Describing thingsFriendly in Thai
“Friendly” in Thai is เป็นกันเองbpen gan-eeng; you'll also hear เป็นมิตรbpen mít (more formal).
friendly, easygoing, informal adjective
- bpen mid
- gan mid
- eeng mid
- Mid: level, in your normal speaking voice.
friendly (more formal) adjective
- bpen mid
- mít high
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
How to use it
เป็นกันเองbpen gan-eeng, literally "to be among ourselves", is the friendliness of someone who treats you as an equal: a boss who jokes with the staff, a vendor who chats while she cooks. เป็นมิตรbpen mít, from มิตรmít, friend, is the word in guidebooks and reviews. In everyday talk Thais often call a friendly person น่ารักnâa-rák, lovely, or ใจดีjai-dii, kind.
Other spellings you'll see
There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:
- pen kan eng
- bpen gan eng
- pen gun eng
- pen mit
More describing things in Thai
All describing things
Learn Thai with the free course
A complete course from your first phrase to real conversations, with audio for every word and AI speaking practice. Free, no sign-up needed.
Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones