Phone and internet in Thai

อินเทอร์เน็ตใช้ไม่ได้ครับ

in-thoe-nét chái mâi dâi khráp

The internet doesn't work.

Male speaker

ใช้ไม่ได้ (chái mâi dâi), literally use not can, is the pattern for anything that does not work: wifi, keycard, app, ATM card. For slow rather than dead, say เน็ตช้ามาก (nét cháa mâak), the internet is very slow. Say it to your landlord first; in most condos the internet contract is theirs.

เบอร์อะไรครับ

boe à-rai khráp

What's your phone number?

Male speaker

Hearing phrase: this is how the 7-Eleven or phone-shop clerk asks for your number when you top up. Answer with the digits, so learn to say your own number in Thai early; it also gets asked at every pharmacy loyalty counter. เบอร์ (boe), from English number, is the everyday word.

พี่ครับ ขอโทษครับ

phîi khráp, khǎw-thôot khráp

Excuse me.

Male speaker

Every other line in this set starts cold with ขอ, which lands oddly if the person is looking at a screen. พี่ is the address term for anyone plausibly older than you, น้อง for someone clearly younger; when you cannot tell, พี่ is the safe guess and nobody is offended by being aged up a little. A woman says พี่คะ ขอโทษค่ะ. Say it once and wait for them to look up rather than repeating it.

ขอซื้อซิมเติมเงินครับ

khǎw séu sim dtoem-ngoen khráp

I'd like to buy a prepaid SIM.

Male speaker

ขอ plus a verb is how you ask for anything across a counter, and it stays polite with no extra words. เติมเงิน (fill money) is the prepaid type, and it is the practical choice for most foreigners: postpaid usually means a deposit, and shops ask for a work permit or a long-stay visa before they will open a monthly line. Take your passport: every SIM is registered to an ID document by law and the shop cannot skip that step. They will ask which network, so decide between AIS, True and dtac before you walk in.

ขอซื้อซิมเติมเงินค่ะ

khǎw séu sim dtoem-ngoen khâ

I'd like to buy a prepaid SIM.

Female speaker

The same sentence with the female ending. ค่ะ is khâ, falling tone, with a real aspirated kh; saying or writing it as ka is the most common foreigner error in Thailand and Thai ears catch it instantly. A statement takes ค่ะ khâ, a question takes คะ khá, which is why the questions in this set end differently from the statements.

ลงทะเบียนเป็นชื่อผมนะครับ ใช้พาสปอร์ตผมเลยครับ

long-thá-biian bpen chêu phǒm ná khráp, chái phâat-sà-bpàwt phǒm loei khráp

Register it in my name please, use my passport.

Male speaker

Say this before any money changes hands. Shops on tourist strips sometimes hand over a SIM already registered to the owner or an agent, which is quicker for them and expensive for you later: a number in someone else's name cannot be ported to another network, cannot be reissued if the phone is lost, and increasingly fails verification for bank apps and PromptPay. เลย here means just use this, nothing else needed. If they say the system is down and offer a pre-registered one, come back another day.

ซิมนี้ลงทะเบียนชื่อใครคะ

sim níi long-thá-biian chêu khrai khá

Whose name is this SIM registered in?

Female speaker

For a SIM you are already using, bought at an airport counter or handed to you by an agent. Any operator shop can check it in a minute from the number. If the answer is not you, ask to have it re-registered on your passport while you are standing there; it is a free counter job and it decides whether banking apps, number porting and a replacement SIM will work later.

ขอเป็นอีซิมได้ไหมคะ

khǎw bpen ii-sim dâi mǎi khá

Could I have it as an eSIM?

Female speaker

Worth asking if you want a Thai number alongside your home-country line in one handset. The shop sets it up by scanning a QR code onto your phone, so bring the phone charged and unlocked. Two things to know: not every cheap handset supports it, and an eSIM is harder to move to a borrowed phone when yours dies, which is the one argument for staying with plastic.

ใส่ซิมกับตั้งค่าเน็ตให้หน่อยได้ไหมครับ

sài sim gàp dtâng-khâa nét hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khráp

Could you put the SIM in and set the data up for me?

Male speaker

Staff expect to do this and will not think less of you for asking. It is not vanity: a SIM that is sold but not activated, or a phone missing the network settings, means a second trip across town. Before you walk away, confirm it works with เน็ตใช้ได้แล้วใช่ไหมครับ (nét chái dâi láew châi mǎi khráp), open something that needs data, and only then leave.

