Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While รอ is the base form, you can adjust your politeness by adding particles or specific words. For a polite and common way to say 'wait', use รอหน่อยค่ะ/ครับ. If you want to be more formal and respectful, specifically when asking someone to wait a moment, use รอสักครู่ค่ะ/ครับ. Conversely, รอสักพัก is used in informal settings to mean 'wait for a while'. To turn the command 'wait' into a formal polite request suitable for announcements or service settings, add กรุณา before the verb to get กรุณารอ.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb รอ is used directly before a noun or a person to mean 'wait for' that person or thing. To indicate that the action of waiting is currently happening (the continuous aspect), add อยู่ after the verb to form รออยู่.
How do you pronounce it?
rɔɔ
Did you know?
- The formal prefix กรุณา used with รอ is derived from the Pali word for 'compassion', making the request for patience a plea for the other person's kindness.
- The word รอ is used in the term รอคิว for 'waiting in line', where คิว is a direct phonetic borrowing of the English word 'queue'.
- Thai speakers often use the word ตั้ง (tâng), meaning 'to set' or 'to place', alongside waiting terms to express 'waiting for a long time' as in รอตั้งนาน.
Examples in context
- รอก่อนWait.This sentence shows how to use รอ to say 'Wait'.Tatoeba #7784248 by pastelite, translation #3048304 by camilozeta
- ฉันจะรอI will wait.This sentence demonstrates the use of รอ for 'I will wait'.Tatoeba #8692089 by pastelite, translation #1180917 by treskro3
- รอแป๊ปนึงWait a sec.This sentence is a colloquial way to use รอ for 'Wait a sec'.Tatoeba #7765816 by JipThaiTeacher, translation #2253850 by CK
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
ธนกฤต และ พิมล กำลังยืนรอรถเมล์ที่ป้ายหยุดรถ
- ธนกฤต Thanakritเราต้องรอรถเมล์นานไหมครับrao tong ro rot-may nan mai krapDo we have to wait a long time for the bus?
- พิมล Pimonน่าจะรออีกประมาณสิบนาทีค่ะna ja ro eek pra-man sip na-thee kaWe should wait about ten more minutes.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritผมจะรออยู่ตรงนี้ครับphom ja ro yu trong nee krapI will wait right here.
- พิมล Pimonเดี๋ยวพิมลจะเดินไปดูใกล้ๆ ค่ะdiao pimol ja dern pai doo klai klai kaI'll go take a closer look.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wait” translations and entries รอ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
