How to Say “Excuse me” in Thai
ขอโทษ
khɔ̌ɔ-thôot
Excuse me
ค่ะ (khâ) and ครับ (khráp) are polite particles — they depend on the speaker's gender, not the listener's.
Word by word
When to use it
The word ขอโทษ (khɔ̌ɔ-thôot) literally translates to "asking to be pardoned from punishment or guilt." It combines ขอ (khɔ̌ɔ), which means to politely request or plead, and โทษ (thôot), which means fault, punishment, or blame. Together, the phrase conveys a humble intention to seek forgiveness and clear away any wrongdoing.
Why you've seen it spelled differently
You may have seen ขอโทษ written as: kho thot, khor tote, khaw thot, kho tot.
There is no single standard for writing Thai in the Roman alphabet — phrasebooks, road signs, and tourist guides each follow a different system, and many just invent their own spellings. The romanization on this page uses a consistent IPA-based system that marks all five tones and distinguishes short from long vowels. The same word always gets the same spelling. Paste any Thai to see it romanized →
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