if you were already halfway in, and step back. A man says ไม่ได้ครับ (mâi dâi khráp).
ไม่ได้นะคะ
mâi dâi ná khá
Sorry, no, you can't.
Female speaker
More common than the bare refusal, because นะ takes the edge off and makes it sound like a shared rule rather than her decision. It often arrives with ขอโทษด้วยค่ะ (khǎw-thôot dûay khâ, sorry about that) attached. Treat it as exactly as final as ไม่ได้ค่ะ. A man says ไม่ได้นะครับ (mâi dâi ná khráp).
ได้ค่ะแต่ห้ามใช้แฟลชนะคะ
dâi khâ dtàe hâam chái fláet ná khá
Yes, but no flash.
Female speaker
The conditional yes is what you usually get, so listen past the ได้ค่ะ for the แต่. The other one you will hear is ได้ค่ะแต่ข้างนอกนะคะ (dâi khâ dtàe khâang-nâwk ná khá), yes but outside only. Flash is banned in halls with old murals because it damages the pigment, so this is conservation, not superstition.
ต้องคลุมไหล่ด้วยค่ะ
dtâwng khlum lài dûay khâ
You have to cover your shoulders as well.
Female speaker
ด้วย here is the as-well word, and it also softens the instruction. It can mean something else needs fixing too, usually the knees, but very often it is just the polite way to say please do this as well. Big temples keep a rack of wrap cloths at the entrance for exactly this. The answer is ได้ค่ะ or ได้ครับ and then you put one on. Negotiating does not work here and it is the fastest way to be remembered as the rude foreigner.
ต่างชาติเก็บค่าเข้าค่ะ
dtàang-châat gèp khâa-khâo khâ
There's an entrance fee for foreigners.
Female speaker
The full answer is usually คนไทยฟรีค่ะ (khon-thai frii khâ, free for Thais) followed by this, with the figure at the end. Dual pricing is normal and posted, but the Thai-script sign and the English sign do not always say the same thing, which is worth knowing rather than arguing about. ต่างชาติ is the neutral word for foreigner; ฝรั่ง (fà-ràng) is what you will hear in the courtyard and it is not an insult.
เชิญนั่งก่อนโยม
choen nâng gàwn yoom
Please sit down first.
Male speaker
A monk speaking. Note what is missing: no ครับ, because a monk does not use the lay politeness particles, and that absence is register, not rudeness. โยม on the end is him addressing you. Do what it says before you answer anything, because the conversation is not supposed to start while you are standing over him. Sit to one side of him, not directly in front, with your feet tucked away behind you.
อยู่เมืองไทยนานหรือยัง
yùu meuang-thai naan rěu-yang
Have you been in Thailand long?
Male speaker
A monk speaking, again with no particle. หรือยัง asks has it happened yet, and the answer is either แล้วครับ (láew khráp, yes already) or ยังครับ (yang khráp, not yet). The other one he will ask is มาจากประเทศอะไร (maa jàak bprà-thêet à-rai, what country are you from). These are small talk, not an interview, and a short answer plus a smile is the right size.
ผมอยู่เมืองไทยห้าปีแล้วครับ
phǒm yùu meuang-thai hâa bpii láew khráp
I've been living in Thailand five years now.
Male speaker
แล้ว at the end is what turns this from a fact into an answer to หรือยัง: five years and counting. Swap the number for your own. This single sentence changes how the rest of the visit goes, because a resident gets different questions, different prices and a different reception from a visitor. A woman says ดิฉันอยู่เมืองไทยห้าปีแล้วค่ะ (dì-chǎn yùu meuang-thai hâa bpii láew khâ), or simply drops the pronoun.
อยู่เมืองไทยเหรอคะ
yùu meuang-thai rǒe khá
Oh, you live in Thailand?
Female speaker
You will be asked this within two turns of opening your mouth in Thai. เหรอ is the surprised question word, the spoken form of หรือ, and it is friendly rather than suspicious. Answer อยู่แถวนี้ครับ (yùu thǎew-níi khráp, I live around here) or มาบ่อยครับ (maa bàwy khráp, I come here often), both of which mark you as local without a speech about your visa.
