Vendor in Thai

“Vendor” in Thai is แม่ค้าmâe-káa; you'll also hear พ่อค้าpâw-káa (a man).

แม่ค้า mâe-káa

vendor, seller (a woman) noun

mâe falling
káa high

Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.

Classifier: คนkon · person, people

พ่อค้า pâw-káa

vendor, seller (a man) noun

pâw falling
káa high

Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.

How to use it

A woman who sells things is a แม่ค้าmâe-káa, a "trading mother", and a man a พ่อค้าpâw-káa, a "trading father", whatever their age: ค้าkáa means to trade, and selling is ขายkǎai. To their face, though, call them ป้าbpâa, ลุงlung, พี่pîi or น้องnáwng, depending on their age.

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:

mae kha
mair ka
pho kha
por ka

More shopping and money in Thai

All shopping and money

เงิน ngoen Money
เงินสด ngoen-sòt Cash
บาท bàat Baht
baht (Thai currency)
เหรียญ rǐan Coin
แบงก์ báeng Banknote
บัตร bàt Card

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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones