Thai particles: ครับ, ค่ะ, นะ and the little words that change everything

The short answer

English uses tone of voice to sound polite, impatient or unsure. Thai has tones on every syllable, so it does much of that work with particles instead: short words at the end of a sentence. Thai has many of them, and a single sentence can change from a request to a complaint just by swapping the last word.

You don't need all of them to start. Learn the polite particles first, because people notice when they're missing. Then pick up the softeners and question particles that come up in every conversation. Every particle below has a real recording, and an example sentence you can play.

Polite particles

These are the particles that make Thai sound polite, and the first ones to learn. There are only three, and which one you use depends on who's speaking and whether it's a question:

Men use ครับkráp for everything. Women's two forms differ only in tone: ค่ะkâ falls and คะká is high. That's why it's worth learning the five Thai tones early.

On its own, ครับkráp or ค่ะkâ means "yes" or "I'm listening": you'll hear a stream of them on the phone.

Friendlier endings

Beyond the three polite particles, two friendlier endings are worth recognising. จ้ะjâ, and จ๊ะjá in questions, sounds warm and intimate; it's used mostly by or to women and children, and can sound condescending if you use it to someone older. ฮะhá is a casual, friendly ending that's common among young people of any gender.

Softening and requests

A bare command sounds blunt in Thai. These particles turn it into something friendlier: an invitation, a gentle push or a request. Combine them with ครับkráp or คะká when you're being polite.

• นะná asks the listener to go along with you, like "okay?". It's the most common softener of all. Women follow it with the high-tone คะká, so it's นะคะ ná-ká, never นะค่ะ ná kâ: the Royal Society of Thailand lists that spelling as wrong.
• หน่อยnɔ̀i literally means "a little". After a verb it turns an order into a request: ช่วยหน่อย chûuai-nɔ̀i, "give me a hand".
• สิsì pushes: "go on, do it". It's written with a low tone but often said high, which is why you'll also see it spelled ซิ sí. Between friends it's encouraging; to someone senior it can sound bossy.
• เถอะtə̀ urges or persuades. With กันgan it means "let's": ไปกันเถอะ bpai-gan-tə̀, "let's go". In casual speech it's often said เหอะ hěe à.
• ด้วยdûuai at the end of a request works like "please", as in เก็บเงินด้วยครับ gèp-ngən dûuai kráp, "the bill, please". On its own, ช่วยด้วย chûuai-dûuai is the shout for "Help!".

Question particles

Thai doesn't use a rising voice to make a question. A question word or a question particle does the job, and the polite particle still goes at the end: หิวไหมครับ hǐu mǎi kráp or หิวไหมคะ hǐu mǎi ká, "are you hungry?"

• ไหมmǎi makes a yes/no question. It's spelled with a rising tone but almost always said high, so you'll often see it written มั้ย mái.
• เหรอrə̌ə is "really?" or "oh, is it?": a question when you already have a clue, often with surprise. It comes from หรือrʉ̌ʉ. You'll also see it spelled หรอ rɔ̌ɔ, but dictionaries don't accept that spelling.
• ล่ะlâ shifts the focus: แล้วคุณล่ะ lɛ́ɛo kun lâ, "and what about you?"
• บ้างbâang asks for a list: มีอะไรบ้าง mii-à-rai bâang, "what is there?" It's also in the everyday greeting เป็นยังไงบ้าง bpen-yang-ngai-bâang, "how's it going?"
• หรือเปล่าrʉ̌ʉ-bplàao means "…or not?". Casually it's รึเปล่า rʉ́-bplàao, or even just ป่าว bpàao.

Emphasis and feeling

The last group adds emphasis or feeling rather than politeness. They're mostly informal, so you'll hear them far more often than you'll need to use them: at first, aim to recognise them. They fall into three jobs.

Making it stronger

จังjang means "so" in casual speech: ร้อนจัง rɔ́ɔn-jang, "it's so hot". เลยləəi strengthens too: with a negative it means "at all", as in ไม่หิวเลย mâi hǐu ləəi, "not hungry at all"; otherwise it's "totally" or "right away".

Correcting and reassuring

หรอกrɔ̀k goes with a "no". It corrects a wrong idea and softens the refusal at the same time: ไม่เป็นไรหรอก mâi-bpen-rai rɔ̀k, "it's really fine".

Pointing it out

แหละlɛ̀ pins something down as the very one: นี่แหละ nîi-lɛ̀, "this is the one". เนี่ยnîia, and the shorter นี่nîi, point at something or add feeling, often impatience or surprise.

Stacking particles

Particles combine, and the polite one usually comes last: ช่วยหน่อยนะคะ chûuai-nɔ̀i ná-ká, "could you help me, please?", stacks a request, a softener and a polite ending. ไปกันเถอะนะครับ bpai gan tə̀ ná kráp is a gentle, polite "let's go".

Their tones are flexible too. A study of Thai particles found far more variation in their tones and vowel length than in ordinary words, which speakers use to sound warmer, more patient or more irritated. A drawn-out ครับkráp on the phone, for example, signals that you're listening.

Particles in the north

In Chiang Mai and the rest of the north, many people also speak Northern Thai, or Kham Mueang: a closely related Tai language with its own tones, spoken by roughly five to six million people. Its particles are among the first things a visitor notices.

So ไปเจียงใหม่ตวยกันก่อ bpai jiiang-mài dtuuai gan gɔ̀ɔ is "shall we go to Chiang Mai together?", ลำแต๊ lam-dtɛ́ɛ is "really delicious", and กิ๋นข้าวแล้วกา gǐn-kâao lɛ́ɛo gaa, "have you eaten yet?", is a common greeting. Like Central Thai, Northern Thai makes questions with particles rather than a rising voice. Northern tones also differ from region to region, so treat the romanisation here as a rough guide.

Particles and gender identity

Because the polite particles are gendered, they're also one of the main ways Thai speakers express gender identity. Researchers studying Thai LGBTQ+ speech describe a few clear patterns, though individuals vary and nobody follows a rule book.

• Trans women and kathoey usually use ค่ะkâ and คะká. Some use masculine forms, such as the pronoun ผมpǒm, in formal situations.
• Gay men mostly say ครับkráp, like straight men, especially in public. Among close friends, some playfully switch to ค่ะkâ as an in-group joke.
• Toms, masculine-presenting lesbians, often say ครับkráp, or the casual ฮะhá.
• Trans men often say ครับkráp, though some adapt to the situation, for example with a partner's parents.

Playful spellings like ค่า kâa, คร้าบ kráap, งับ ngáp and จ้า jâa aren't markers of identity. A Chulalongkorn University linguist describes them as a way for young people of every background to make an ending sound softer and less abrupt, especially in messages.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up ค่ะkâ and คะká. ค่ะkâ in a question, or นะค่ะ ná kâ in a request, is the classic error, even among Thais writing online.
• Copying your teacher's particle. If your teacher is a woman, you'll hear ค่ะkâ all day. Men should still say ครับkráp.
• Dropping the polite particle with strangers. It's the quickest way to sound abrupt without meaning to.
• Using สิsì or จ้ะjâ upwards. สิsì can sound bossy and จ้ะjâ condescending to someone older or more senior.
• Raising your voice for a question. Use ไหมmǎi or a question word instead; a rising pitch can change the tone of the last word.

ครับ

Hear how Thais really end sentences.

Every ThaiFlip word comes with recorded example sentences, so you pick up which particle goes where by ear, not just from a table. Learn more in our guide to learning Thai.

Frequently asked questions

Recordings and example sentences come from the ThaiFlip dictionary. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll check it.

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