มาจากไหนคะ
maa jàak nǎi khá
Where are you from?
Female speaker
The other half of the standard pair, and it is asked of everyone, not just foreigners. Answer มาจาก plus the country: มาจากฝรั่งเศสครับ (maa jàak fà-ràng-sèet khráp, from France), มาจากอังกฤษครับ (maa jàak ang-grìt khráp, from England). If you have already said you live here, people usually follow up with อยู่ที่ไหน (yùu thîi nǎi, whereabouts do you live), which wants a district, not an address.
พูดไทยเก่งนะคะ
phûut thai gèng ná khá
You speak Thai well!
Female speaker
You will get this for saying almost nothing, and it is warmth rather than a verdict. Do not agree with it. The required deflection is พูดได้นิดหน่อยครับ (phûut dâi nít-nàwy khráp, I speak a little) or ยังไม่เก่งครับ (yang mâi gèng khráp, not good yet), delivered with a smile. Accepting the compliment flatly reads as boastful and kills the goodwill that produced it.
พูดได้นิดหน่อยครับ
phûut dâi nít-nàwy khráp
I speak a little.
Male speaker
The answer to the compliment, and also the honest warning before someone launches into a full explanation of the ceremony. นิดหน่อย is the standard small amount and works for food, chilli, money and language alike. A woman says พูดได้นิดหน่อยค่ะ (phûut dâi nít-nàwy khâ).
นั่งพับเพียบนะคะ
nâng pháp-phîap ná khá
Sit with your legs folded to the side.
Female speaker
This is what is actually said to you, because Thai names the correct posture rather than narrating the rule you broke. It is aimed at your feet: sitting cross-legged facing the altar points your soles at the image, and the soles of the feet are the lowest and least respectful part of the body. พับเพียบ is both legs folded to one side with the feet tucked behind you, and it hurts at first, so shift sides rather than stretching your legs out. นะ makes it a reminder between equals, not a reprimand.
เก็บเท้าหน่อยนะคะ
gèp tháo nàwy ná khá
Tuck your feet in a bit.
Female speaker
The short version, said quietly by whoever is sitting next to you, often without looking at you. เก็บ is put away, the same verb as clearing plates or putting your phone away. Move the feet first and say nothing; a spoken apology at this point makes a small correction into a scene. The same rule applies in any Thai house with a floor mat, not just in temples.
อย่าเหยียบธรณีประตูนะคะ
yàa yìap thaw-rá-nii-bprà-dtuu ná khá
Don't step on the threshold, step over it.
Female speaker
Old halls have a raised wooden sill across the doorway and you step over it, never on it. This is policed far more actively than most rules foreigners worry about, and you will be stopped for it. Watch the person in front of you lift their foot and copy them. Thai houses with a raised sill work the same way.
ข้างในห้ามถ่ายรูปครับ
khâang-nai hâam thàai-rûup khráp
Photography is not allowed inside.
Male speaker
ห้าม is the word on every prohibition sign in the country, so learn it by eye as well as by ear: ห้ามถ่ายรูป no photos, ห้ามเข้า no entry, ห้ามสวมรองเท้า no shoes. Spoken with ครับ on the end it is an instruction, not a telling-off, so there is nothing to apologise for. Answer ครับ or ค่ะ and put the phone away rather than lowering it and waiting.
ตรงโน้นค่ะ
dtrong-nóon khâ
Over there.
Female speaker
You ask ตรงไหน three times in this set, so learn the small closed set of answers that come back: ตรงนี้ค่ะ (dtrong-níi khâ) right here, ตรงโน้นค่ะ over there, อยู่ข้างหลังค่ะ (yùu khâang-lǎng khâ) round the back, อยู่ข้างนอกค่ะ (yùu khâang-nâwk khâ) outside, ไปทางนั้นค่ะ (bpai thaang nán khâ) go that way, เลยไปอีกหน่อยค่ะ (loei bpai ìik nàwy khâ) a bit further along. All of them arrive with a lift of the chin, so watch the head rather than the hand.
เชิญค่ะ
choen khâ
Go ahead. Please, be my guest.
