Grandma in Thai: ยาย or ย่า, plus phrases for a video call

The call connects. Yai’s face fills the screen, a little too close, lit from below by the phone. She says something fast and warm, and every Thai word you know quietly leaves the building. You smile. She smiles. Someone says “hello” in English.

If that’s how your calls go, you’re in good company. Freezing on a call with Yai is one of the most normal things a heritage speaker does. The good news is that a video call has a shape, and once you know the shape, you only need a handful of phrases to get through it warmly. Here they are, in the order you’ll need them.

How do you say grandma in Thai: ยาย or ย่า?

It depends on whose mum she is. Thai has a separate word for each grandmother: ยาย (yaai) is your mum’s mum, and ย่า (yaa) is your dad’s mum. Grandpa splits the same way: ตา (taa) is mum’s dad, and ปู่ (puu) is dad’s dad.

The phrases below use ยาย, because for many heritage learners the Thai parent is mum. If your Thai side is your dad’s, swap in ย่า wherever you see ยาย. The rest of the phrase stays the same. For the whole family tree, from พี่ to ป้า, see Thai family words: what to call whom.

One more thing makes these phrases easier than they look: you don’t need a word for “you”. Thai often uses kinship terms where English uses pronouns, so ยาย itself means “you” when you talk to her. It’s warmer than the textbook word for “you”, and it’s one less word to remember.

What do you say when the call connects?

Start with the phone hello and her name in one go:

ฮัลโหล ยาย

han-loh yaai

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

Then the question every family video call contains at least three times:

ยายได้ยินไหม

yaai dai yin mai

ยายได้ยินไหมครับ

yaai dai yin mai khrap

ยายได้ยินไหมคะ

yaai dai yin mai kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

When her voice comes back, ได้ยินแล้ว (dai yin laew) means “I can hear you now”. If the picture freezes mid-smile, ภาพค้าง เดี๋ยวโทรกลับนะ (phaap khaang, diao thoh glap na), “The picture’s frozen, I’ll call you right back”, lets her know to wait instead of wondering where you went.

How do you ask how she is?

The classic, with ยาย standing in for “you”:

ยายสบายดีไหม

yaai sa-baai dii mai

ยายสบายดีไหมครับ

yaai sa-baai dii mai khrap

ยายสบายดีไหมคะ

yaai sa-baai dii mai kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

Expect her to answer, then turn it straight back to you. Often the next thing you hear is some version of “have you eaten?”, กินข้าวหรือยัง (gin khaao rue yang). It isn’t really about food. In Thai families it’s one of the main ways love gets said out loud. An easy reply is กินแล้ว ยายล่ะ (gin laew, yaai la), “I have. And you, Yai?” We unpack the whole ritual in “Have you eaten yet?” in Thai.

What if you can’t understand her?

Ask. It’s not rude, and it’s far better than nodding along. These two phrases do most of the work:

พูดช้าๆ หน่อยได้ไหม

phuut chaa chaa noi dai mai

พูดช้าๆ หน่อยได้ไหมครับ

phuut chaa chaa noi dai mai khrap

พูดช้าๆ หน่อยได้ไหมคะ

phuut chaa chaa noi dai mai kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

And when a sentence goes right past you, พูดอีกทีได้ไหม (phuut iik thii dai mai), “Could you say that again?” Yai would much rather repeat something than talk past you.

For the moments when you are the one stuck mid-sentence, there’s a phrase native speakers use too:

นึกคำไม่ออก

nuek kham mai ork

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

It buys you a second, and it usually gets you help: she’ll guess the word, or someone in the background will shout it.

A gentle reminder for the whole call: you don’t have to catch every word. If you understand that she’s happy, that her knee is better and that the neighbour’s dog did something outrageous, that is the conversation. Understanding is enough. Speaking grows from there.

What can you talk about with Yai?