ต้องใช้เอกสารอะไรบ้างครับ

dtâwng chái èek-gà-sǎan à-rai bâang khráp

What documents do I need?

Male speaker

อะไรบ้าง asks for the whole list rather than one item, and that one syllable บ้าง is the difference between a useful answer and a single word. A SIM needs only the passport. Home internet in a rented condo is the heavy one: passport, the visa page, the lease (สัญญาเช่า, sǎn-yaa châo), often a copy of the landlord's ID or written permission, sometimes the house book (ทะเบียนบ้าน, thá-biian bâan). Ask on the phone or on a first visit, then come back with everything at once.

มีแพ็กเกจเน็ตรายเดือนไหมครับ

mii pháek-gèet nét raai-deuan mǎi khráp

Do you have a monthly data package?

Male speaker

Staff more often say โปร (bproo, from promotion) than แพ็กเกจ, and both are understood. Ask for the price per month and the amount of data before agreeing, because the cheap packages throttle hard once the cap is used. ไหม derives as mǎi with a rising tone, which is what the writing tells you, but at normal speed nearly everyone says it high, mái. Either one is understood.

เดือนละเท่าไหร่ครับ

deuan-lá thâo-rài khráp

How much is it per month?

Male speaker

Ask this before you agree to anything, not after. ...ละเท่าไหร่ is the rate frame and it carries over to the rest of your life here: วันละเท่าไหร่ (wan-lá, per day), ปีละเท่าไหร่ (bpii-lá, per year), คนละเท่าไหร่ (khon-lá, per person), กิโลละเท่าไหร่ (gì-loo-lá) at the market. Ask for the data allowance in the same breath, since a cheap package and a useless one look identical until you know both numbers.

เดือนละเท่าไหร่คะ

deuan-lá thâo-rài khá

How much is it per month?

Female speaker

The same question with the female ending, and a clean illustration of the rule: this is a question, so it takes คะ khá on a high tone. The statement version of the same exchange, แค่นี้ค่ะ, takes ค่ะ khâ falling. Getting the two the wrong way round is not a misunderstanding, it just sounds slightly off, and switching them correctly is one of the fastest ways to sound like you live here.

ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่ครับ

tháng-mòt thâo-rài khráp

How much is it altogether?

Male speaker

The moment the SIM, the first package and any registration or activation fee are added up at the till. Ask it before you hand over money, because the total is routinely more than the price you were quoted for the package alone. It works unchanged at every counter and market stall in the country. If the answer comes back fast and long, point at the till screen or use the write-it-down phrase in this set.

จดเบอร์ให้หน่อยได้ไหมคะ

jòt boe hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khá

Could you write my number down for me?

Female speaker

For the day you buy the SIM, when the number is new and you cannot say it yet. Ask them to write it on the receipt or type it into your phone's notes, and photograph it before you leave the shop. จด is to note something down, as against เขียน which is just to write, so it is also the verb for taking down an address or an appointment time someone reads out to you.

เบอร์ตัวเองเช็คยังไงครับ

boe dtua-eng chék yang-ngai khráp

How do I check my own number?

Male speaker

Every network has a short code that displays your own number, and the assistant will usually just dial it for you rather than explain it. Fronting the topic, เบอร์ตัวเอง first and the verb after, is ordinary spoken Thai and not a mistake. Once you have the number, message it to yourself on LINE so it is searchable, and save it in your contacts under your own name.

ขอเติมเงินเบอร์นี้ร้อยนึงค่ะ

khǎw dtoem-ngoen boe níi ráwy neung khâ

Please top up this number with a hundred baht.

Female speaker

The cashier will come straight back with เบอร์อะไรคะ and type the number into the till as you read it out, so have it ready to say rather than only on the screen. นึง is the everyday spoken form of หนึ่ง (one); nobody says the full word for a top-up amount. Twenty, fifty and a hundred baht all work at any 7-Eleven. Keep the slip until the balance moves, because the credit sometimes lands a few minutes late. Topping up adds credit, not data: you still buy a package with that credit afterwards.

เช็คยอดเงินยังไงคะ เน็ตเหลือเท่าไหร่คะ

chék yâwt-ngoen yang-ngai khá, nét lěua thâo-rài khá

How do I check my balance? How much data is left?

