Thai Words & Custom Glossary
It's come to my attention that a little bit of basic Thai word translation and customs explained in this site will be most informative. Please keep in mind I am not the Thai expert, having never studied it and being Chinese that makes me as vague as any other non Thai person, but I am fortunate to have resources and links with Thai people.
There will also be a list of food translations as you may notice that many Thai restaurants you visit will have the dishes in the Thai language and hopefully it will prepare you for what you want to order. Some words might simply make no logical sense eg. "moo" is pork. Its obvious a cow moos therefore "moo" should be beef, maybe cows do moo in Thailand...
...Claire Chhor Customs
Greetings
When you meet someone informally or formally you would put two open palms together having the tips of your index fingers at levels below the chin and forward bow down your head and say:
"sa-wad-de-ka" (woman saying "hello")
"sa-wad-de-krab" (man saying "hello")
In all politeness these endings should be said at the end of all sentences:
"Ka" (for woman)
"krab" (for man)
No other gestures are needed for the below list:
English |
Thai |
Translation |
| Thank you |
|
|
| Bye |
|
|
| how are you |
|
|
| You are welcome/ no worries! |
|
|
| My name is |
|
|
Food Knowledge
Ettiquette
• When eating from a plate, forks and spoons are used
• When eating from a bowl, chopsticks are used
• Majority of Thai savoury dishes are quite flavourful and requires steamed rice or sticky rice to accompany it. Even the salad & soup dishes requires rice (except entree size). Below is a list of meal phrases:
| English |
Thai |
Explaination |
| Meal Time |
Kin-Kou |
literary meaning "Eat Rice" and can be used informally for all meal times and whatever the meal |
| have a meal |
Kin-ar-han |
formal |
| Breakfast |
Kin-ar-han-chou |
formal |
| Lunch |
Kin-ar-han-glang-wun |
formal |
| Dinner |
Kin-ar-han-kham |
informal |
| Yummy |
ar-roy |
|
| I'm very hungry |
Hil-mak |
|
| I'm thirsty |
Hil-num |
|
| I'm full |
Im-mak |
|
Meats
English |
Thai |
| Beef |
Nua |
| Pork |
Moo |
| Lamb |
Cag |
| Chicken |
Gai |
| Quail |
Nok |
| Duck |
Ped |
Seafood
| English |
Thai |
| Fish |
Pla |
| Squid |
Pla muk |
| Prawns |
Goong |
| Mussels |
Hoy |
Vegetables, Beans & Rice
| English |
Thai |
| Tofu |
Toi hu |
| Rice |
Kou |
| Basil |
Gapao |
| Ginger |
Khing |
| Salad |
Yum |
| Vegetables |
Pug |
| Mushrooms |
Hed |
| Chilli |
Prig |
Thai Dishes
| English |
Thai |
Translation |
| Sauteed |
Pud |
When meat, poutry, seafood or vegetables are pre-marinated first then stir fried in a wok |
| Red Curry |
Gang Dang |
"Dang"-red, "Gang"-curry |
| Green Curry |
Keow Warn |
"keow"-green, "warn"-sweet |
| Curry/Soup |
Gang |
|
| Chilli Paste |
Prig Khing |
|
| Deep Fried |
Tord |
|
|
