เบอร์ (ber) numbers

In addition to the use of Arabic symbols there is Thai script for each number.

๑     หนึ่ง   (nèung)     one

๒     สอง   (sŏng)       two

๓     สาม   (sǎm)        three

๔     สี่       (sèe)         four

๕     ห้า     (hâ)           five

๖     หก    (hòk)         six

๗     เจ็ด    (jèt)          seven

๘     แปด   (bpàyrt)   eight

๙     เก้า    (gâo)        nine

๑๐   สิบ     (sìp)         ten

เอา ... (ao ...) I'll take ....

Order by saying เอา ... (ao ...) which means, “ I'll take ....”

Then simply combine the words you have learned.

1. Choose rice/noodles/soup/salad.

ข้ว                (kâo)               rice

2. Choose preparation:

ข้วผัด             (kâo phat)      fried rice

3. Choose ingredient:

ข้วผัดไก่         (kâo phat gái ) fried rice w/chicken

4. Choose sauce:

ข้วผัดไก่น้ำมันหอย   (kâo phat gái núm mun hŏy)

fried rice w/chicken in black bean sauce

5. Choose spice:

เผ็ด  (pèt)          spicy

ไม่เผ็ด      (mâi pèt)  not spicy

So a complete order is:

เอาข้วผัดไก่น้ำมันหอยเผ็ด

(ao kâo phat gái núm mun hŏy pèt)

I’ll take fried rice with chicken in black bean sauce- spicy.

A more polite way to order is:

ขอ ... หน่อย     (kor...nóy)  could I have some...?

For example:

ขอน้ำเปลาหน่อย

(kor núm bplào nóy)     

could I have some plain water?

When in doubt, simply point at the menu:

นี้                  (nîi)                 this

เอานี้             (ao nîi)            I'll take this

นี้อะไร            (nîi arai)         what is this?

นี้ลาเท่าไร        (nîi la taorai) this each how much?

To request the bill:

เช็คบิล           (chék bin)       bill please

น้ำ (núm) sauce

You may request a sauce with your stir-fry ผัด (phat). Most noodle stalls have bottles or dishes of sauce which you can add yourself.

พริก             (prík)               chillies

พริกไทย         (prík Thai)   black pepper

ขิง                (kǐng)              ginger

น่อไม้             (nòr-mái)       bamboo shoots

กระเพรา        (gra-prao)      basil

มันหอย          (mun hŏy)      oyster sauce

กระทียม        (gratium)       garlic

ถั่ดำ             (tùa dam)       black bean sauce

ส้มหวาน        (sôm-wahn)   sour-sweet*

*note: ส้ม sôm means both ‘orange’ and ‘sour.’

Precede the ingredient with น้ำ  (núm) to be clear you are ordering a sauce:

น้ำถั่ดำ                 (núm tùa dam)    black bean sauce

ไก่ (gái) chicken

Most popular ingredient in Thai food is chicken ไก่  (gái). More ingredients:

ไก่                (gái)                chicken

ไข่                (kai)                egg

ไข่ดาว            (kai dao)         fried egg

ปลา             (bpla)              fish

ปลาหมึก        (bpla mèuk)   squid (fish-ink)

ปู                 (bpuu)            crab

กุ้ง                (gôong)           shrimp

เนึ้อ              (néua)             meat (beef)

หมู               (moo)             pork

ผัก               (phàk)             vegetable

When ordering, combine the preparation with the ingredient:

ผัดไก่             (phat gái)       stir-fried chicken

ไก่น้ำ              (gái náhm)     chicken broth

ไก่ย่าง            (gái yâng)       chicken barbecue

ต้มยำไก่         (dtum yam gái) lemongrass chicken soup

แกงไก่            (gairng gái)    curry w/chicken

ยำไก่              (yam gái)        Thai salad w/chicken

ผัด (phat) fried

Most Thai food is stir-fried ผัด    (phat) You are probably familiar with the popular fried noodle dish:

