Greeting

Situation

Listen to the sceneDisplay options

Maay nâng yùu nay ráan-kaa-fææ

Maay is sitting in a coffee shop.

David dəən pay nâng klây klây Maay

David walks and sits near Maay.

David kàp Maay mây rúu-càk kan

David and Maay do not know each other.

Vocabulary

Tone colors:midlowfallinghighrising

นั่งnângVto sit

ในnayPREPin

ร้านกาแฟráan-kaa-fææNcoffee shop

เดินdəənVto walk

ไปpayVto go

ใกล้ๆklây klâyADVnear, close by

กับkàpCONJwith, and

ไม่mâyADVnot

รู้จักrúu-càkVto know (a person)

กันkanPARTeach other (reciprocal marker)

Sentence Structure

1. Ongoing action (progressive tense)

Verb + อยู่ (yùu)

อยู่ (yùu) after a verb marks the progressive (continuous) tense: "[doing the verb] right now".

นั่ง อยู่

nâng yùu

(is) sitting

เดิน อยู่

dəən yùu

(is) walking

2. Walk to do something or to somewhere

Subject + เดิน (dəən) + ไป (pay) + verb / place

"[Subject] walks to [do something / go somewhere]." ไป (pay) literally means "to go", but here it also works like the word "to" in English, linking the walking to whatever happens next.

เดวิด เดิน ไป นั่ง ใกล้ ๆ มาย

David dəən pay nâng klây klây Maay

David walks over and sits near Maay.

มาย เดิน ไป ร้านกาแฟ

Maay dəən pay ráan-kaa-fææ

Maay walks to the coffee shop.

3. Not knowing each other (reciprocal)

Subject A + กับ (kàp) + Subject B + ไม่ (mây) + รู้จัก (rúu-càk) + กัน (kan)

"[A] and [B] don't know each other."

เดวิด กับ มาย ไม่รู้จัก กัน

David kàp Maay mây rúu-càk kan

David and Maay don't know each other.

ผม กับ คุณ ไม่รู้จัก กัน

phǒm kàp khun mây rúu-càk kan

I and you don't know each other. (male speaking)

Dialogue

DialogueDisplay options

Role-play:

David and Maay meet for the first time at a coffee shop in Bangkok

David ♂

sa-wàt-dii khráp phǒm chɨ̂ɨ David

Hello. My name is David.

David ♂

khun chɨ̂ɨ a-ray khráp

What is your name?

Maay ♀

sa-wàt-dii khâ chán chɨ̂ɨ Maay khâ

Hello, my name is Maay.

David ♂

yin-dii thîi dâay rúu-càk khráp

Nice to meet you.

Maay ♀

yin-dii thîi dâay rúu-càk khâ

Nice to meet you.

Vocabulary

Tone colors:midlowfallinghighrising

สวัสดีsa-wàt-diiINThello

ผมphǒmPRONI (male speaker)

ฉันchánPRONI (female speaker, or neutral)

ชื่อchɨ̂ɨN/Vname / to be called

คุณkhunPRONyou (polite, neutral)

อะไรa-rayPRONwhat

ยินดีที่ได้รู้จักyin-dii thîi dâay rúu-càkPHRnice to meet you

ครับkhrápPARTpolite particle (male speaker)

ค่ะkhâPARTpolite particle (female speaker)

Sentence Structure

1. Introducing yourself

ผม (phǒm) / ฉัน (chán) + ชื่อ (chɨ̂ɨ) + [Name] + (ครับ (khráp) / ค่ะ (khâ))

"My name is [your name]." The verb "is" is not needed: ชื่อ (chɨ̂ɨ) works as the verb "to be called".

ผม ชื่อ เดวิด ครับ

phǒm chɨ̂ɨ David khráp

My name is David. (male speaking)

ฉัน ชื่อ มาย ค่ะ

chán chɨ̂ɨ Maay khâ

My name is Maay. (female speaking)

2. Asking someone's name

คุณ (khun) + ชื่อ (chɨ̂ɨ) + อะไร (a-ray) + (ครับ (khráp) / คะ (khá))

"What is your name?" The question word อะไร (a-ray) simply replaces the name in the same slot of the sentence.