Female speaker

Two questions people ask together at the counter. ยอด is the balance or running total, and it comes back in bank apps, bills and delivery slips. เหลือ is what is left over, so it works for anything: เงินเหลือเท่าไหร่, วันเหลือกี่วัน. Ask the assistant to show you the short code or install the operator's app while you are there; it saves the trip next month.

เติมเงินแล้วใช้ได้กี่วันครับ

dtoem-ngoen láew chái dâi gìi wan khráp

How many days does a top-up keep the number active?

Male speaker

A resident question, not a tourist one. Prepaid lines carry a validity period as well as a balance, and small top-ups buy few days, so a number can die with credit still sitting on it. This is how people come back from two months abroad to a dead SIM and lose the number their bank sends OTPs to. Ask the number of days, then either top up enough to cover a trip or set a calendar reminder before you fly.

ขอยกเลิกแพ็กเกจรายเดือนครับ

khǎw yók-lôek pháek-gèet raai-deuan khráp

I'd like to cancel my monthly package.

Male speaker

You can usually cancel a package in the operator's app, on the hotline or by dialling a short code, with no trip at all. Say this at the operator's own shop when that fails, or when the package was added at a counter in the first place; take your passport and the phone with the SIM in it. ขอ plus the verb is polite and firm at once, which is what you want. ผมต้องการยกเลิก is written Thai and reads like a form field; ผมอยากยกเลิก is the softer spoken version. Expect a smaller package to be offered first. Repeat the sentence unchanged rather than starting an argument.

ขอยกเลิกแพ็กเกจรายเดือนค่ะ

khǎw yók-lôek pháek-gèet raai-deuan khâ

I'd like to cancel my monthly package.

Female speaker

The same request in a woman's voice, and worth learning as a set piece rather than softening it further. Politeness in Thai lives in the particle and the tone of voice, not in extra hedging, so ขอ plus ค่ะ said calmly is already courteous. If the counter starts listing alternatives, say the sentence again unchanged and wait; going quiet or laughing along is read as agreement.

ปิดต่ออัตโนมัติให้หน่อยได้ไหมครับ

bpìt dtàw àt-dtà-noo-mát hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khráp

Could you switch off the auto-renewal?

Male speaker

Killing this month's package and stopping it renewing are two separate requests, and doing only the first is why the same charge reappears four weeks later. ต่ออัตโนมัติ is the phrase on the bill and in the app. ปิด (close) is the everyday verb for turning any setting off, and เปิด (bpòet, open) turns it back on. Ask for confirmation by SMS before you leave the counter.

ย้ายค่ายเบอร์เดิมได้ไหมครับ ใช้เวลากี่วันครับ

yáai khâai boe doem dâi mǎi khráp, chái wee-laa gìi wan khráp

Can I switch networks and keep my number? How long does it take?

Male speaker

What you say after a year of bad coverage at home. ค่าย is the word for a mobile operator in this phrase, not บริษัท. Two things decide whether it works: the number has to be registered in your own name, and any outstanding balance has to be cleared. You apply at the network you are moving to, not the one you are leaving, and the old SIM keeps working until the switch lands, usually overnight. Keep the old SIM until the new one has data.

อยากติดเน็ตบ้านครับ ต้องทำยังไงบ้างครับ

yàak dtìt nét bâan khráp, dtâwng tham yang-ngai bâang khráp

I'd like home internet installed. What do I need to do?

Male speaker

ติดเน็ต is what everyone says; the paperwork will call it ติดตั้งอินเทอร์เน็ต (dtìt-dtâng in-thoe-nét). This is a mall shop or hotline job and never a 7-Eleven one. Installation is normally scheduled three to seven days out and the technician comes to you, so ask about documents and contract length in the same visit rather than making a second trip. ยังไงบ้าง asks for all the steps, not just the first one.

อยากติดเน็ตบ้านค่ะ ต้องทำยังไงบ้างคะ

yàak dtìt nét bâan khâ, dtâwng tham yang-ngai bâang khá

I'd like home internet installed. What do I need to do?

Female speaker

Same sentence, female endings, and again the split: ค่ะ khâ closes the statement, คะ khá closes the question that follows. อยาก is want to and is softer than ต้องการ, which is right here because you are opening a conversation rather than making a demand. Say it at the operator's shop counter, or to the greeter who will point you at the right desk.

สัญญากี่เดือนครับ ยกเลิกก่อนกำหนดมีค่าปรับไหมครับ

sǎn-yaa gìi deuan khráp, yók-lôek gàwn gam-nòt mii khâa-bpràp mǎi khráp

How many months is the contract, and is there a penalty for cancelling early?

Male speaker

Home internet here is sold on twelve or twenty-four month terms with an early-termination penalty, and often a router deposit on top. Ask both halves before signing, because a resident on a one-year visa who signs a two-year contract, or who moves condo after eight months, pays the difference in cash. ค่า in front of a noun means the fee for it, so ค่าปรับ is the penalty, ค่าติดตั้ง the installation charge, ค่ามัดจำ (khâa mát-jam) the deposit. Ask what happens to the router when you leave.

ย้ายเน็ตไปที่อยู่ใหม่ได้ไหมคะ

yáai nét bpai thîi-yùu mài dâi mǎi khá

Can the service move to a new address?

Female speaker

The question that saves the penalty when you change condo mid-contract: moving the line is usually cheaper than cancelling it. Expect a relocation fee and a coverage check, since fibre depends on what is already wired into the new building, so ask before you sign the new lease rather than after. ย้าย is the general verb for relocating anything, yourself included.

จ่ายบิลที่เซเว่นได้ไหมครับ

jàai bin thîi see-wên dâi mǎi khráp

Can I pay the bill at 7-Eleven?

Male speaker

Usually yes, and it is how most people here pay for a monthly line: take the bill or the barcode in the app to the counter, pay cash, keep the slip. Ask ใบแจ้งหนี้ส่งทางไหนครับ (bai jâeng-nîi sòng thaang nǎi khráp) to find out how the bill reaches you, since paper, SMS and app-only are all common and a bill you never see becomes a line that gets cut off. เซเว่น is what everyone calls the shop.

ต้องรับบัตรคิวไหมครับ

dtâwng ráp bàt-khiu mǎi khráp

Do I need to take a queue ticket?

Male speaker

Ask it on the way in and you save fifteen minutes of standing in the wrong place. บัตร is any card or ticket, so the same word covers your ID card, a bank card and a cinema ticket. Banks, government offices and hospitals run on the same system, which makes this one of the most portable sentences in the set.

ขอรหัสไวไฟหน่อยค่ะ

khǎw rá-hàt wai-fai nàwy khâ

Could I have the wifi password?

Female speaker

หน่อย softens the request the way just softens one in English; without it, ขอ can land like an order. รหัส on its own means the password here. In a cafe it is often printed on the receipt or stuck to the wall, so glance there first. If the answer comes back as a spoken string of letters and numbers, ask for it in writing; if the written one still will not connect, the next card is what you need.

ขอดูพาสปอร์ตด้วยค่ะ

khǎw duu phâat-sà-bpàwt dûay khâ

Could I see your passport as well?

Female speaker

This is the staff talking, not you. Registering a SIM against an ID document is the law, so it comes before anything else is discussed. Hand over the physical passport rather than a photo of it, and expect them to scan it and sometimes photograph your face at the counter. If you hear บัตร (bàt, card) instead, they mean the same thing: any ID they can register the number to.

ผมเช่าห้องอยู่ครับ ใช้สัญญาเช่าได้ไหมครับ

phǒm châo hâwng yùu khráp, chái sǎn-yaa châo dâi mǎi khráp

I rent a room. Can I use the lease?

Male speaker

Say it before they start typing, because renting changes the paperwork and sometimes the answer. เช่า...อยู่ with อยู่ at the end is the ongoing state, I am renting, not I once rented. Take a photo of the lease on your phone and keep it there; you will be asked for it again by the internet company, the immigration office and the bank.

ต้องขออนุญาตเจ้าของห้องไหมคะ

dtâwng khǎw à-nú-yâat jâo-khǎwng hâwng mǎi khá

Do I need the owner's permission?

Female speaker

For anything drilled, cabled or installed in a rented place the answer is usually yes, and the landlord will want to be asked before the technician turns up rather than after. Many condos also make the juristic office sign off on cabling. Getting a line of writing on LINE from the owner, with their name and phone number, is normally enough for the shop and saves the whole visit.

เอาแพ็กเกจไหนคะ

ao pháek-gèet nǎi khá

Which package do you want?

Female speaker

เอา (take) is the ordinary verb for want when buying something, so this is direct rather than rude. The answer usually arrives fast with several prices in it, and this is the exact moment most foreigners nod at something they did not understand and pay for it. Do not nod: ask for it slowly, or in writing. Note the ending is คะ khá, high tone, because it is a question; the same woman would close a statement with ค่ะ khâ.

เอาอันที่ถูกที่สุดครับ

ao an thîi thùuk thîi-sùt khráp

I'll take the cheapest one.

Male speaker

Your answer to the question above. ถูก means both cheap and correct, so pairing it with ที่สุด (most) removes the ambiguity completely. If you would rather set a ceiling than accept whatever is cheapest, say ไม่เกินสามร้อยบาท (mâi goen sǎam ráwy bàat), not over three hundred baht, and let them find something inside it.

เบอร์อะไรคะ

boe à-rai khá

What's the number?

Female speaker

What the 7-Eleven cashier says the second you ask for a top-up, and what the shop asks before checking a package or a balance. A male assistant says เบอร์อะไรครับ. They type it into the till while you speak, so say it in groups and pause between them; showing the number on your screen also works but you will still be expected to read it. Learn to recognise this three-word question, because it comes back at delivery counters, clinics and repair shops.

เบอร์ศูนย์แปดหนึ่ง สองสามสี่ ห้าหกเจ็ดแปดครับ

boe sǔun bpàet nèung, sǎwng sǎam sìi, hâa hòk jèt bpàet khráp

The number is 081 234 5678.

Male speaker

Swap in your own digits. Thai mobile numbers are read in a 3-3-4 grouping and always open with ศูนย์ (sǔun, zero), so the first group is nearly always ศูนย์แปด or ศูนย์เก้า (gâo, nine). The rest of the digits: หนึ่ง nèung, สอง sǎwng, สาม sǎam, สี่ sìi, ห้า hâa, หก hòk, เจ็ด jèt, แปด bpàet, เก้า gâo. Say them out loud until they come without thinking, because you will need them for top-ups, deliveries, clinic forms and every technician visit.

รับบัตรคิวก่อนนะคะ นั่งรอตรงนั้นค่ะ

ráp bàt-khiu gàwn ná khá, nâng raw dtrong nán khâ

Take a queue ticket first and wait over there.

Female speaker

The first thing said to you at an operator shop in a mall, usually by a greeter near the door. Foreigners routinely walk past this, stand at a counter and get sent back. The machine asks what you are there for, so point or show the phone if the screen is only in Thai. Watch the number boards and listen for your number read out. นะคะ after an instruction softens it into a friendly nudge rather than an order.

รอนานไหมคะ

raw naan mǎi khá

Is it a long wait?

Female speaker

Four syllables that decide whether you sit down or come back after lunch. The answer is usually a number of คิว (queues, meaning people ahead of you) rather than minutes, so listen for a number plus คิว. นาน is long in time only; long in distance is ไกล (glai). Adverb-style questions like this one keep the same shape everywhere: แพงไหม, ไกลไหม, เผ็ดไหม.

ระบบล่มค่ะ พรุ่งนี้มาใหม่ได้ไหมคะ

rá-bòp lôm khâ, phrûng-níi maa mài dâi mǎi khá

The system is down. Could you come back tomorrow?

Female speaker

Heard weekly at operator counters and it stops SIM registration dead, because registration runs through a national system the shop does not control. It is not a brush-off and there is nothing to push against. Get a phone number for the branch or ask when it usually comes back up, and use the come-back-when card below before you leave, so the next trip is not another guess.

ซิมหมดครับ

sim mòt khráp

We're out of SIMs.

Male speaker

Two words that end the visit. ของหมด (khǎwng mòt) is the general form and you will hear it in every shop and food stall in the country. หมด is the all-purpose ran out: เงินหมด out of money, แบตหมด out of battery, เน็ตหมด your data allowance is finished, หมดอายุ expired. Ask when the stock arrives, or try a different branch, since 7-Eleven and the mall shops restock separately.

รอสักครู่นะคะ

raw sàk-khrûu ná khá

One moment please.

Female speaker

Close to the most frequent sentence spoken in any Thai shop, and a learner who does not recognise it thinks nothing is happening and starts asking again. It means your request is being dealt with, usually on a screen you cannot see. The casual version is แป๊บนึง (bpáep neung), a sec, which friends and market sellers use. Sit back down and let it run.

แล้วต้องมาอีกทีเมื่อไหร่ครับ

láew dtâwng maa ìik thii mêua-rài khráp

So when should I come back?

Male speaker

What you say the moment a visit fails, so the trip is not wasted twice. แล้ว at the front of a question means so, then, given that. อีกที is one more time, the same phrase as in the say-it-again card. Ask for a day and a time rather than accepting พรุ่งนี้, and if it is a systems problem, ask whether phoning first would save the journey.

รับเงินสดหรือสแกนคะ

ráp ngoen-sòt rěu sà-gaen khá

Cash or QR?

Female speaker

Asked at almost every counter in the country now. สแกน means scanning the PromptPay QR code with a Thai banking app, which needs a Thai bank account, so cash stays the fallback for anyone newly arrived. Choose by answering with one word, เงินสด or สแกน, plus the particle. Notice หรือ in the middle: an either-or question, so it does not take ไหม.

สแกนจ่ายได้ไหมครับ

sà-gaen jàai dâi mǎi khráp

Can I pay by QR?

Male speaker

The answer is nearly always yes, including in small shops and at market stalls. Show the payment screen to the cashier after it goes through, because that confirmation is what they check rather than the money landing. โอน (oon) is a bank transfer to an account number and is a different transaction, so do not use it here.

แค่นี้ค่ะ ขอบคุณค่ะ

khâe níi khâ, khàwp-khun khâ

That's everything, thank you.

Female speaker

The set needs an ending, and this is it. แค่นี้ closes the transaction and tells staff to stop offering extras, which is exactly what you want after the package talk. A man says แค่นี้ครับ ขอบคุณครับ. It doubles as the way to finish an order at a food stall or a market stall, and a small nod with it is enough; you do not need to wai a shop assistant.

ช่างจะไปพรุ่งนี้บ่ายสองโมงค่ะ

châang jà bpai phrûng-níi bàai sǎwng moong khâ

The technician will come tomorrow at two in the afternoon.

Female speaker

They say ไป (go), not มา (come), because they are speaking from the shop's side; you would say มา about the same visit. บ่ายสองโมง is 2pm. Thai divides the day into blocks, so บ่ายโมง is 1pm and บ่ายสามโมง is 3pm. In practice you are more often given a window such as บ่ายสองถึงสี่ (bàai sǎwng thěung sìi), two to four, and the technician phones when he is close.

โทรมาก่อนได้ไหมคะ

thoo maa gàwn dâi mǎi khá

Could you call me before you come?

Female speaker

ได้ไหม after a verb is the all-purpose can you, and it is the most reusable frame in this whole set. Add เบอร์นี้นะคะ (boe níi ná khá), this number please, so the call reaches the phone you can actually answer. If your Thai is still thin, this one sentence saves the appointment: a phone call you can hand to a Thai-speaking neighbour beats a knock at the door you missed.

ช่างครับ ถึงหน้าคอนโดแล้วครับ อยู่ห้องไหมครับ

châang khráp, thěung nâa khawn-doo láew khráp, yùu hâwng mǎi khráp

It's the technician. I'm at the front of the condo. Are you in your room?

Male speaker

The most predictable inbound call in this whole situation, and it comes fast and slightly muffled from a motorbike. The answer that saves the appointment is one word: อยู่ครับ or อยู่ค่ะ (yùu khráp, yùu khâ), I'm in. Follow with the room number, or ลงไปรับนะครับ (long bpai ráp ná khráp) if you need to come down and sign him in. If you truly cannot follow, hand the phone to the front desk rather than hanging up.

รหัสอยู่ในใบเสร็จค่ะ

rá-hàt yùu nai bai-sèt khâ

The password is on the receipt.

Female speaker

The likeliest answer in a chain cafe, where the password rotates and is printed per order. ใบเสร็จ is the receipt, and ใบ in front of a noun marks flat paper things: ใบเสร็จ receipt, ใบขับขี่ driving licence, ใบแจ้งหนี้ bill. Keep it until you are connected, because throwing the receipt away means buying another coffee.

เดี๋ยวรีเซ็ตให้นะคะ

dǐao rii-sét hâi ná khá

I'll reset it for you in a moment.

Female speaker

เดี๋ยว at the front of a sentence means in a moment I will, not wait, and it is how Thai marks something about to be done for you. ให้ after the verb is the for you part. Expect the router to be switched off and on, and expect two or three minutes of nothing before it comes back, so do not ask again straight away.

เติมไปแล้วแต่ยอดยังไม่เข้าครับ

dtoem bpai láew dtàe yâwt yang mâi khâo khráp

I topped up but the credit hasn't arrived.

