How to Say “Never mind” in Thai
ไม่เป็นไร
mây-pen-ray
Never mind
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
One of the most versatile phrases in Thai — it covers "never mind," "it doesn't matter," "you're welcome," and "no worries" depending on context. You'll hear it constantly as a gentle brush-off or reassurance.
Why you've seen it spelled differently
You may have seen ไม่เป็นไร written as: mai pen rai, mai ben rai, mai bpen rai, mai pen lai.
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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