คุณ ชื่อ อะไร ครับ

khun chɨ̂ɨ a-ray khráp

What is your name? (male asking)

คุณ ชื่อ อะไร คะ

khun chɨ̂ɨ a-ray khá

What is your name? (female asking)

3. Nice to meet you (fixed phrase)

ยินดี ที่ ได้ รู้จัก (yin-dii thîi dâay rúu-càk) + (ครับ (khráp) / ค่ะ (khâ))

"Nice to meet you." You can learn this as one fixed phrase and memorize it as a whole. If you'd like to see the literal meaning, here it is: ยินดี (yin-dii) — to be pleased, ที่ (thîi) — that, ได้ (dâay) — to get (to), รู้จัก (rúu-càk) — to know (someone) = "I'm pleased that I get to know you."

ยินดี ที่ ได้ รู้จัก ครับ

yin-dii thîi dâay rúu-càk khráp

Nice to meet you. (male speaking)

ยินดี ที่ ได้ รู้จัก ค่ะ

yin-dii thîi dâay rúu-càk khâ

Nice to meet you. (female speaking)

4. Being polite (polite particles)

sentence + ครับ (khráp) (male) / ค่ะ (khâ) (female)

Polite particles go at the END of a sentence. They don't change the meaning; they only add politeness and show the speaker's gender.

สวัสดี ครับ

sa-wàt-dii khráp

Hello. (male speaking)

สวัสดี ค่ะ

sa-wàt-dii khâ

Hello. (female speaking)

Exercises

comprehensionDid you follow the story and the dialogue?

Where is Maay sitting?

Did David and Maay know each other before?

Who greets first?

What is the lady's name?

fill blankFill in the blank

สวัสดีผม ชื่อ เดวิด(sa-wàt-dii ____ phǒm chɨ̂ɨ David)

ฉันมาย ค่ะ(chán ____ Maay khâ)

คุณ ชื่อครับ(khun chɨ̂ɨ ____ khráp)

ยินดี ที่ ได้ครับ(yin-dii thîi dâay ____ khráp)

reorderReorder the sentence

My name is David.

Tap the words below in the right order

What is your name?

Tap the words below in the right order

My name is Maay.

Tap the words below in the right order

Nice to meet you.

Tap the words below in the right order

dialogue practicePractice with a partner or record yourself

You sit down next to someone at a coffee shop. Greet them, say your name, ask their name, and tell them it's nice to meet them.

Recap

Did you know?

You may have noticed that "David" and "Maay" sound like real names, but most Thai people actually introduce themselves using their nickname (ชื่อเล่น (chɨ̂ɨ-lên)), not their official legal name. This holds true even when meeting a stranger for the first time.

So when a Thai person asks คุณ ชื่อ อะไร (khun chɨ̂ɨ a-ray, “What is your name?”), they're almost always asking for your nickname rather than your full, formal name. It's completely normal and even seen as more friendly in Thai culture.

✓ What you can do now

✓Greet someone with สวัสดี (sa-wàt-dii) and introduce your own name

✓Ask someone else's name with คุณ ชื่อ อะไร (khun chɨ̂ɨ a-ray)

✓Say "Nice to meet you" with ยินดี ที่ ได้ รู้จัก (yin-dii thîi dâay rúu-càk) when meeting someone for the first time

✓Use the polite particles ครับ (khráp) / ค่ะ (khâ) correctly based on the speaker's gender

✓Know that Thai people usually introduce themselves with a nickname (ชื่อเล่น (chɨ̂ɨ-lên)), not their real name

สวัสดี ครับsa-wàt-dii khráp— Hello (male speaker)

สวัสดี ค่ะsa-wàt-dii khâ— Hello (female speaker)

ผม ชื่อ เดวิด ครับphǒm chɨ̂ɨ David khráp— My name is David. (male)

ฉัน ชื่อ มาย ค่ะchán chɨ̂ɨ Maay khâ— My name is Maay. (female)

คุณ ชื่อ อะไร ครับkhun chɨ̂ɨ a-ray khráp— What is your name? (male asking)

ยินดี ที่ ได้ รู้จัก ค่ะyin-dii thîi dâay rúu-càk khâ— Nice to meet you. (female)

Word Check

Go through every word from this lesson. Say the meaning out loud, then turn the card over to check. Be honest with yourself — a word you had to think hard about is worth another round.

flashcardsTap a card to flip it

1 / 19

✓ 0 known · ? 0 not sure · 19 not checked

Situation

Vocabulary

Sentence Structure

1. Ongoing action (progressive tense)

2. Walk to do something or to somewhere

3. Not knowing each other (reciprocal)

Dialogue

Vocabulary

Sentence Structure

1. Introducing yourself

2. Asking someone's name

3. Nice to meet you (fixed phrase)

4. Being polite (polite particles)

Exercises

Recap

Word Check

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