Male speaker

Take the slip back to the same shop; the reference number on it is what gets it traced. ยังไม่เข้า (still not entered) is the standard phrase for money that has not landed and works for bank transfers too. Its uglier sibling is เติมผิดเบอร์ครับ (dtoem phìt boe khráp), I topped up the wrong number, which is usually unrecoverable, so read the number back off the till screen before you pay.

ผมไม่ได้สมัครแพ็กเกจนี้ครับ ช่วยเช็คให้หน่อยได้ไหมครับ

phǒm mâi-dâi sà-màk pháek-gèet níi khráp, chûay chék hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khráp

I didn't sign up for this package. Could you check it for me?

Male speaker

The second clause is what makes this work. The assistant in front of you did not make the charge, and a flat accusation makes them lose face, at which point helping you becomes personally costly and the visit is over. ช่วย...ให้หน่อย turns the complaint into a favour asked, which is what gets the screen turned round. Stay calm and quiet: in Thailand the calm person is the one who gets helped. Grammar worth noticing: ไม่ได้ in front of a verb is the past negative, did not sign up, while ใช้ไม่ได้ with ไม่ได้ after the verb means cannot be used. Bring the slip or the SMS, and if they say it renewed by itself, ask for ต่ออัตโนมัติ to be switched off as a separate request.

ไม่ได้สมัครแพ็กเกจนี้ค่ะ ช่วยเช็คให้หน่อยได้ไหมคะ

mâi-dâi sà-màk pháek-gèet níi khâ, chûay chék hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khá

I didn't sign up for this package. Could you check it for me?

Female speaker

The pronoun is simply dropped, which is normal Thai and sounds natural rather than blunt; ดิฉัน is boardroom register and ฉัน can land oddly with a stranger, so most women just leave it out. Note the two different particles in one card: ค่ะ khâ closes the statement, คะ khá closes the question. Bring the slip or the SMS, and ask them to read out which date the package was added.

ขอคืนเงินได้ไหมครับ

khǎw kheun ngoen dâi mǎi khráp

Can I have a refund?

Male speaker

The next turn after the charge has been looked up and agreed to be wrong. Expect the money to come back as credit on the line rather than as cash, and expect the decision to go to a supervisor or the hotline rather than the person at the counter, which means waiting rather than pushing. คืนเงิน is the general refund word and works in shops and restaurants too.

เบอร์นี้ใช้ไม่ได้แล้ว ขอเปิดใช้ใหม่ได้ไหมครับ

boe níi chái mâi dâi láew, khǎw bpòet chái mài dâi mǎi khráp

This number has stopped working. Can it be reactivated?

Male speaker

A dead Thai number takes your bank OTPs, your delivery accounts and your Grab login with it, so this is urgent in a way it never is at home. Go in person with the passport the SIM is registered to. Ask ซิมหมดอายุหรือเปล่าครับ (sim mòt-aa-yú rěu bplàao khráp) to find out whether it simply expired, which is the usual answer and the easy one to fix. After a grace period the number is released to someone else and cannot be recovered, so do not leave it for a month.

โทรศัพท์หายค่ะ ขอระงับซิมก่อน แล้วขอซิมใหม่เบอร์เดิมค่ะ

thoo-rá-sàp hǎai khâ, khǎw rá-ngáp sim gàwn, láew khǎw sim mài boe doem khâ

My phone is lost. Please suspend the SIM first, then I'd like a new SIM with the same number.

Female speaker

Said in that order: suspend first so nobody uses the line or your OTPs, replacement second. เบอร์เดิม (the original number) is the load-bearing phrase in the whole card, because the default assumption at a counter is that you want a new SIM, which means a new number and a locked-out bank app. This only works if the line is registered to your own passport, which is why the registration card earlier matters. หาย is lost or gone missing, and covers stolen too unless you want to make a police report.

เน็ตที่ห้องใช้ไม่ได้ ให้ช่างมาดูหน่อยได้ไหมครับ

nét thîi hâwng chái mâi dâi hâi châang maa duu nàwy dâi mǎi khráp

The internet in my room isn't working. Could you send a technician to look at it?

Male speaker

Two clauses: the fault, then the request. ใช้ไม่ได้ (use not can) is the everyday way to say something is broken, and it works just as well for the lift, the shower and the air conditioning. หน่อย stops the request sounding like a summons. For a house rather than a rented room, say ที่บ้าน in place of ที่ห้อง. Have the address and the account holder's name ready: in a rented condo the contract is usually in the landlord's name, not yours.

