Shangri Lingua

How to say “hello” in Thai

สวัสดี

sà-wàt-dee

/sà.wàt.diː/

สวัสดี means hello, goodbye.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: low, low, mid

This works as both hello and goodbye, at any time of day. To be polite, men add ครับ (kráp) at the end and women add ค่ะ (kâ).

Reading the romanization: the mark over a vowel shows its tone. bp and dt are a p and a t with no puff of air, while plain p, t and k have the puff. The IPA shows the exact sounds, and Learn the IPA explains how to read it.

Examples

  • สวัสดีครับ คุณครู

    sà-wàt-dee kráp, kun kroo/sà.wàt.diː kʰráp kʰun kʰruː/

    Hello, teacher.

How it’s spelled

Thai is written in a fixed order, which isn’t always the order you hear. Here’s each letter of สวัสดี in the order you’d write it.

  • ส

    “s” with a short “a”: the first syllable, “sà”. No vowel is written.

    so suea, from เสือ (tiger)High class

    Like ล, with a flick at the top.

  • ว

    “w” starts the second syllable. The ส before it also gives that syllable high class rules.

    wo waen, from แหวน (ring)Low class

    A small arch curling over to the right, with a loop at the lower left.

  •  ั

    The short vowel “a”, sitting on the ว.

    mai han akat

    A small loop with a stroke rising to the right.

  • ส

    Ends the second syllable as “t”: “wàt”.

    so suea, from เสือ (tiger)High class

    Like ล, with a flick at the top.

  • ด

    “d” starts the last syllable.

    do dek, from เด็ก (child)Mid class

    A rounded top, with the line curling back inside at the top left. Compare ต.

  •  ี

    The long vowel “ee”: “dee”.

    sara ii

    Like sara i, with a small stroke on the right.

Why the tones are low, low, mid

  1. Sà: ส is high class with a short vowel, so the syllable is dead. High and dead gives a low tone.
  2. Wàt: the ส in front gives ว high class rules, and it ends in “t”, so it’s dead. High and dead gives a low tone.
  3. Dee: ด is mid class with a long vowel, so it’s live. Mid and live gives a mid tone.

New to consonant classes and live or dead syllables? See how Thai tones work.

Learn to write it

The Shangri Lingua app teaches สวัสดี in its Thai writing course. You write the word one letter at a time, with your finger or Apple Pencil, and the app checks each letter and gives you more help if you get stuck. Get it on the App Store.

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Browse all Thai vocabulary.