Female speaker
One word, heard constantly, and almost never taught. It means you may proceed and it covers being waved through a gate, invited onto a mat, offered a seat or told to help yourself. It is the standing invitation word, not a specific instruction, so the correct response is ขอบคุณค่ะ or ขอบคุณครับ and then you go. A man says เชิญครับ (choen khráp).
ปิดแล้วค่ะ
bpìt láew khâ
It's closed already.
Female speaker
The commonest way a temple visit fails, and it usually comes with พรุ่งนี้มาใหม่นะคะ (phrûng-níi maa mài ná khá, come back tomorrow). แล้ว marks that the state has changed, so this is closed now, not closed permanently. There is nothing to negotiate; say ขอบคุณค่ะ and walk the grounds instead, which are almost always still open.
วันนี้มีงานค่ะ
wan-níi mii ngaan khâ
There's a ceremony on today.
Female speaker
งาน is both work and event, and in a temple it means a ceremony: a funeral, an ordination, a merit-making for someone's family. It usually means the hall is closed to visitors, or open but not to be walked through with a camera. If you are curious rather than in the way, ask ดูได้ไหมคะ (duu dâi mǎi khá, may I watch); sitting quietly at the back is often welcome.
พระกำลังสวดมนต์อยู่ค่ะ
phrá gam-lang sùat-mon yùu khâ
The monks are chanting right now.
Female speaker
กำลัง before the verb and อยู่ after it is the Thai present-continuous frame, and hearing both is your cue that this is happening now. It usually comes with รอสักครู่นะคะ (raw sàk-khrûu ná khá), which means wait where you are and be quiet, not go and wait outside. Sit down while you wait rather than standing over people, and put the phone on silent.
สาธุ
sǎa-thú
Amen. So be it.
Say it once, quietly, with your hands together, at the end of a chant or after a monk finishes a blessing. Older people say it three times. It needs no politeness particle and does not change with your gender, which is why a whole hall can say it in one voice. Said one to one to a monk, people often do add ครับ or ค่ะ, and that is fine too. Staying silent is not rude, but joining in is the easiest thing a foreigner can get right, and people notice.
ไม่เป็นไรค่ะ
mâi bpen rai khâ
It's nothing. Never mind.
Female speaker
The single most common thing said back to you in Thailand, and the close of almost every exchange in this set. It answers both your thanks and your apology, so hearing it means the matter is finished and you should stop apologising. It is also what you say when someone apologises to you, so learn it in both directions. A man says ไม่เป็นไรครับ (mâi bpen rai khráp).
ไปงานบวชครับ
bpai ngaan-bùat khráp
I'm going to an ordination.
Male speaker
The answer when someone asks what brings you to the temple in a shirt on a weekday morning. งานบวช is the party and procession when a young man enters the monkhood, usually for a short period, and being invited is a compliment to you and a merit to the family. Expect music, a shaved head, and a lot of photographs. Bring an envelope, same as a wedding. A woman says ไปงานบวชค่ะ (bpai ngaan-bùat khâ).
You did not catch it, or something is not right.
มีผ้าให้ยืมไหมครับ
mii phâa hâi yeum mǎi khráp
Do you have a cloth I can borrow?
Male speaker
This is the repair when you get turned away at the door in shorts or a vest, and men in shorts get turned away at least as often as women do. Many of the big temples lend or rent a wrap and take a deposit you get back on return; smaller ones often just wave you in. If they rent rather than lend, the word you will hear is เช่า (châo). Carry a light scarf in your bag and you will never need this phrase. A woman says มีผ้าให้ยืมไหมคะ (mii phâa hâi yeum mǎi khá).
ต้องนั่งยังไงครับ
dtâwng nâng yang-ngai khráp
How am I supposed to sit?
Male speaker
Ask before you settle, not after you notice someone staring. The safe answer for anybody is พับเพียบ (pháp-phîap), legs folded to one side with the feet pointing away from the altar; in many temples men may also sit cross-legged, women are expected to fold. Never sit higher than a monk and never sit on the raised platform he is on. ยังไง is the everyday spoken form of อย่างไร and is fine anywhere ครับ or ค่ะ is attached.
ไม่เข้าใจค่ะ
mâi khâo-jai khâ
I don't understand.
