Speak Thai · Greetings

How to Say Hello in Thai

The word is สวัสดี (sà-wàt-dii). But saying hello in Thai well is three things at once: the word, the politeness particle that follows it, and what your hands are doing. Get those three right and you’ll be greeted warmly almost anywhere in Thailand.

Published Jul 23, 2026Reviewed by the Dublo content team

A vendor selling fresh greens and limes at a Thai market stall with Thai signage — Sawasdee gets used dozens of times a day, mostly in places like this.

The short answer

Hello in Thai is สวัสดี, sà-wàt-dii, used at any time of day, for both hello and goodbye.
Men add ครับ (khráp), women add ค่ะ (khâ), this is what makes it polite, and it matters more than perfect tones.
Pair it with the wai (palms together) in more formal moments.
Getting close on tone is enough to be understood. Thai listeners are used to learners.

The word itself

สวัสดี is three syllables and each carries its own tone. Here they are separately, so you can hear the shape before you say the whole thing:

Thai	Say it	Tone	Meaning
สวัสดี	sà-wàt-dii	Low	Hello / goodbye (the full word)
สะ	sà	Low	first syllable, short and low
หวัด	wàt	Low	second syllable, short and low
ดี	dii	Mid	third syllable, level and longer

In everyday speech it often shortens to wàt-dii, the same way English speakers say “morning” instead of “good morning”. You’ll hear that constantly; use the full form when you want to be polite.

The politeness particle: khráp and khâ

This is the single most useful thing on this page. Thai adds a particle to the end of a sentence to make it polite, and which one you use depends on your gender, not the listener’s:

Thai	Say it	Meaning
สวัสดีครับ	sà-wàt-dii khráp	Hello (said by a man)
สวัสดีค่ะ	sà-wàt-dii khâ	Hello (said by a woman)

Leave the particle off and you sound blunt, even if the word itself is correct. Use it and you sound respectful, even if your pronunciation is rough. That trade is heavily in your favour when you’re starting out. There’s more on the particles, including how women switch between khâ and khá, in our guide to khráp and khâ.

Rows of small golden Buddha statues lit at night, the tradition of respect the wai comes from — The wai is a gesture of respect first, a greeting second.

The wai: what your hands do

The wai is the palms-together gesture you’ve seen in photos. It isn’t decorative, it carries meaning, and a few simple rules cover almost every situation a visitor meets:

How: palms together in front of your chest, fingers pointing up, a slight bow of the head.
Height signals respect. Fingertips around the chest or chin for peers and most everyday situations; higher, toward the nose or brow, for monks, elders and people you want to show real deference to.
Who goes first: the younger or lower-status person initiates, and the other returns it. As a visitor you will rarely be wrong to return a wai you receive.
When not to: you don’t wai staff serving you, children, or in casual shop transactions. Over-waiing marks you as a tourist more than not waiing at all.
A warm smile and a spoken sà-wàt-dii khráp/khâ is completely acceptable when your hands are full.

A lit shopfront at night selling dried snacks and sweets, an everyday place to say hello in Thai — Shop, street, office: the word stays, the particle after it changes.

Which greeting fits the situation

Thai shifts register more than English does. Same meaning, different level of formality:

Situation	What to say	Notes
Meeting anyone, any time of day	สวัสดีครับ / ค่ะ	The safe default. Never wrong.
Friends, casual	หวัดดี (wàt-dii)	Shortened, relaxed. Drop the particle among close friends.
Formal, elders, officials	สวัสดีครับ / ค่ะ + wai	Add the gesture; keep the particle.
Answering the phone	ฮัลโหล (han-lǒo)	Borrowed from “hello”, phone only.
Passing someone you know	ไปไหน (bpai-nǎi)	Literally “where are you going?”, used like “how’s it going?”, no real answer expected.

What comes right after hello

A greeting usually opens a short exchange. These four carry most of it:

Thai	Say it	Meaning
สบายดีไหม	sà-baai-dii mǎi	How are you?
สบายดี	sà-baai-dii	I’m fine
ขอบคุณ	khàawp-khun	Thank you
ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก	yin-dii thîi-dâai rúu-jàk	Nice to meet you

And for leaving, สวัสดี does double duty as goodbye. You’ll also hear ลาก่อน (laa-gàawn) for a more final farewell, and แล้วเจอกัน (láew jer gan) for “see you later”.

Common mistakes

Dropping the particle. The most common and the most noticeable. Add khráp or khâ.
Using the wrong particle for your gender. It follows the speaker, not the listener.
Saying it flat. สวัสดี is low-low-mid, not a flat English-style greeting. The contours above are worth ten minutes of imitation.
Over-waiing. Waiing everyone, including the person handing you a coffee, reads as trying too hard.
Using ฮัลโหล in person. That one is for the phone.

Where sawasdee comes from

สวัสดี isn’t an ancient village greeting, it was deliberately promoted in the 1930s and comes from the Sanskrit svasti, meaning wellbeing or blessing. That history is short but interesting, and it explains why one word covers both arrival and departure. We unpack it in what sawasdee actually means.

Read next: Good Morning in Thai, The honest answer: Thai uses สวัสดี all day. The formal morning phrase, the time-of-day words, plus goodnight.

How Dublo teaches this

Dublo opens with greetings inside a real interaction, then varies the person, the politeness level and the reply, so hello becomes flexible rather than one memorised line.

Read the complete Dublo method

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say hello in Thai?

สวัสดี, pronounced sà-wàt-dii. Men add ครับ (khráp) and women add ค่ะ (khâ) to make it polite, so the full greeting is sà-wàt-dii khráp or sà-wàt-dii khâ. It works at any time of day and also means goodbye.

What does sawasdee mean?

It means both hello and goodbye, and comes from the Sanskrit svasti, meaning wellbeing or blessing. It was popularised as a standard Thai greeting in the 1930s rather than being an ancient phrase.

Do I have to do the wai when I say hello?

No. A spoken sà-wàt-dii khráp/khâ with a smile is perfectly acceptable in everyday situations such as shops and restaurants. The wai matters more in formal settings and with elders, monks and officials, where you should return one you receive.

What is the difference between khrap and ka?

They are politeness particles chosen by the speaker's gender: men say ครับ (khráp), women say ค่ะ (khâ). They are added to the end of almost any sentence to make it polite, not just greetings.

Is there a different way to say hello in the morning?

In everyday Thai, no, สวัสดี covers all times of day. There is a formal อรุณสวัสดิ์ (à-run-sà-wàt) for good morning, but it is rarely used in conversation.

How do you say hello informally in Thai?

หวัดดี (wàt-dii) is the relaxed, shortened form used between friends. Among close friends the politeness particle is often dropped, but keep it with anyone older or in any situation that isn't clearly casual.