Food and drinkwaiter, waitress noun
- pá high
- nák high
- ngaan mid
- sòep low
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
Classifier: คนkon · person, people
How to use it
พนักงานเสิร์ฟpá-nák-ngaan-sòep is the job title you see in job ads; in casual talk servers are เด็กเสิร์ฟdèk sòep, literally "serving kid". Nobody calls "waiter!" in Thai. To get a young server's attention, say น้องnáwng, "younger sibling", or พี่pîi if they're older than you, with your polite particle: น้องครับnáwng kráp or น้องคะnáwng ká. A raised hand works too; snapping your fingers is rude.
Tipping isn't expected, but many people leave the coins from their change.
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:
- phanakngan soep
- pa nak ngan serp
- panakngan serf
- dek serp
More food and drink in Thai
All food and drink- ข้าว kâao Rice
- ข้าวเหนียว kâao-nǐaw Sticky rice
- ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง kâao-nǐaw má-mûang Mango sticky rice
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones