Street food in Thai

อันนี้เท่าไหร่ครับ

an-níi thâo-rài khráp

How much is this one?

Male speaker

Point at the thing and ask. อันนี้ (an níi, this one) means you never need to know the name of what you are buying. The price comes back fast, and street prices are usually round numbers, so train your ear on ยี่สิบ (yîi-sìp, 20), สามสิบ (sǎam-sìp, 30), สี่สิบ (sìi-sìp, 40) and ห้าสิบ (hâa-sìp, 50) baht.

เอาอันนี้ครับ

ao an-níi khráp

I'll take this one.

Male speaker

The pointing phrase. เอา (ao) is the normal 'I'll take, give me' at stalls and markets, with ครับ on the end it is not rude at all. To buy more than one, add a number and repeat the classifier the vendor used: เอาสองอันครับ (ao sǎwng an khráp, I'll take two), or for skewers เอาสองไม้ครับ (ao sǎwng máai khráp).

เอากลับบ้านครับ

ao glàp bâan khráp

To take away, please.

Male speaker

Literally 'take back home'. Vendors often ask first: ทานที่นี่หรือกลับบ้านครับ (thaan thîi-nîi rěu glàp bâan khráp, eating here or taking away?), so if you hear something ending in กลับบ้าน with a question tune, this phrase is your answer. ใส่ถุงครับ (sài thǔng khráp, put it in a bag) does the same job.

ไม่ใส่ผักชีครับ

mâi sài phàk-chii khráp

Without coriander, please.

Male speaker

The classic foreigner request, vendors hear it daily. ผักชี (phàk-chii) is coriander, sprinkled on nearly everything. The frame ไม่ใส่ (mâi sài, don't put in) works for any ingredient: ไม่ใส่น้ำตาลครับ (mâi sài náam-dtaan khráp, no sugar), and worth memorising if you have an allergy, ไม่ใส่ถั่วครับ (mâi sài thùua khráp, no peanuts).

หมดแล้วครับ

mòt láew khráp

It's all gone, sold out.

Male speaker

A HEARING phrase: point at the empty tray at 7 pm and this is the answer, 'all gone'. หมด (mòt) means used up or sold out, and you will also hear it about single items: หมูหมดครับ (mǔu mòt khráp, the pork is finished). Popular stalls sell out early, so hearing this a lot means you have found a good one, come back earlier tomorrow.

เอาอันนี้ครับ

ao an-níi khráp

I'll have this one.

Male speaker

The workhorse. Point at the tray with your whole hand, not one finger, and say it. Works for anything you can see: skewers, a bag of som tam, a bowl of noodles. A woman says ao an-níi khâ. Learn the particle rule here and it covers the whole set: statements take ครับ khráp for men and ค่ะ khâ for women, questions take ครับ khráp for men and คะ khá for women, and at a cart everyone drops the pronoun. Better still, open by addressing her first: phîi khráp, ao an-níi khráp. If you want two different things, point at each and repeat it. She will usually answer with a number of portions or a price, so have your ears ready for numbers.

พี่คะ เอาอันนี้ค่ะ

phîi khá, ao an-níi khâ

Excuse me, I'll have this one.

Female speaker

Almost nobody teaches the address term and it is the whole mechanism by which you stop being an anonymous foreigner and become a regular. พี่ phîi is the safe default for anyone from roughly your own age up to middle age, of either sex. For an obviously older woman use ป้า bpâa or น้า náa, for an obviously older man ลุง lung. Do not call a young vendor bpâa, it ages her and it stings. When unsure, phîi is never wrong. A man says phîi khráp, ao an-níi khráp. Use the same opener in front of the price question and the change question.

เอาสองที่ค่ะ

ao sǎwng thîi khâ

Two portions, please.

Female speaker

ที่ (thîi) is the counter for a serving at a cart: one plate or one portion. Swap the number as needed: nèung thîi, sǎwng thîi, sǎam thîi. For grilled meat sold by the stick use ไม้ (máai): sǎwng máai. For a bagged portion you will also hear ถุง (thǔng): sǎwng thǔng. A man says ao sǎwng thîi khráp. Note the particle is ค่ะ, khâ with an h. Writing it kâ is wrong.

อันนี้เท่าไหร่ครับ

an-níi thâo-rài khráp

How much is this one?

Male speaker

Ask before she starts scooping, not after the food is already in the bag. It costs nothing and it settles the number while you can still change your mind. A woman ends with khá, since this is a question: an-níi thâo-rài khá. For a whole tray of the same thing, gìi bàat khráp works too. If you cannot catch the answer, ask her to write it or point at her calculator.

อันนี้คืออะไรครับ

an-níi kheu à-rai khráp

What is this?

Male speaker

Pointing and hoping is fine for your first week and useless after that. This is how the range of what you eat widens. Expect the answer as a bare dish name said fast, so follow up with mǔu rěu gài khráp, pork or chicken, which narrows it to something you can decide on. A woman says an-níi kheu à-rai khá.

อะไรอร่อยคะ

à-rai à-ràwy khá

What's good here?

Female speaker

Vendors like this question and will usually point at the thing they are proudest of, which is often the thing they sell out of first. A fuller version is náe-nam à-rai dii khá, what do you recommend. A man says à-rai à-ràwy khráp. Whatever she points at, order it, because refusing the recommendation you asked for is the awkward part.

ขอเผ็ดน้อยค่ะ

khǎw phèt náwy khâ

A little spicy, please.

Female speaker

Say it before she starts pounding or ladling, not after. Understand that phèt náwy at a som tam cart still means two or three chillies, which is most people's phèt mâak. If you actually want none, use the no chilli phrase instead. A man says khǎw phèt náwy khráp. She may check first by asking gin phèt dâi mǎi khá, which has its own card.

ไม่ใส่พริกครับ

mâi sài phrík khráp

Don't put chilli in.

Male speaker

The clearest way to get zero chilli, because it names the action of adding rather than the level of heat. Same pattern for any other preference: mâi sài náam-dtaan for no sugar, mâi sài phàk chii for no coriander, mâi sài náam-bplaa for no fish sauce. A woman says mâi sài phrík khâ. This frame is for preferences only. If something will actually harm you, do not use it, use แพ้ pháe on the allergy card, because mâi sài gives a vendor no reason to worry about the spoon she just stirred the peanuts with.

ผมแพ้ถั่วครับ ใส่ไม่ได้เลยนะครับ

phǒm pháe thùa khráp, sài mâi dâi loei ná khráp

I'm allergic to peanuts, none at all please.

Male speaker

แพ้ pháe is the word that makes a vendor take it seriously, and this is the one place where keeping the pronoun is worth it, because it makes clear you mean yourself and not a general dislike. A woman says dì-chǎn pháe thùa khâ, or simply pháe thùa khâ. Same frame for แพ้อาหารทะเล pháe aa-hǎan tha-lee, seafood, and แพ้กุ้ง pháe gûng, shrimp, which matters because dried shrimp and กะปิ gà-bpì shrimp paste are invisible in som tam and in most curries. At a shared mortar or a shared wok, ask and then decide whether to eat there at all.

ไม่ใส่ผงชูรสค่ะ

mâi sài phǒng-chuu-rót khâ

No MSG, please.

Female speaker

The request long-term residents make more than any other and that visitor phrasebooks skip. Vendors hear it constantly and are not offended by it. A man says mâi sài phǒng-chuu-rót khráp. Some carts pre-season the broth, so you may get mâi dâi khâ, I can't, which is honest rather than a brush-off.

กินเจครับ ไม่ใส่น้ำปลา ไม่ใส่กะปิครับ

gin jay khráp, mâi sài náam-bplaa, mâi sài gà-bpì khráp

I eat vegetarian, no fish sauce, no shrimp paste.

Male speaker

Saying only no meat gets you fish sauce, oyster sauce and shrimp paste, because in Thai cooking those are seasonings rather than meat. Naming them is what makes the request work. A softer, widely understood version is gin mang-sà-wí-rát khráp. The phrase vendors parse fastest is mâi sài néua sàt, no animal flesh. For no pork, mâi gin mǔu khráp. During the Jay festival every October a yellow flag on the cart means the whole cart is already vegetarian, and the vocabulary is suddenly everywhere.

ขอน้ำเปล่าเย็นๆ ขวดนึงค่ะ

khǎw náam bplào yen-yen khùat nèung khâ

One cold bottle of water, please.

Female speaker

Most food carts sit next to a cooler, and น้ำเปล่า náam bplào is plain water as opposed to anything sweet. Doubling เย็นๆ yen-yen means properly cold rather than room temperature off the shelf. ขวด khùat is the counter for bottles. A man says khǎw náam bplào yen-yen khùat nèung khráp. If you just want to know what is cold, ask mii náam yen mǎi khráp.

ไม่ใส่น้ำแข็งค่ะ

mâi sài náam-khǎeng khâ

No ice, please.

Female speaker

A daily request, since most drinks are built in the cup with ice first. Say it as she reaches for the scoop. A man says mâi sài náam-khǎeng khráp. Related and just as useful: wǎan náwy khâ, less sweet, which at a Thai iced tea cart still leaves it sweeter than you expect.

ใส่กล่องนี้ได้ไหมครับ

sài glàwng níi dâi mǎi khráp

Can you put it in this box?

Male speaker

Hand the container over open and hold it out while you ask. For a tiffin carrier say sài bpin-dtoo khráp. A woman ends with khá. Almost every vendor says dâi and some look pleased about it, though a very busy cart may wave it away because their hands are already full. Pair it with mâi dtâwng sài thǔng khráp, no bag needed.

ขอช้อนด้วยค่ะ

khǎw cháwn dûay khâ

Could I have a spoon as well?

Female speaker

Takeaway does not always come with utensils, so ask while she is tying the bag. Same frame for the rest: khǎw thǔng ìik bai khâ, one more bag; khǎw náam-jîm dûay khâ, some dipping sauce too; and the other way round, mâi dtâwng sài thǔng khâ, no bag needed, which is now a normal thing to say and gets a good reaction. A man ends all of these with khráp.

เอาอย่างเคยค่ะ

ao yàang khoei khâ

The usual, please.

Female speaker

The phrase that does more for your standing at a cart than any other, because it says you have been back. Use it from the third or fourth visit, once she recognises you. A man says ao yàang khoei khráp. If she has forgotten, she will say yàang khoei kheu à-rai ná khá, what was the usual, and you fall back to pointing.

วันนี้ขายถึงกี่โมงครับ

wan-níi khǎai thěung gìi moong khráp

How late are you selling today?

Male speaker

Worth asking once at any cart you plan to use again, because carts keep their own hours and the good ones sell out early. The other half of the question is bpìt wan-nǎi khráp, which day are you closed, since most street vendors take one fixed day off. A woman ends with khá. Answers come in the Thai clock system, so sǎwng thûm is eight in the evening and sǎam thûm is nine.

สแกนได้ไหมครับ

sà-gaen dâi mǎi khráp

Can I scan to pay?

Male speaker

Most carts now have a PromptPay QR taped to the umbrella pole, and if you have a Thai bank account this is the permanent answer to the whole big-note problem. The fuller version is jàai phàan khiu-aa dâi mǎi khráp, can I pay by QR. A woman ends with khá. Look for the code before you ask, since half the time she will just tap it with a finger instead of answering.

โอนแล้วนะครับ

oon láew ná khráp

I've transferred it.

Male speaker

Say this while turning the phone so she can see the confirmation slip, because she will want to see it rather than take your word. Many vendors also want to hear their own phone chime first, so do not walk off in the same second. A woman says oon láew ná khâ. If the transfer is slow, dtìt nít nèung ná khráp, one moment, buys you the pause.

อร่อยมากค่ะ

à-ràwy mâak khâ

That was really good.

Female speaker

Say it on your next visit, not with your mouth full on the first one. It is the cheapest thing you will ever do for your standing at a cart and vendors remember it. A man says à-ràwy mâak khráp. Stronger still, à-ràwy thîi-sùt nai sǎwy níi khâ, the best on this soi, which will get you a laugh and often a bigger portion.

ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่คะ

tháng-mòt thâo-rài khá

How much is it altogether?

Female speaker

Use tháng-mòt when you have ordered several things, so she gives you one total instead of a price per item. The question particle here is คะ, khá with a high tone, not the falling ค่ะ khâ you use for statements. The number comes back fast, so listen for the tens: yîi-sìp, sǎam-sìp, sìi-sìp. A man says tháng-mòt thâo-rài khráp.

รับอะไรดีคะ

ráp à-rai dii khá

What would you like?

Female speaker

You do not say this, you hear it, usually the second you slow down near the cart. It is not a demand, just an opening. Answer with ao an-níi khráp or khâ and a point, or with the dish name. Shorter versions you will also hear: ráp à-rai khá, or just à-rai dii khá. From a male vendor the same line ends with khráp.

เอากี่ที่ครับ

ao gìi thîi khráp

How many portions do you want?

Male speaker

The follow up to your pointing. กี่ (gìi) means how many and always sits in front of a counter word, so gìi thîi is how many servings, gìi máai how many skewers, gìi thǔng how many bags. Answer with the bare number plus the counter: nèung thîi khráp. Holding up fingers at the same time costs nothing.

กินเผ็ดได้ไหมคะ

gin phèt dâi mǎi khá

Can you eat spicy food?

Female speaker

Asked of foreigners constantly, and it is a genuine question, not a challenge. Answer dâi khráp for yes, dâi nít-nàwy khráp for a bit, or mâi dâi khráp for no. Answering dâi to look tough is how people end up unable to taste anything for two days. The related warning is an-níi phèt ná khá, this one is spicy you know, which she says when she has decided for you.

ใส่ผักชีไหมคะ

sài phàk-chii mǎi khá

Do you want coriander in it?

Female speaker

A yes or no question about the green garnish, and one of the fastest things said at a cart, so it slips past beginners. Answer sài khráp for yes, mâi sài khráp for no. The same shape covers everything else she may check: sài phrík mǎi khá, sài náam-dtaan mǎi khá.

ใส่ถุงหรือใส่จานคะ

sài thǔng rěu sài jaan khá

In a bag or on a plate?

Female speaker

Carts with a couple of stools ask this to find out whether you are eating there or walking off with it. ถุง (thǔng) is the plastic bag, จาน (jaan) is a plate. Just repeat back the half you want. The other common wording of the same question has its own card.

ทานที่นี่หรือเอากลับคะ

thaan thîi-nîi rěu ao glàp khá

Eating here or taking it away?

Female speaker

ทาน thaan is the polite word for eat, so this is the version you hear at a cart with tables. Answer with the half you want: thaan thîi-nîi khráp or ao glàp khráp. You will also hear gin thîi-nîi rěu glàp bâan khá, eat here or go home, which means the same thing. A male vendor ends with khráp.

รอสิบนาทีนะครับ

raw sìp naa-thii ná khráp

Wait ten minutes, okay?

Male speaker

You will hear this at grill and noodle carts when there is a queue. The นะ softens it into a request. Answer raw dâi khráp or raw dâi khâ, I can wait, and step to the side. If ten minutes does not suit, ask naan mǎi khráp, will it be long. Vendors often just say raw sàk khrûu, wait a moment, which has its own card.

