Ordering food
The one phrase that carries the whole meal: เอาอันนี้ครับ/ค่ะ — "ao an-nee khrap/kha," I'll have this one. Point at the menu, a photo, or the dish itself, say it, and you've ordered — no vocabulary required. Everything else below makes the process smoother.
Four phrases from Thailo's phrasebook, in the order you'd actually use them — walking in, seeing the menu, and pointing at what you want:
A table for two, please.
ขอโต๊ะสองที่ครับ
kho to song thi khrap
The workhorse for being seated. Say 'kho' (ask for) + number + 'thi' (seat/place). Change 'song' to nueng (1), sam (3), si (4). Women end with 'kha'. Just walking in and holding up fingers also works, but this is smoother.
Can I see the menu, please?
ขอเมนูหน่อยครับ
kho me-nu noi khrap
'noi' softens the request (like 'a little / please'). 'me-nu' is a loanword and universally understood. Women use 'kha'. This is more natural than a full sentence.
Do you have an English menu?
มีเมนูภาษาอังกฤษไหมครับ
mi me-nu pha-sa ang-krit mai khrap
'mai' at the end makes it a yes/no question. Common in tourist areas; smaller local spots often don't have one. Women use 'kha'.
I'll have this one.
เอาอันนี้ครับ
ao an-nee khrap
The single most useful ordering phrase. Point at the menu or the dish and say it. 'ao' = want/take. Women use 'kha'. For food specifically you can also say 'ao jan ni' (this dish).
The stalls and shophouses with no English menu are usually where the best meals in Thailand happen. "Ao an-nee khrap/kha" plus pointing works everywhere — a photo on a wall, a dish someone else is eating, a tray of prepared food at a stall. If you also want to control the heat, pair this with not spicy, please.
Practice this before you land
Ordering lives in Destination 4, Night Market Eats — a full lesson on getting seated, reading a menu, and ordering, paired with the Spice, Allergies & Diet phrase pack. Say each phrase out loud and Thailo's AI grades whether it landed, so ordering for real doesn't start as a first attempt.
Point and say ao an-nee khrap/kha — เอาอันนี้ครับ/ค่ะ — "I'll have this one." Ao means "want/take," and pointing does the rest. It works at a sit-down restaurant, a street stall, or a market — you don't need to know a single dish name.
Often, in tourist zones and hotels. Rarely, at the small local places and street stalls that tend to have the best food — which is exactly where "mi menu pha-sa ang-krit mai khrap?" (do you have an English menu?) is worth asking, and where pointing at the dish saves you either way.
Kho to song thi khrap/kha — ขอโต๊ะสองที่ครับ/ค่ะ — "a table for two, please." Kho (ask for) + number + thi (seat/place). Swap song (two) for nueng (one), sam (three), and so on. Often staff will just ask "gi khon?" (how many people?) and you answer with the number + khon.
Thailo is coming to iOS — food, markets, and everything else your trip needs. Join the waitlist for launch access.
Launching on iOS. One email when it's out — maybe two, if something's genuinely worth telling you.