24 Essential Words And Phrases To Know At A Thai Restaurant

When it comes to international food, the more authentic the better — in our experience, this goes double for Thai food. However, authentic international restaurants tend to come with a language barrier, especially if you're lucky enough to visit the country in person. To make things even trickier, Thai is a notoriously complex language. Not only does it use a completely unique alphabet, but it's also a tonal language, meaning a word can have up to five different meanings depending on the tone you use.

Learning a few essential words and phrases in Thai will make you feel more confident in trying out bona fide Thai restaurants while making sure you can request food and drink the way you like it, which is especially important with a cuisine that's well-known for its intense flavors and potent spice. Aside from making it easier to order and adapt your favorite Thai dishes, you'll absolutely delight your hosts if you make the effort to communicate in their mother tongue.

The phrases below are enough to cover almost all of your bases, and we've spelled them out phonetically so you won't have to worry about deciphering a brand-new alphabet. Don't worry too much about the tones for now, even with imperfect pronunciation, a Thai speaker will know what you're trying to say.

Thailand is known as the land of smiles due to its exceptional friendliness and hospitality. Admittedly, part of this reputation comes from a cultural trait of "saving face" and putting on a smile even when you want to scream — but that doesn't take away from the fact that you'll generally find Thais are very courteous. "Sabai dee mai" – no ka or khrap necessary — roughly translates to "How are you?"

Technically, "sabai" means comfortable, so you can answer with "sabai dee ka/khrap" if you're doing well. In Thai, you can also repeat words to emphasize their meaning, so "sabai sabai" means you're fantastic. On the flip side, "mai sabai ka/khrap" means you're not okay.

As with most cuisines, vegan options are becoming more common in Thai restaurants, although mostly in higher-end restaurants. Thais don't really have a word that translates to vegan, but the closest would be "jey."

"Jey" is a traditional Eastern diet that's void of most animal products, except honey and oyster sauce, and is somewhat adjacent to veganism. The downside is that the "jey" diet takes the "cruelty-free" aspect even further than veganism, dropping critical ingredients like garlic and onion due to their plants being killed when the vegetables are harvested.

One of the unique features of Thai food is that you can modify most dishes by swapping different ingredients in and out. If you've been to a Thai restaurant before, you'll notice that a lot of the menu options will ask you to choose your preferred meat or seafood. The most common (and cheapest) option is chicken, or "gai" in Thai. If you're trying out a dish for the first time and aren't sure which meat option to go for, you can't really go wrong with chicken as it goes great with pretty much every Thai curry, especially green and red curries.

The Thai word for beef, "neua wua," is a bit of a mouthful and the ingredient is a bit less common in Thai cuisine than chicken or pork, and it's usually a little more expensive. Having said that, there are some dishes that you absolutely need to try with beef.

Massaman curry — a coconut milk curry made with peanuts and potatoes is probably the most famous and if you manage to find a Thai restaurant that specializes in northern Thai cuisine, Khao Soy is a curried noodle soup that's to die for. The best part about Thai beef dishes is that although they use lesser cuts of chuck beef, the higher fat content means it can be slow-cooked in soup or curry to melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

To say that rice – "khao" in Thai — is popular in Thailand would be something of an understatement. In fact, nearly 2.5 million acres of land in the country is dedicated to rice production and Thailand's jasmine rice has been declared the best in the world on more than one occasion.

"Khao" is a useful word to know — while you might assume rice will come with your dish of choice, this often isn't the case because Thai-style dining is a sharing affair and almost never involves each person ordering their own dish. "Khao" will get you a portion of steamed rice, whereas "khao niao" is sticky rice, and "khao pad" is fried rice.

Thai food is infamously spicy. In fact, a fair case could be made that it's the spiciest cuisine on the planet thanks to the abundance and variety of chilies used in Thai recipes, and their love of hot condiments, such as Klom Klom. Most Thai restaurants will turn down the heat for "farangs" (non-Thai people) as Thai-style levels of heat have been known to shock some of the most ardent spice lovers.

The Thai word for spicy is "pet," and you can use the word as a question to get an idea of how hot a particular dish might be.

While we tend to avoid generalizations, it can be said that a lot of Thais have a bit of a sweet tooth. You'll find sugar as a condiment on the table at almost every traditional Thai restaurant, their juices and fizzy drinks tend to be sweeter than their Western equivalents, and you might be shocked to learn how much sugar is in your Thai curry.

Coconut or palm sugar are used liberally in Thai cuisine and contribute a lot to the flavor profile of many drinks and dishes; however, if you're watching your diet you might need to ask your server to ease up on the sweetness, or "waan" of your order.

Thai dishes can have potent heat and powerful flavors but just because the recipe might be a little extreme for your taste, it doesn't mean you can't ask the chef to adjust the meal to your preferences.

Add the phrase "nit noi" after an ingredient or flavor if you want your meal with less of something. For example, "pet nit noi" will mean your dish will still have a spicy kick without blowing your head off.

While Vietnam is historically the Southeast Asian country with the biggest coffee reputation, in part due to its colonization by the French, Thailand's coffee culture is hot on its heels. Thais started growing coffee in the late 1970s as part of a royal initiative to provide an alternative source of income for the country's opium farmers in the Golden Triangle region, a motive that shouldn't need questioning.

Initially, Thailand focused on exporting lower-quality Robusta beans for use in mass-produced instant coffee but has begun producing high-grade Arabica for the home market and you'll now see decent espresso machines in many Thai restaurants and cafés. Having said that, Thais are big fans of iced coffee so if you order, say, an Americano, it can sometimes be a coin flip whether it comes out hot or cold. For hot drinks, use "rohn" to make sure you get exactly what you ordered.

Needed for spicy meals, in-country tap water isn't drinkable — but the weather is hot and you need to stay hydrated. This phrase specifies drinkable water.

Given the spice factor of Thai food, you'll definitely want some water – "naam plao" – to quench the heat. Some of the more authentic, hole-in-the-wall-style Thai restaurants feature a self-service station for water with ice available, whereas others might require you to ask your server.

Specifically, "naam plao" means drinking water which is important to get right if you're in Thailand as the tap water isn't considered potable and you might end up on the wrong end of a stomach bug.

We're used to most restaurants featuring all of their prices on their menu but it's not uncommon to visit a Thai spot and find the prices aren't listed. Even if they are, you might want to know how much a "pi set" order will set you back.

"Tao rai ka/krap?" means "How much?" or "What's the price?" and works just as well in food outlets as it does in the street markets. However, bear in mind that while the Thais are more than game to haggle over price in the market, the same doesn't apply to street food stalls or restaurants.

If you're after a phrase that will make you a Thai restaurant's favorite customer, endearing you to the whole staff, "aroy" will do the trick. Not only do Thais adore food, but they also take great pride in their ability to delight their patrons with their cooking. Once you've finished dining, the word "aroy" — meaning "delicious" — is guaranteed to put a huge smile on your server's face.

If you want to take "aroy" to the next level, you can add "mak" (very) afterward to say "very delicious." Remember earlier when we said you can repeat words to emphasize their meaning? If you still feel that you haven't been able to convey just how mind-blowingly tasty your food was, "aroy mak mak" will do the trick.