Making a polite request in Thai
Sa-wat-dii kâ.
In this learn Thai lesson we will learn how to make polite requests when you want to do something in the Thai language. The pattern of the request will be as follows.
kɔɔ+Verb+nɔ̀i kâ/kŕap
For example :
1.kɔɔ duu nɔ̀i kâ /ขอดูหน่อยค่ะ / Can I see it ?
2.kɔɔ chim nɔ̀i kâ / ขอชิมหน่อยค่ะ /Can I taste it ?
3.kɔɔ bpai hɔng-náam nɔ̀i kâ /ขอไปห้องน้ำหน่อยค่ะ/Can I go to the restroom?
**You also can add “dâai-mái” at the end of the request for additional politeness:
1.kɔɔ duu nɔ̀i dâai mái kâ?/ขอดูหน่อยได้ไหมค่ะ/Could I see it, please?
2.kɔɔ chim nɔ̀i dâai mái kâ?/ขอชิมหน่อยได้ไหมค่ะ? /Could I taste it, please?
3.kɔɔ tǎam à-rai nɔ̀i dâai mái kâ?/ขอถามอะไรหน่อยได้ไหมค่ะ?/Could I ask you something, please?
**Remember that kɔɔ+Verb+nɔ̀i dâai mǎi? is only used when asking to do something Yourself. You cannot use it when asking a waitress to bring the bill or taxi driver to pull up.
I hope this learn Thai lesson will be useful for everyone. See you again soon in the next lesson kâ.
Tik
Thai Language Teacher