How to say please in Thai (plus sorry and excuse me)

Thai has no single word for "please" — instead, you soften a request with khor...noi (ขอ...หน่อย) for everyday asks, or karuna (กรุณา) in formal writing. Sorry and excuse me share one word, khor thot (ขอโทษ), whether you're apologizing or squeezing past someone.

There's no single word for "please" in Thai

English bolts "please" onto almost any sentence to make it polite. Thai handles politeness differently: it's built into particles and sentence patterns rather than one universal word you can drop in anywhere. That means the "right" way to say please genuinely depends on what kind of request you're making — asking for an item, asking someone to do something, or a formal written instruction each use a different construction.

For the fuller phrase set beyond this politeness cluster, the basic Thai phrases guide rounds up greetings, numbers, food, and transport words.

Khor...noi: asking for something

Khor (ขอ) means roughly "may I have," and noi (หน่อย) literally means "a little" or "a bit" — tacked onto a request, it softens it the same way "just" softens an English request ("could I just get..."). Together, khor [item] noi is the everyday way to ask for something specific: khor nam noi (ขอน้ำหน่อย) is "water, please," and khor menu noi (ขอเมนูหน่อย) is "menu, please." Add khrap or kha at the end for the full polite version.

Chuay...duay: asking someone to do something

When the request is an action rather than an item, chuay (ช่วย) — "help" — plus duay (ด้วย) — "also, as well" — brackets the verb: chuay [verb] duay. Chuay poet miter duay (ช่วยเปิดมิเตอร์ด้วย), please turn on the meter, is a taxi request built the same way; the same pattern extends to almost any request for action, like chuay riak taxi duay (ช่วยเรียกแท็กซี่ด้วย) — please call a taxi.

Karuna: the formal "please" you'll read, not say

Karuna (กรุณา) is please in its most formal register — the word on signs and official announcements rather than something you'd say to a waiter. Karuna thot rongtao (กรุณาถอดรองเท้า), please remove your shoes, and karuna pit siang (กรุณาปิดเสียง), please silence [your phone], are the kind of instructions you'll actually read it in. Using karuna in casual spoken conversation isn't wrong, but it reads as stiff — closer to a public announcement than a request between people.

Situation	Construction	Example
Asking for an item	khor [item] noi	khor nam noi — water, please
Asking someone to do something	chuay [verb] duay	chuay poet miter duay — please turn on the meter
Formal written instruction	karuna [action]	karuna thot rongtao — please remove your shoes

Khor thot: sorry and excuse me, one word for both

Khor thot (ขอโทษ), introduced briefly alongside thank you here, does double duty as both "sorry" and "excuse me." Use it to apologize — khor thot khrap/kha after bumping into someone or making a mistake — and use the exact same word to get someone's attention or ask to get past, the way English speakers say "excuse me" before either. Context, not a different word, tells the listener which one you mean.

Why a literal request can sound blunt

Saying just "nam" (water) at a restaurant, with no khor or noi attached, is understood, but it lands closer to a command than a request — the Thai equivalent of barking "water" at a server instead of asking for it. The particle isn't decorative; it's doing the actual work of turning a demand into a polite ask. This is worth knowing because a beginner who's memorized the core vocabulary but dropped the softening particles can come across far more abrupt than intended, without realizing why.

Hearing how naturally these particles attach in real speech — and how flat a sentence sounds without them — is easier by ear than from a vocabulary list. Thai Phrasebook, an offline Thai phrasebook app with 700+ real-world phrases across 16 categories, plays these requests as native audio at full and slow speed, with word-by-word breakdowns that flag exactly this kind of nuance.

FAQ

What's the most common way to say please in Thai?

Khor...noi (ขอ...หน่อย) is the one you'll use constantly for everyday requests — ordering food, asking for something at a shop, requesting a small favor. Karuna is more formal and shows up mainly in writing.

Is khor thot used for both "sorry" and "excuse me"?

Yes, the same word covers both. Whether you're apologizing for a mistake or trying to get someone's attention or squeeze past them, khor thot khrap/kha works in either situation.

Do I have to say khrap or kha with please and sorry too?

It's not required, but it's standard practice and makes the phrase noticeably more polite — the same rule that applies to hello and thank you applies here.

Why does dropping "please" sound ruder in Thai than in English?

Because Thai politeness relies more heavily on these small particles than English does. In English, tone of voice alone can carry politeness; in Thai, the particle is doing a good part of that work, so leaving it off strips out more of the courtesy than a native English speaker might expect.