ผัดไทย                 (phat Thai)     Pad Thai

Use ผัด (phat) to request something fried:

ข้วผัด             (kâo phat)                  fried rice

ก๋วยเดี๋ยวผัด     (gwǎi dtǐao phat) fried noodle

To request something grilled:

ย่าง              (yâng)                   barbecue

Remember to request a soup, use the word for water น้ำ (náhm):

ข้วผัด             (kâo náhm)          rice porridge

ก๋วยเดี๋ยวน้ำ     (gwǎi dtǐao náhm) rice noodle soup

Other popular preparations are:

ต้มยำ             (dtôm yam)   lemongrass soup

แกง              (gairng)          curry

สมตำ               (sôm dtam)   green papaya salad

Warning! The above dishes can be very spicy! So indicate:

เผ็ด              (pèt)               spicy

ไม่เผ็ด            (mâi pèt)        not spicy

น้ำ (náhm) water

The word for drink is literally “eat-water” กินน้ำ       (gin náhm) At the end of a phrase, náhm can mean “juice” or “soup.”

ข้วน้ำ             (kâo náhm)          rice porridge

Note at the beginning of a phrase, water is pronounced “núm.”

น้ำเปลา         (núm bplào)        water plain (tap)

น้ำแข็ง           (núm kǎirng)       water hard (ice)

น้ำชา             (núm cha)            tea

สมน้ำ               (núm sôm)          orange juice

เบียร์              (beea)                   beer

กาแฟ             (gaafair)               coffee

ร้อน             (ráwn)                   hot

เย็น              (yen)                     cold

ใหญ             (yái)                      large

เล็ก              (lék)                      small

ข้ว (kâo) rice (food)

Rice is so important to the Thai diet that the word for rice ข้ว (kâo) also refers to food in general.

กิน               (gin)                to eat

กินข้ว             (gin kâo)         to eat a meal

Basic Thai food consists of the following:

ข้ว               (kâo)               rice

ก๋วยเดี๋ยว       (gwǎi dtǐao)   rice noodle

ต้มยำ             (dtôm yam)   lemongrass soup

แกง             (gairng)          curry

ยำ                (yam)              Thai salad

สมตำ               (sôm dtam)   spicy papaya salad

wan วัาน day

wan níi                 วัานนี้              today

mêua wan níi      เมื่อวัานนี้         yesterday

prộong níi             พรุ่งนี้                tomorrow

keun                     คืน                   night

keun níi                คืนนี้               tonight

mêua keun níi     เมื่อคืนนี้          last night

keun prộong níi  คืนพรุ่งนี้          tomorrow night

mậi ไม่ (negative)

mậi makes a sentence negative, similar to “not” or “don’t”. There are many meanings to the spelling of ‘mai’ so be sure to correctly use the falling tone (^)

mậi dee           ไม่ดี            no good

mậi mee            ไม่มี                   no (don’t) have

mậi ruú           ไม่รู้             no (don’t) know

mậi dậi            ไม่ได้            no can (not possible)

at the end of a sentence,  mái    ไหม  (pronounced with a high tone) becomes a question:

dee mái             ดีไหม          good, no? (isn’t it?)

mee mái            มีไหม        have, no? (do you have?)

ruú mái              รู้ไหม         know, no? (do you know?)

dậi mái              ได้ไหม        can, no? (is it possible?)

Náhm น้ำ

Náhm means water and combines with other words to form new words:

huang náhm    หองน้ำ    toilet (room-water)

wậi náhm         ว่ายน้ำ      swim

maîr náhm       แม่น้ำ       river

hǐu náhm          หิวน้ำ      thirsty (hungry-water)

When preceding a word it is pronounced núm:

núm bplaò        น้ำเปล่า    water-plain (tap)

núm kǎirng       น้ำแข็ง      ice (water-hard)

núm bpla          น้ำปลา     fish sauce (water-fish)

núm jîm            น้ำจิ้ม       chili sauce

núm man          น้ำมัม       gasoline

núm cha            น้ำชา        tea