Thai particles: krap, ka, na and the little words that set the tone

These are the particles you'll use most. They turn a plain sentence into a polite one, and on their own they mean yes or I'm listening. Men always say ครับkráp. Women say ค่ะkâ (falling tone) after statements and คะká (high tone) after questions.

Use them with strangers, staff, older people and anyone you want to be polite to, especially for greetings, thanks, apologies and requests. Everything about them, including when to leave them out, is in the guide to krap and ka.

นะná softens a sentence and invites the other person in, like okay? or you know in English. It turns an order into a friendly reminder and a statement into something you share. Thais use it all the time: for requests, goodbyes, promises and reassurance.

With a polite particle it comes first: นะครับná kráp for men, นะคะná ká for women. After นะná, women always say คะká, never ค่ะkâ.

A bare request sounds blunt in Thai. Add หน่อยnàwy (a bit) and it becomes could I…? or would you mind…?: ขอน้ำหน่อยkǎw náam nàwy, can I have some water? ด้วยdûay (also) does a similar job in set phrases like เช็คบิลด้วยchék bin dûay, the bill, please. Careful: ช่วยด้วยchûay dûay on its own is a cry for help.

These little words carry the feeling of a sentence: urging, surprise, doubt, warmth. You'll hear them in every conversation, and using a few makes your Thai sound much more natural.

Particles stack in a fixed order: the mood particle first, the polite particle last. ลองสิครับlawng sì kráp, อร่อยมากเลยค่ะà-ràwy mâak loei kâ, ไปก่อนนะคะbpai gàwn ná ká.

In chats and relaxed speech the polite particles change shape: ครับkráp becomes คับkáp or ฮะhá, and ค่ะkâ stretches to ค่าkâa. You'll also hear the extra-polite ครับผมkráp pǒm from men in service jobs.