Female speaker
More basic and more frequent than asking for slower Thai, and the one to reach for when the slower repeat also failed. Say it plainly; softening it into a long apology makes people switch to gestures and volume. If you understood part of it, say เข้าใจนิดหน่อยค่ะ (khâo-jai nít-nàwy khâ) and point at the bit you missed. A man says ไม่เข้าใจครับ (mâi khâo-jai khráp).
อะไรนะคะ
à-rai ná khá
Sorry, what was that?
Female speaker
The one-word repair for a single missed word or a sentence that went past too fast. The นะ is doing all the politeness work: plain อะไร on its own is blunt and lands like what, snapped at someone. Use it once or twice, then switch to ไม่เข้าใจค่ะ rather than repeating it. A man says อะไรนะครับ (à-rai ná khráp).
แปลว่าอะไรคะ
bplae wâa à-rai khá
What does that mean?
Female speaker
For the one word in the sentence you did not have, usually a temple word like อุโบสถ or ทำวัตร. Repeat the word back first, then this, so they know which one you mean. It asks for a Thai explanation, not an English translation, which is what you want inside a temple where nobody may have English. A man says แปลว่าอะไรครับ (bplae wâa à-rai khráp).
อันนี้เรียกว่าอะไรคะ
an-níi rîak-wâa à-rai khá
What is this called?
Female speaker
The pointing form, and the way you pick up the vocabulary of a place while standing in it. Use an open hand rather than a finger, especially towards anything on the altar. Expect the answer to arrive faster than you can hold it, which is what the writing-it-down phrase is for. A man says อันนี้เรียกว่าอะไรครับ (an-níi rîak-wâa à-rai khráp).
เขียนให้หน่อยได้ไหมคะ
khǐan hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khá
Could you write it down for me?
Female speaker
For a temple name, a date or a time you need to keep. Hand over your phone with a notes app open and most people will type it rather than write. Thai written down is also what you show a taxi driver later, which is the real reason to ask. A man says เขียนให้หน่อยได้ไหมครับ (khǐan hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khráp).
พูดช้าลงหน่อยได้ไหมคะ
phûut cháa long nàwy dâi mǎi khá
Could you speak a bit more slowly?
Female speaker
หน่อย is the softener that turns an order into a request; without it this lands as a command. Ask for slower Thai rather than for English, because inside a temple the person explaining the rules to you often has no English at all. If it is still too fast, point at the thing and ask อันนี้เหรอคะ (an-níi rǒe khá, this one?). A man says พูดช้าลงหน่อยได้ไหมครับ (phûut cháa-long nàwy dâi mǎi khráp).
ไม่ทราบค่ะ
mâi sâap khâ
I didn't know.
Female speaker
ทราบ is the polite word for know, the one that belongs in a temple, a clinic or a government office; ไม่รู้ (mâi rúu) is what you say to a friend and sounds careless here. Note the spelling trap: ทร is read as an s, so ทราบ is sâap, not thraap. For I didn't know as in I had never heard of that rule, add มาก่อน: ไม่ทราบมาก่อนค่ะ (mâi sâap maa-gàwn khâ), didn't know beforehand. Bare ไม่ทราบ on its own is closer to I don't know, the answer to a question. A man says ผมไม่ทราบมาก่อนครับ (phǒm mâi sâap maa-gàwn khráp); a woman normally drops the pronoun entirely.
ไม่ได้ตั้งใจครับ
mâi dâi dtâng-jai khráp
I didn't mean to.
Male speaker
The line for after the fact: your feet swung toward the altar, you stepped over someone sitting on the floor, your phone went off during chanting. Correct the position first and say this second, in that order. Thai handles this kind of accident by fixing it quietly, so a long apology draws more attention than the mistake did. A woman says ไม่ได้ตั้งใจค่ะ (mâi dâi dtâng-jai khâ).
ขอโทษค่ะ
khǎw-thôot khâ
I'm sorry.
Female speaker
The standalone apology, for when you did the thing rather than nearly did it. Once, quietly, with a small wai if it was serious, and then let it go: repeating it makes the other person manage your embarrassment. Add มากค่ะ (mâak khâ) if something got knocked over or broken. It is the same phrase as the attention-getter, but without นะ it is an apology rather than an excuse-me. A man says ขอโทษครับ (khǎw-thôot khráp).
