How to say good luck in Thai

Good luck in Thai is โชคดี, pronounced chôok-dii.

Hear it

The tones, syllable by syllable

Thai uses pitch to tell words apart, so each syllable has its own tone. The accent on each romanized syllable shows it:

• chôok: falling tone
• dii: mid tone

No accent means mid, a grave accent (à) low, a circumflex (â) falling, an acute (á) high, and a caron (ǎ) rising. New to tones? The five Thai tones, explained without jargon.

Make it polite

Add ครับ (khráp) at the end if you're a man, ค่ะ (khâ) if you're a woman: โชคดีครับ or โชคดีค่ะ. Thais add these particles to most sentences, and they make a big difference to how you come across.

When to use it

• โชคดี is a common way to wish someone well as you part. The fuller ขอให้โชคดี means wishing you good luck.
• It belongs with the small talk that works: มาจากไหน (maa-jàak-nǎi, where are you from?) and พูดไทยได้นิดหน่อย (phûut-thai-dâai-nít-nòi, I speak a little Thai). That last sentence alone unlocks friendlier prices and bigger smiles.

Say it and see your pitch line

Tap the button, say โชคดี, and glot.it draws your pitch line over the pitch of a reference Thai voice, so you can see where a tone slipped instead of guessing by ear. Your microphone turns on only when you tap.

More Thai phrases

• How to say hello in Thai (สวัสดี)
• How to say how are you in Thai (สบายดีไหม)
• How to say thank you in Thai (ขอบคุณ)
• How to say no worries in Thai (ไม่เป็นไร)

These come from our list of Thai phrases for travelers. See every guide on the Learn Thai hub.