ขอโทษค่ะ รอแป๊บนึงนะคะ

khǎw-thôot khâ, raw bpáep nèung ná khá

Sorry, wait just a second.

Female speaker

Said when she is mid-order for someone else and has seen you standing there. The formal version is raw sàk khrûu ná khá. The only thing you have to do is answer, and the answer is mâi bpen rai khráp or khâ, plus a small smile. Standing silent reads as annoyance here, even when you are not annoyed.

หมดแล้ว

mòt láew

It's finished, we're out.

Short, particle free and said with a small shake of the head, which is why beginners miss it and keep pointing. It can mean that one item is gone or the whole cart is done for the night. Useful reply: láew mii à-rai bâang khráp, so what do you have then, or mii à-rai lěua bâang khráp, what is left. Popular carts run out of the best cuts early in the evening, so go earlier rather than argue with mòt láew.

เอาอะไรอีกไหมคะ

ao à-rai ìik mǎi khá

Would you like anything else?

Female speaker

The most common vendor turn after your first order, and the point where the transaction wants to close. Shorter forms you will also hear: ìik mǎi khá, and ráp à-rai ìik mǎi khá. Two answers to drill until they are automatic: thâo-níi khráp, that's all, and ao an-níi ìik an khráp, one more of these. A male vendor ends with khráp.

เท่านี้ครับ

thâo-níi khráp

That's all, thanks.

Male speaker

The answer to anything else, and without it the exchange has no ending and you stand there while she waits. A woman says thâo-níi khâ. Equally common is phaw láew khráp, that's enough. Follow it straight into khàwp-khun khráp as she hands the bag over.

สี่สิบบาทครับ

sìi-sìp bàat khráp

Forty baht.

Male speaker

Whatever the figure, the shape is always number plus บาท bàat. Numbers said fast are the number one comprehension failure for foreigners, so drill the trap pair first: yîi-sìp, twenty, against sǎam-sìp, thirty. Then the compounds: hòk-sìp-hâa, sixty-five. For a hundred, vendors say ráwy nèung far more often than the textbook nèung-ráwy. Grill, fruit and noodle carts are frequently run by men, so expect this line with khráp as well as khâ.

รับแต่เงินสดค่ะ

ráp dtàe ngoen-sòt khâ

We only take cash.

Female speaker

The answer to your scan question about a third of the time, usually at older carts and at ones the owner runs alone. The happier answer is sà-gaen dâi khâ, you can scan, often with a finger tapping the QR code. If it is cash only and you have nothing small, go straight to the break-the-note phrase rather than standing there.

มีแบงก์ย่อยไหมคะ

mii báeng yâwy mǎi khá

Do you have anything smaller?

Female speaker

What she asks when you hand over a five hundred or a thousand for a small bag of food. แบงก์ย่อย means small notes, twenties and hundreds. The Royal Institute spelling is แบงก์, and the untoned spelling gives mid tone, báeng, though plenty of people say it high and write it แบ๊งก์. If you have small notes, say mii khráp or mii khâ and swap. If not, use the next two cards. Buying something small at 7-Eleven with a big note is the easy way to get change before you hit the market.

ไม่มีเงินทอนค่ะ

mâi mii ngoen thawn khâ

I don't have any change.

Female speaker

The outcome the big-note conversation actually leads to, so learn to hear it or you will stand there holding a thousand with no idea what you were just told. Variants: thawn mâi dâi khâ, I can't break it, and ngoen thawn mâi phaw khâ, I don't have enough change. Your move is the next card, not an apology and a retreat.

ขอบคุณครับ

khàwp-khun khráp

Thank you.

Male speaker

Say it as you take the bag, and take the bag and the change with your right hand, left hand lightly touching your right forearm, which is the gesture that actually reads as respectful here. Do not wâi a street vendor as a customer, and never wâi first to someone serving you. If an older vendor wâis you, a light nod is enough, do not put your hands up. A woman says khàwp-khun khâ. She will answer with a short khâ or khàwp-khun khâ back, not a full you're welcome, so do not wait for more. Leaving with phrûng-níi maa mài khráp, I'll come again tomorrow, is what turns a customer into a regular.

