Thank you in Thai: khorp khun khrap, khorp khun ka

Somebody hands you a plate, a bag of mangoes for the flight, or an envelope at New Year, and the moment calls for two words. Thank you is one of the first things most of us learn in Thai, and also one of the easiest to say warmly. Here’s the word, the ending that goes with it, and how to thank the people who matter most.

How do you say thank you in Thai?

Thank you in Thai is ขอบคุณ (khorp khun). On its own it’s correct, friendly and a little bare. Most of the time you’ll add a polite ending:

ขอบคุณ

khorp khun

ขอบคุณครับ

khorp khun khrap

ขอบคุณค่ะ

khorp khun kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

The word is made of two parts. Wiktionary gives the first half as “to acknowledge” and คุณ as “favour, kindness”. So the thought underneath is close to “I acknowledge your kindness”. That’s a nice thing to know the next time you say it in a hurry at a 7-Eleven.

You’ll see it spelled khob khun, kob kun, khop khun and a few more. Romanization of Thai isn’t standardised, so all of these point to the same word. On this site we write khorp khun.

Is it khorp khun ka or khorp khun khrap?

It’s about who is speaking, not who you’re thanking. Men add ครับ (khrap): ขอบคุณครับ (khorp khun khrap). Women add ค่ะ (kha): ขอบคุณค่ะ (khorp khun kha). Wikipedia’s Thai language article describes the two particles exactly this way: one for male speakers, one for female speakers.

So if you’re searching “khob khun ka” or “khop khun krap meaning”, both mean “thank you”, said politely, by a woman and by a man. If you grew up hearing mostly your mum’s Thai and your ขอบคุณ comes out with her ending attached, that’s common and nothing to be embarrassed about.

What these little endings do in every other sentence is a whole topic of its own. Our guide to ka and khrap covers what they mean and when they change.

What’s the difference between khorp khun and khorp jai?

ขอบใจ (khorp jai) is the casual thanks. Wiktionary marks it as colloquial and “used to thank a person of equal or lower status”, so it belongs with friends and anyone younger, not with your elders.

ขอบใจนะ

khorp jai na

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

In family terms: to cousins your age, younger siblings and kids, ขอบใจนะ is lovely. Up the family ladder, to parents, aunties, uncles and grandparents, it’s always ขอบคุณ. If you can’t tell where someone sits, ขอบคุณนะ is a warm in-between that fits anyone.

Polite vs casual: thank you in Thai at a glance

How do you thank a Thai grandparent or elder?

Two small changes make a thank-you sound like family. First, use the kinship word. In Thai you usually call relatives by their family title, not “you”. The Wikipedia article on Thai honorifics notes that kinship terms are used as pronouns to show respect or closeness. So to your dad’s mum, ย่า (yaa), it’s ขอบคุณค่ะย่า or ขอบคุณครับย่า (khorp khun kha yaa, khorp khun khrap yaa): “thank you, grandma”. For your mum’s mum, swap in ยาย (yaai). Not sure who is who? Our guide to Thai family words sorts it out.

Second, keep the polite ending. With elders, ครับ or ค่ะ stays on.

For the bigger thank-yous, at the end of a visit or when someone has really looked after you, there’s a phrase built for exactly that:

ขอบคุณที่ดูแลหลานนะ

khorp khun thii duu lae laan na

ขอบคุณที่ดูแลหลานนะครับ

khorp khun thii duu lae laan na khrap

ขอบคุณที่ดูแลหลานนะคะ

khorp khun thii duu lae laan na kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

หลาน is you, the grandchild, so you’re thanking them for looking after their grandchild. It works for an aunt or uncle too.

Then there’s the gesture. The wai, palms together with a small bow, is common as a way to say thank you as well as hello. Wikipedia notes that the higher the hands and the lower the bow, the more respect it shows. A wai with your thank-you to Yai doesn’t need to be perfect; the effort is what she sees. If you want the finer points, our temple etiquette guide covers the wai in more detail. And if someone younger wais you, return it.

How do you reply when someone thanks you?

The usual answer is ไม่เป็นไร (mai pen rai): literally “it’s nothing”, in practice “no worries” or “you’re welcome”.

ไม่เป็นไร

mai pen rai

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

Wiktionary lists “it’s nothing”, “no problem” and “not at all” among its meanings, which is why it works as a reply to thanks. The Thailand Foundation describes how the same phrase is used after an apology, to show all is forgiven, and after an offer, to decline politely without brushing off the other person’s goodwill. That last one is the trap: if Yai offers you more rice and you say ไม่เป็นไร, she may hear “no thanks”. More about the phrase in the glossary.

With elders, add your ครับ or ค่ะ here too.

How do you thank someone for a meal?

You can say ขอบคุณ, and you should. But in a lot of Thai families, the thank-you the cook is really waiting for is praise for the food. This is the big one:

ไม่มีใครทำอร่อยเท่ายาย

mai mii khrai tham a-roi thao yaai

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

It works for mum too: ไม่มีใครทำอร่อยเท่าแม่ (mai mii khrai tham a-roi thao mae).

Food is how a lot of Thai families say they care, starting with the greeting at the door. Our page on “have you eaten yet?” explains that greeting, how to answer it, and how to turn down a third helping without hurting anyone.

What about thanking your parents for everything?

Some thank-yous are bigger than a sentence. Thai has a word for gratitude you repay over a lifetime: กตัญญู (ga-tan-yuu), remembering what your parents and grandparents gave you and giving back. A study of Thai gratitude in an ageing society frames it as children repaying a mother’s kindness. You’ll hear the word at family occasions and in temple talks. It has its own entry in our glossary too.

You don’t have to carry all of that in two words. A ขอบคุณ with the right kinship word, said to their face, already carries a lot of it.

Practise the thank-yous before the next family day

Reply Thai’s Family meals and Big family days moments practise these as replies: thank you with your own ครับ or ค่ะ, the reply to thanks, and “nobody cooks like you, Yai”, so they’re ready when the plate or the envelope comes your way.

Reply Thai for iPhoneComing soon

Thai words on this page are a draft until a native speaker has reviewed them.