How to Say “What's your name” in Thai
ชื่ออะไร
chɨ̂ɨ a-ray
What's your name
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 direct question for asking someone's name — ชื่อ (chɨ̂ɨ) is "name," อะไร (a-ray) is "what." A slightly softer version is คุณ ชื่อ อะไร (khun-chɨ̂ɨ a-ray), adding the polite "you." Thais often have a nickname (ชื่อเล่น (chɨ̂ɨ-lên)) that everyone uses — don't be surprised if you get a playful one-syllable name.
Why you've seen it spelled differently
You may have seen ชื่ออะไร written as: chue arai, chuu arai, chue a-rai.
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
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