Learning to speak some basic Thai will go a long way.

Although word order in Thai is very significant, we are not going to give you a lesson in Thai sentence structure. We will offer some basic points for introductions and meeting people with most of our information will assist you when visiting a restaurant.

Meeting people:
As a normal courtesy, Thai speakers end their sentences with a polite syllable: "krup" for men, and "Kha" for women. You should follow this example or you may appear abrupt and aggressive. Always use krup/kha after saying the all-purpose Thai greeting "sawat dee" - so you would say "sawat dee krup" for a man and "sawat dee kha" for a lady. If someone says this to you, then you should reply with these words. The spelling I have used is only for phonetic purposes. Also, when saying "thank you" a man would say "khap khun krup" while a lady would say "thank you" with "khap khun Kha".

Excuse Me: Kha toat or Kha toat Khup for a man
Many Thanks: You add on the word "Maa" to "thank you". So you say "Khap khun Maa Krup" for a man.
Good Luck: Chok Dee

Thais often address each other with their first names with the honorific "Khun" or other title preceeding it. Such as; Khun John.

Other useful words:
Are You Well or OK?:   Sabai Dee Mai
I'm ok, thanks:            Sabai Dee
What's Your Name?:    Khun Chew Alai or Chew Alai khup/kha?
My Name Is ...:           Phom Chew John ...
Beautiful, Isn't It?:      Suay Mai?
I Come From ...:         Phom/Dee Chan Maa Jaak...Example: Phom Maa Jaak America (man)

Restaurant info and terms:
Thai meals are usually served family style: that is, guests serve themselves from dishes placed in the center of the table. Traditionally, the party orders one of each kind of dish, maybe a curry, a vegetable dish and a soup with extra dishes added for larger parties. Dishes are not served in courses, as the meal is more or less served at once (or as fast as the kitchen can prepare them). Soup is usually served in a common bowl and guests take from this bowl and spoon the broth and ingredients over rice or into their individual smaller bowl.

Most Thai dishes are eaten with a fork and tablespoon. The fork is held in the left hand and used to push food onto the spoon from which you eat. To the Thais, putting a fork into one's mouth is as uncouth as putting a knife into your mouth in a western country. Exceptions to the rule are noodle shops, where spoon and chopsticks are used and sticky rice (most common in the north and northeast), which is rolled into balls and eaten with the right hand, along with the food accompanying it.

It is customary at the start of a shared meal to eat a spoonful of plain rice first - a gesture that recognizes rice as the most important part of the meal. When serving yourself from a common platter, put no more than 1 or 2 spoonfuls of food onto your plate at a time. If you are being hosted by Thais, they'll undoubtedly encourage you to eat less rice and more curries, seafood and so on as a gesture of their generosity (since rice cost comparatively little). The humble guest, however, takes rice with every spoonful.

Always leave some food on the serving platter as well as your own plate. To clean your plate and leave nothing on the serving platters would be a grave insult to the hosts. This is why Thais seem to over-order at social functions - the more food that is left on the table, the more generous the hosts appears.

Thai dishes can be pungent and spicy. Lots of garlic and chillies are used, especially "phrik khi nuu", those are the small torpedo shaped peppers that can often be pushed aside or have the dish ordered "Mai Phet" or not spicy.

At the restaurant:
Eat: Kin
Chicken: Gai
Pork: Moo
Beef: Nuwa
Fish: Plaa
Prawn/shrimp: Gung
Bill or cheque, please: Check bin
Bowl: Chaam
Chopsticks: Ta Kiap
Fork: Sawm
Glass: Kaew
Menu: Meh Nuu
Plate: Jaan
Spoon: Chawn

I can eat Thai food: Than Ahaan Thai Pen
I like it hot and spicy: Shop Phet,     I Dont like it hot and spicy: My Shop Pet
I only eat vegetarian: Phom/Dii-chan kin jeh
I can't eat pork: Phom/Dii-chan kin moo my die
No fish or chicken: My sai plaa reu gai
Please do Not use MSG: Karunaa mai sai phong chu rot
Soy Sauce: Naam sii yiw

Rice dishes:
Steamed Rice: Kaow Suay
Sticky Rice: Kaow Neow