How to Say “I don't speak Thai” in Thai

พูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้

phûut phaa-sǎa-thay mây-dây

I don't speak Thai

พูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้ค่ะphûut phaa-sǎa-thay mây-dây khâfemale speakerพูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้ครับphûut phaa-sǎa-thay mây-dây khrápmale speaker

ค่ะ (khâ) and ครับ (khráp) are polite particles — they depend on the speaker's gender, not the listener's.

Word by word

Tone colors:midlowfallinghighrising

พูดphûutVsay

ภาษาไทยphaa-sǎa-thayNThai

ไม่ได้mây-dâyAUXnot

When to use it

พูด (phûut) is "to speak," ภาษาไทย (phaa-sǎa-thay) is "Thai language," ไม่ได้ (mây-dây) is "cannot." This manages expectations clearly. A softer version: พูด ภาษาไทย ได้ นิดหน่อย (phûut phaa-sǎa-thay dâay nít-nɔ̀y) — "I speak a little Thai" — which often earns a warmer response.

Why you've seen it spelled differently

You may have seen พูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้ written as: phut phasa thai mai dai, pood passa tai mai dai.

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 →

Related phrases

Speak slowly

พูดช้าๆ หน่อย

phûut cháa cháa nɔ̀ɔy

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