How to say sorry in Thai
Sorry in Thai is ขอโทษ, pronounced khǒo-thôot.
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:
- khǒo: rising tone
- thôot: falling 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: ขอโทษครับ or ขอโทษค่ะ. Thais add these particles to most sentences, and they make a big difference to how you come across.
When to use it
- ขอโทษ covers both sorry and excuse me. Use it to apologise, and to get someone's attention.
- When someone says it to you, ไม่เป็นไร (mâi-pen-rai, no worries) is often the perfect reply.
Say it and see your pitch line
Tap the button, say ขอโทษ, 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.
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More Thai phrases
- How to say no worries in Thai (ไม่เป็นไร)
- How to say thank you in Thai (ขอบคุณ)
- How to say hello in Thai (สวัสดี)
- How to say help in Thai (ช่วยด้วย)
These come from our list of Thai phrases for travelers. See every guide on the Learn Thai hub.