At the door of the wí-hǎan (วิหาร), the hall lay visitors actually walk into, there is a rack of shoes, and that rack is your first lesson: copy the pile, go in barefoot, and sit with your feet tucked behind you rather than pointed at the Buddha image. The bòot (โบสถ์) beside it is the ordination hall and is usually shut or reserved for the monks' own rites, so do not ask for it by name at the gate. To buy the little tray of flowers, incense and candle, point at it and say thâo-rài khráp; the answer is a round number, usually yîi-sìp or hâa-sìp, so the words you need to catch are the tens, and you can hold out a note and let them sort it. Two phrases carry the rest of the visit, sà-wàt-dii khráp when you arrive and khàwp-khun khráp when anyone hands you anything, but keep sà-wàt-dii for the lay staff, the ticket desk and the flower seller, because to a monk you wâai and say nothing, and shoes off plus a slow wâai buys you more goodwill than any sentence you could currently produce.
This rung is the reply, not the question. You ask thâo-rài khráp about the donation and get back láew-dtàe sàt-thaa or dtaam sà-dùak, which is not evasion; it means "up to you", and the correct move is to put a twenty or a hundred into the dtûu baw-rí-jàak (ตู้บริจาค) and wâai instead of asking again. The other reply you have to catch comes from the woman at the door of the hall, khâo mâi dâai khâ or khlum lài dûai khâ, where you only need the mâi dâai and the instruction, not the whole sentence. What unlocks this rung is giving up on parsing full sentences and drilling the half-dozen chunks that actually recur inside a wát (dâai, mâi dâai, dtrong-níi, thaang-níi, raw sàk khrûu, bpìt láew), plus two rehearsed answers about yourself, because maa jàak nǎi khráp and yùu meuang-thai gìi bpii láew arrive within a minute of you opening your mouth.
B1 is the visit where you stop accepting the first answer. Turned away from the wí-hǎan for wearing shorts, you ask mii gaang-geeng rěu phâa khlum hâi yeum mǎi khráp (มีกางเกงหรือผ้าคลุมให้ยืมไหมครับ), since the phâa-thǔng (ผ้าถุง) on the rack is the tube skirt they hand women, and if they rent rather than lend, châo thâo-rài khráp and mát-jam thâo-rài khráp, so you know what you get back at the desk. At a ticket window with a Thai price and a fà-ràng price, raa-khaa khon-thai dâai mǎi khráp, phǒm yùu thîi-nîi khráp, mii bai khàp-khìi thai is worth the ten seconds, said smiling and dropped the instant you hear a flat mâi dâai. And when the helpful man outside a famous wát tells you it is shut for a Buddhist holiday and his friend happens to have a tuk-tuk, the sentence that ends the conversation is bpìt jing rǒe khráp, phǒm hěn mii khon khâo bpai khráp, where rǒe is เหรอ, the spoken form of หรือ, after which you walk to the gate and look for yourself.
Register at a wát is close to a separate dialect: to a monk you are yoom and he is lǔang-phâw or lǔang-phîi, you thank him with khàwp-phrá-khun khráp rather than khàwp-khun khráp, and you never use choen to invite him anywhere, because the verb for a monk is ní-mon. The move Thais genuinely watch for is the timing of the gruàt-náam (กรวดน้ำ), the pouring of water, so you start the thin stream when the chant opens with yá-thǎa, then stop, set the bottle down and raise your hands when the monks come in together on sàp-phii; the tones written on those two are Thai spelling only, since Pali chant is recited flat and you will not hear them in the monks' voices. At the end you say sǎa-thú three times quietly to yourself instead of announcing it to the room, gràap sǎam khráng, and back away a step or two before you turn. The line that gets a laugh is your answer when someone asks what you prayed for, khǎw lêek khráp, asking the shrine for lottery numbers, because everyone within earshot has done exactly that and nobody expects a fà-ràng to know it is the standard reply.
Also useful
Not sure which politeness particle to use? Read polite particles.