How to Say “Later” in Thai
เดี๋ยว
dǐaw
Later
ค่ะ and ครับ are polite particles — they depend on the speaker's gender, not the listener's.
When to use it
เดี๋ยว (dǐao) means "in a moment" or "later" — context tells you which. เดี๋ยวมา (dǐao-maa) means "coming in a moment." For "later" as in another time, Thais say ทีหลัง (thii-lǎng). เดี๋ยวก่อน (dǐao-gɔ̀ɔn) adds "first" — "wait a moment."
Why you've seen it spelled differently
You may have seen เดี๋ยว written as: diao, diao kon, thi lang.
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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