How to say “wait” in Thai

Ror: to wait

รอraw is one level syllable with the "aw" of "law"; guides often spell it ror. Thai needs no "for": รอคุณraw kun is "wait for you", รอรถraw rót "wait for the bus" or "wait for a ride". To say you're waiting right now, add อยู่yùu: รออยู่raw yùu, "I'm waiting", the classic message to a late friend or a Grab driver.

A moment, Thai style

Thai has a whole family of "moment" words:

• แป๊บนึงbpáep nueng: a sec (casual)
• สักครู่sàk-krûu: a moment (polite)
• เดี๋ยวdǐaw: in a moment, hold on

All of them are elastic. เดี๋ยวมาdǐaw maa ("back in a moment") can mean one minute or half an hour, and part of living in Thailand is learning not to mind. Careful with one pair: เดี๋ยวdǐaw is "in a moment", but เดี๋ยวนี้dǐaw-níi means the opposite, "right now".

Waiting politely

Staff will tell you รอสักครู่นะคะraw sàk-krûu ná ká while they check something, and recorded phone lines say กรุณารอสักครู่gà-rú-naa raw sàk-krûu. At banks, clinics and many government offices you take a queue ticket (คิวkiu) and wait for your number. On BTS platforms, people queue between painted lines and let passengers off first.

Patience is polite

In Thailand, visible impatience (loud sighs, complaining, tapping the counter) costs you face and rarely speeds anything up. A smile and ไม่รีบmâi rîip ("no rush") wins friends; if you really are in a hurry, explain kindly and ask: อีกนานไหมìik naan mǎi, "will it be much longer?"

Wait or long for?

You'll also meet คอยkawy, another word for wait, often paired with รอraw as รอคอยraw-kawy: a longing, heartfelt kind of waiting that fills Thai love songs. For a bus or a friend, plain รอraw is the word. And a common mix-up: รอก่อนraw gàwn means "wait (a bit)", while ก่อนgàwn on its own often means "first": กินก่อนgin gàwn, "eat first".

Pronunciation

แป๊บbpáep is high and short, ending in an unreleased p; นึงnueng is a relaxed, level version of หนึ่งnùeng (one). เดี๋ยวdǐaw rises, from low to high.