Thai Language

Thai Exclamations And Interjections

A good grasp of these makes your Thai speech much more natural

Using ????

???? a^ao shows surprise or disappointment at an unexpected turn of events.

Oh...are you leaving already ?
???? ?? ?? ???? ???? a^ao ja` bpai la´ew re?r
a^ao - will - go - already - re?r

Using?????

????? o^h ho?h or shortened forms ??? ho^h or ?? ho?h show surprise, admiration or amazement at something. It's a exclamation you often hear from TV sports commentators who like to say it every time a player does something particularly skillful. o^h ho?h is a bit broader in scope than ???? wa´ao from the English "wow!" , just used for showing admiration.

Oh man, this is a nice house.
????? ??????? ??? o^h ho?h ba^an su?ay jang
o^h ho?h - house - beautiful - greatly

Wow, this place has really changed
???? ?????? ????????? ???? ?? wa´ao te^e ne^e bpli`an bpai yu´h na´
wa´ao - here - change - a lot - na´

Using ???

??? ma?e also shows surprise, but without the element of disappointment of ???? a^ao . One common use of it is in a joking way when reacting to an obvious exaggeration, lie, boastful comment, or over/under-reaction. It's a bit more common in female speech than in male.

Well, isn't that just a coincidence!
??? ??????? ????? ma?e bang-ern jing jing
ma?e - coincidence - really

Well, don't get too excited will you !
??? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ma?e ya`a dte`un dte^n bpai no`i loie
ma?e - don't - excited - too much - little bit - at all

Using ???

??? o?r or ??? o^r show a realisation:

Oh, I get it now
??? ?????? ?? o?r ka^o jai la´
o?r - understand - la´

Oh, really ?
??? ???? o?r re?r

Using ???

??? ha´y from English "hey" and is used in the same way to react to something surprising or to call attention to something:

Hey, what are you doing here?
??? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ha´y maa tam a-rai te^e ne^e
ha´y - come - do - what - here

Using ????

???? e or ??? a?y shows an element of confusion and/or thinking of what to say, and are used like "eh" in English.

It cost 600 baht...eh, no, 700 baht.
???? ??? 600... ???? ?????? 700 ??? raa-kaa man ho`k ro´i ... e ma^i cha^i je`t ro´i ba`at
price - it - 600 - e - no - 700 - baht

Eh? Did I say something wrong ?
??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? a?y cha?n po^ot a-rai pi`t re?r
a?y - i - say - something - wrong - re?r

Using ????

???? o´ie shows frustration, anger or annoyance. It's not particularly strong on its own, but is often used in combination with more offensive words. A couple of common exclamations with it are ??????? to^h o´ie ("oh, come on ; oh, please", sounds mild) or ??????? ba^a o´ie ("damn it!", sounds stronger).

Oh come on, I lost again.
??????? ??? ??????? to^h o´ie pa´e e`ek la´ew
to^h o´ie - lose - again - already

Damn it ! I'll remember this!
??????? ?? ????? ??? ! ba^a o´ie ja` jam wa´i loie !
ba^a o´ie - will - remember - store - completely

Using ????

???? o´i is used when reacting to pain or some other unpleasant feeling or situation, or sometimes used to show surprise in general:

Ow, why does it hurt so much ?
???? ???? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???????? o´i tam-mai man te?ung da^ai je`p ya`ang ne´e
o´i - why - it - reach - get - hurt - like this

Oh, what a mess.
???? ?? ??? o´i ro´k jang
o´i - messy - very

Using ????

???? u´i is as "ow/ouch" like o´i , and also as "oops" after after a mistake

Oh, oops, I'm sorry
???? , ????? u´i , ko?r to^ht
u´i - sorry

Using ???

??? o^h is a close match to the English "oh", and can variously show either surprise, disappointment or admiration.

Oh, you're wrong again.
??? ??? ??? ??????? o^h kun pi`t e`ek la´ew
o^h - you - wrong - again

Oh, that's so cute!
??? ?????? ??? o^h na^a ra´k jang
o^h - cute - very

Using ????

???? ho´ie is "hey" used to call attention to something or to mean "hold on a second ; wait a moment" , usually used when you've just had a sudden realisation about something or something unexpected just happened.

Hey, come and look at this!
???? ?? ?? ??? ?? ho´ie maa doo ne^e si`
ho´ie - come - look - this - si`

Hey, where are you going?
???? ?? ?? ??? ????? ho´ie ja` bpai na?i ni^a
o´i - will - go - where - ni^a

Using ???

??? ne^e can be used before a statement to make it sound serious or important, or to make a question sound pressing and demanding of a straight answer. ne^e also has separate uses as a particle and the pronoun "this".

Look, this is a bad time.
??? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ???, dton-ne´e po?m ma^i ko^i sa`-du`ak
ne^e - now - i - not - very - convenient

Hey, where are we ?
??? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ne^e rao yo`o te^e na?i la^
o´i - we - are at - where - la^

Using ???

??? eum / ???? eum and ??? er / ???? e`r mean either "yes ; yeah" or "erm ; err" , though using e`r to mean "yeah" is regarded as quite impolite.

Yeah, I heard that too
??? , ?????? ?? ????????? ???, da^ai yin maa me?uan gan
er - heard - to me - also

Yes, that's true
???? ???? ???? eum jing du^ay
eum true - also

Using ????

???? dta´ai , ??????? dtaai la´ew (literally "dead already"), ??????? dtaai jing ("really dead") are expressions of shock or horror, along the lines of "oh no ! ; oh my god!" in English. Thai also has the literal translation of "oh my god" ?????????? o^h pra´-ja^o , which is widely recognised as an English expression and is used to a limited degree by Thais too (often sarcastically).