สวัสดีและขอบคุณ
sawatdi lae khopkhun
สวัสดีและขอบคุณ (sawatdi lae khopkhun) is the Thai phrase for "hello and thank you".
This phrase combines a general greeting with an expression of gratitude. It is constructed using สวัสดี (sawatdee), which is a greeting used regardless of the time of day and ขอบคุณ (khopkhun), which is used to say thank you.
What does it mean word for word?
The conjunction และ (lae) means "and" and serves to connect the greeting and the thanks.
How do you pronounce it?
sawatdi lae khopkhun
Did you know?
- The word สวัสดี was coined in the 1930s by a professor at Chulalongkorn University. Before this, Thai people did not have a single universal word for 'hello' and would instead ask 'where are you going?' or 'have you eaten yet?'
- In Thailand, a polite สวัสดี or ขอบคุณ is almost always followed by a gender-based particle, ครับ for men and ค่ะ for women. Omitting these can make the phrase sound blunt or even rude to a native speaker.
- The word ขอบคุณ literally translates to 'accepting' or 'receiving' คุณ, which means 'favor' or 'virtue'. To thank someone is to acknowledge the merit they have bestowed upon you.
Example conversation
Theeraphat sends a polite message to Sirin after she helps him with a project.
- ธีรภัทร Theeraphatสวัสดีและขอบคุณที่ส่งข้อมูลให้ครับ คุณสิรินทร์sawatdee lae khop khun thee song khomun hai krap khun sirinHello and thank you for sending the information, Sirin.
- สิรินทร์ Sirinยินดีค่ะ คุณธีรภัทรyindee kha khun theeraphatYou're welcome, Theeraphat.
- ธีรภัทร Theeraphatข้อมูลนี้มีประโยชน์มากเลยครับkhomun nee mee prayote mak loei krapThis information is very useful.
- สิรินทร์ Sirinดีใจที่ช่วยได้ค่ะdee chai thee chuay dai khaI'm glad I could help.