Small and specific beats big and complicated. A few openers that work on almost any call, all from everyday family Thai:

• Her day. ยายทำอะไรอยู่ (yaai tham a-rai yuu), “What are you up to, Yai?”
• The time difference. ที่นั่นกี่โมงแล้ว (thii nan gii mong laew), “What time is it there now?” A safe question when you’ve run out of others.
• Show, don’t tell. Turn the camera around: ดูนี่สิยาย (duu nii si yaai), “Look at this, Yai”, then ยายเห็นไหม (yaai hen mai), “Can you see it?” Your dinner, the snow, the cat, a new haircut. Pictures do half the talking.
• When are you coming? She’ll probably ask. If you don’t know yet, ยังไม่รู้ แต่อยากไปหายายมาก (yang mai ruu, tae yaak pai haa yaai maak), “I don’t know yet, but I really want to come see you”, is honest and kind.
• Missing her. คิดถึงยายทุกวันเลย (khit thueng yaai thuk wan loei), “I miss you every single day, Yai.”

And when you’ve given everything you have, เดี๋ยวส่งให้แม่คุยนะ (diao song hai mae khui na), “I’ll pass you to mum”, is a perfectly good handover, not a defeat.

How do you say goodbye and “I’ll call next week”?

Thai goodbyes to elders tend to be about care. Wish her well with ยายดูแลสุขภาพด้วยนะ (yaai duu lae suk-kha-phaap duai na), “Take care of yourself, Yai”. If grandpa is around, ฝากสวัสดีตาด้วยนะ (faak sa-wat-dii taa duai na) means “Say hi to grandpa for me” (on dad’s side, swap ตา for ปู่).

Then make a real plan. A specific promise lands better than a vague “talk soon”:

อาทิตย์หน้าโทรหาใหม่นะ

aa-thit naa thoh haa mai na

อาทิตย์หน้าโทรหาใหม่นะครับ

aa-thit naa thoh haa mai na khrap

อาทิตย์หน้าโทรหาใหม่นะคะ

aa-thit naa thoh haa mai na kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

How do you say “I love you, grandma” in Thai?

Finish with the one line she’ll remember after the call:

รักยายนะ

rak yaai na

รักยายนะครับ

rak yaai na khrap

รักยายนะคะ

rak yaai na kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

The นะ at the end softens it into something warm and natural. To make it more polite, add ครับ (khrap) if you’re a man or คะ (kha) if you’re a woman. After นะ and in questions women use คะ; in plain statements like กินแล้ว (gin laew) it’s ค่ะ (kha). With Yai, these endings are a nice touch of respect, and she’ll still hear the love without them. Not every Thai family says “I love you” out loud, so don’t worry if she answers with a laugh, a “go to sleep” or a question about food. That’s often how it gets said back.

What helps a video call with Yai go smoothly?

None of this is about language, and all of it helps:

• Light in front of you, not behind. A window behind you turns you into a silhouette.
• Prop the phone up at face height, so she isn’t looking at your ceiling or your chin.
• Use headphones or a quiet room if the sound is patchy, and speak a little slower yourself. It invites her to do the same.
• Keep a helper nearby. A parent, aunt or cousin in the room takes the pressure off, and a three-way call is still a call.
• Keep a few phrases on a note next to the screen. Nobody can see it, and it works.
• Short and regular beats long and rare. Ten minutes every Sunday adds up to a lot of Yai.

Between calls, the family LINE group is where the good-morning flowers arrive: see the Thai family LINE group. And if Yai’s health is the worry behind the call, our guide to caring for ageing parents in Thailand from abroad is a calm place to start.

Practising before the call

The phrases on this page are the Video call with Yai moment in Reply Thai: one Sunday call, start to finish, from “can you hear me?” to “love you”, practised as replies to what Yai actually says, so they’re ready when she picks up.

Reply Thai for iPhoneComing soon

If you’re wondering why the call matters so much, or where to start more broadly, read learning Thai to talk to your family. Or browse more starter phrases in Say it in Thai.

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