แจ้งไว้เมื่อวานแล้วค่ะ ยังไม่มีใครมาเลย

jâeng wái mêua-waan láew khâ, yang mâi mii khrai maa loei

I reported it yesterday and nobody has come.

Female speaker

Repeat contact is what living somewhere is made of, and reporting the fault again from scratch just opens a second ticket and pushes the visit further back. แจ้งไว้ means reported and on record, which is the point: you are referring back, not starting over. เลย at the end carries the complaint so your voice does not have to. Say it flat and calm, give the job number, and ask when someone is coming.

ขอเลขที่แจ้งซ่อมหน่อยครับ

khǎw lêek-thîi jâeng-sâwm nàwy khráp

Could I have the repair job number?

Male speaker

Ask for it at the end of every fault report, before you hang up or leave the counter. With it, the second conversation starts where the first one stopped; without it, you are a stranger describing a problem again. Pair it with the self-identification that makes you findable: ผมชื่อ ... อยู่ห้อง ... ตึก ... ครับ (phǒm chêu ..., yùu hâwng ..., dtèuk ... khráp), my name is, room, building. Write both in your phone notes with the date.

ตรงนี้ไม่มีสัญญาณเลย

dtrong níi mâi mii sǎn-yaan loei

There's no signal at all here.

No particle, so it works muttered at your own phone, said to a roommate, or aimed at a landlord. Add ครับ or ค่ะ and the same sentence works at a service counter. เลย after a negative carries the at all and does most of the complaining for you. For wifi rather than mobile coverage, swap สัญญาณ for เน็ต: ตรงนี้ไม่มีเน็ตเลย.

ต่อไม่ได้ครับ ขึ้นว่ารหัสผิด

dtàw mâi dâi khráp, khêun wâa rá-hàt phìt

It won't connect. It says the password is wrong.

Male speaker

ขึ้นว่า is the natural verb for anything a device displays, literally it comes up saying, and it is reusable for every error message you will ever have to describe here. Two common causes: the guest network needs a code printed on the receipt rather than the one on the wall, and capital letters get read out as if they were lower case. Hold the phone up and show them the screen while you say it.

พูดช้าๆ อีกทีได้ไหมครับ

phûut cháa-cháa ìik thii dâi mǎi khráp

Could you say that again slowly?

Male speaker

ช้าๆ doubles the word for slow, which is how Thai builds this kind of adverb, and ๆ is the repeat mark that saves writing it twice. อีกที is one more time. Use this instead of nodding: a misplaced nod at a package question costs real money, and no shop assistant in Thailand minds repeating. If the second attempt fails too, move straight to asking for it in writing.

ฟังไม่ทันครับ

fang mâi than khráp

I couldn't keep up with that.

Male speaker

Say this before asking for a repeat, or you get the same sentence back at the same speed. ไม่เข้าใจ says the words meant nothing to you; ฟังไม่ทัน says you know the words and the speed beat you, which is usually the truth at a counter and is far more natural here. The ...ไม่ทัน frame carries over: ตามไม่ทัน (can't follow), มาไม่ทัน (arrived too late for it).

พูดไทยได้นิดหน่อยค่ะ

phûut thai dâi nít-nàwy khâ

I speak a little Thai.

Female speaker

Said early, this changes the tenor of a hard visit: the whole counter slows down, and staff start choosing simpler words instead of switching to English or to gestures. Expect a compliment on your Thai in return, which is politeness rather than assessment. ได้ after a verb is the can of ability, the same ได้ as in the ได้ไหม questions throughout this set.

มีใครพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหมครับ

mii khrai phûut phaa-sǎa ang-grìt dâi mǎi khráp

Is there anyone here who speaks English?

Male speaker

The escape hatch, and not a failure. Operator shops in malls usually have one person who can handle a contract in English, and asking for them in Thai first changes how the request lands. Keep it for the expensive conversations, contracts, penalties and disputed charges, and stay in Thai for the everyday ones. ใคร is both who and anyone, depending on the sentence.

เขียนราคาให้หน่อยได้ไหมคะ

khǐan raa-khaa hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khá

Could you write the price down for me?

Female speaker

The move that ends most price disagreements before they start, because both of you are then looking at the same number. It works for the wifi password too: swap ราคา for รหัส. What comes back may be in Thai numerals, so learn ๐ to ๙, or ask them to punch it into a calculator and turn the screen around.