พูดไทยเก่งนะ

phûut thai gèng ná

You speak Thai well.

You will get this for saying four words correctly, and it is warmth rather than an assessment. The expected answer is nít-nàwy khráp or nít-nàwy khâ, only a little, said with a small shake of the head. Accepting the compliment flatly lands badly. The follow-up question is usually yùu meuang thai naan yang, how long have you been in Thailand, answered with a number plus bpii, years, or deuan, months.

มีแต่แบงก์พันค่ะ

mii dtàe báeng phan khâ

I've only got a thousand baht note.

Female speaker

Say it lightly and hold the note visible so she can decide. Swap phan for hâa-ráwy if it is a five hundred. Keep the same spelling as the smaller-note card, แบงก์. If she cannot break it, do not ask to owe her: offer to go and get change, which is the next card. If she waives it herself she will say wái gàwn gâw dâi khâ, or mâi bpen rai, khraaw-nâa gâw dâi khâ, never mind, next time is fine. Then you owe her a return visit, and you go.

เดี๋ยวไปแลกเงินมาครับ รอแป๊บนึงนะครับ

dǐao bpai lâek ngoen maa khráp, raw bpáep nèung ná khráp

I'll go and break the note, back in a second.

Male speaker

The ordinary move, and the one to reach for first. Nobody loses face, she holds the food for you, and you come back a regular instead of a problem. A woman ends both halves with khâ. Break big notes at 7-Eleven or on a BTS ticket machine on the way to the market and the situation stops arising.

ไม่เข้าใจครับ

mâi khâo-jai khráp

I don't understand.

Male speaker

Better than nodding and hoping, which is how you end up with the wrong dish. Drop the pronoun, because at a cart ผม phǒm in front of a two-word statement sounds like a classroom exercise. A woman says mâi khâo-jai khâ. Keep phǒm and ดิฉัน dì-chǎn for an office or a clinic where you are being formal. The street version worth memorising as one unit is mâi khâo-jai khráp, phûut ìik thii dâi mǎi khráp, I don't understand, say it again?

พูดช้าๆ อีกทีได้ไหมคะ

phûut cháa-cháa ìik thii dâi mǎi khá

Could you say that again slowly?

Female speaker

The single most useful sentence in the whole set. ช้าๆ doubled means nice and slow, and ìik thii means one more time. Note the space after ๆ, which is standard Thai typography. Vendors respond well to this because it shows you are trying. For prices specifically, ask khǐan hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khá, could you write it down, or point at her calculator. A man ends with khráp.

ขอเงินทอนด้วยครับ

khǎw ngoen-thawn dûay khráp

My change, please.

Male speaker

For when she got busy with the next customer and your change never came back. Say it lightly, it is almost always forgetfulness. If the amount looks wrong, state your own action rather than her error: mêua-gîi phǒm hâi báeng hâa-ráwy ná khráp, I gave you a five hundred just now. She recounts without being accused, which is the whole point. Do not count the money out loud, do not hold the note up to the light, do not raise your voice, because implying a vendor short-changed you in front of a queue is the one move here that ends a relationship with a cart you walk past every day. If it really was a mistake, close it with mâi bpen rai khráp and take the change. A woman ends with khâ.

ไม่เป็นไรครับ

mâi bpen rai khráp

It's fine, no problem.

Male speaker

The phrase that closes every small mishap in Thailand: she apologises for the wait, she gets the order slightly wrong, she has no change, she bumps your arm. A woman says mâi bpen rai khâ. It answers khǎw-thôot khâ, sorry, and raw naan ná khá, sorry for the long wait. It is also how you decline an unwanted extra without a fuss. Without it you stand there mute at exactly the moment goodwill gets made.