Thai greeting: the Wai
Wai (puwanai / Shutterstock.com)
In Thailand people don't shake hands when they greet each other. The Thai greeting is called the Wai (Thai: ไหว้). You pronounce this as Wave. When meeting, one brings both hands in the direction of the head, at the level of the chest or just below the chin and makes a graceful slight bow with the hands together and the fingers spread.
History and origin of the Wai
The Wai is performed by pressing the palms together, as if in prayer, while bending slightly forward. The height of the hands and the depth of the bow vary depending on the status and age of the person you are giving the Wai to.
- Wai for monks and religious statues: Place your palms together at the level of your forehead and bend deeply forward.
- Wai for parents, teachers and the elderly: Place your palms together at the level of your nose and bend slightly forward.
- Wai for peers and friends: Place your palms together at chin level and bend forward slightly.
What not to do at the Wai
There are some important aspects to avoid when performing the Wai:
- Do not perform the Wai on children, servants or persons of lower social status. Instead, you can smile or nod.
- Do not perform the Wai on people at work, such as shop assistants or taxi drivers, as this may put them in an uncomfortable situation.
- Do not perform the Wai to monks or clergy while holding a physical object, such as food or drink.
- It is not appropriate to perform the Wai while walking or standing far from the other person.
The higher the hands are held in relation to the face, the more respect or awe one has for the one one greets. A child greeting an adult will reach to the forehead with his fingertips.
Reasons to use a Wai
Thais do not like to touch strangers. In addition, in warm Thailand, someone quickly has 'sweaty hands'. Personal hygiene is very important to Thais, which is why a Wai is always preferred to shaking hands, which is a typical Western custom.
A Thai uses the Wai in the following situations:
- at an acquaintance;
- at farewell and departure;
- to apologize;
- to thank someone;
- to show respect.
Greeting
The Wai is also often used as a way of apologizing or thanking someone. The word that is often pronounced with the Wai and is meant as a greeting or farewell is sawatdee (สวัสดี). Phonetically, the word is pronounced "sa-wat-dee".
- “Hello” or “goodbye” in Thai for a man is “sawatdee khrap”, pronounced sa-wat-dee-kap.
- “Hello” or “goodbye” in Thai for a woman is “sawatdee kha”, pronounced sa-wat-dee-kaa.
- “Thank you” in Thai for a man is “khawp khun khrap”, pronounced kap-kun-kap.
- “Thank you” in Thai for a woman is: “khawp khun khrap, pronounced kap-kun-kaa.
Show courtesy and respect with the Wai
In status-sensitive and hierarchical Thailand, the Wai is also a way of showing respect for a higher-ranking person. The one placed lower will always make the Wai first. If the difference in status is very large, the superior will not answer the Wai. This applies, for example, to high-ranking people in Thai society. Monks and members of the royal family will also not answer a Wai. However, monks among themselves do answer the Wai. A child's Wai never needs to be answered, as they must always show respect to adults.
Tourists and the Wai
In the tourist centers you also see that tourists use a Wai as a greeting. Usually this leads to embarrassing situations for the Thai and they only laugh a little about it. If you don't know how to do it, you better leave it out. Thais believe that it is bad luck when a higher-ranking person first makes a Wai for them.
Here are some rules:
- A farang (foreigner) is by definition higher in the ranking than the staff in a store, hotels or restaurant. It is therefore not the intention to be the first to make a Wai. You can answer a Wai, but then you have to keep your hands low and not make a deep bow.
- Making a Wai to a child is not appropriate, so don't.
- It is easiest and safest for a tourist to just bow your head slightly and say “sawatdee khrap” if you are a man. As a tourist you will not often find yourself in a situation where you are expected to answer a Wai. But if you know the rules and apply it correctly, it will be much appreciated.
Nice video about the Wai
The video below explains how to make a Wai. And that men pronounce a greeting or thank you differently than a woman.
Then you also have the 'Thank you wai' and the 'Request wai', which can be used against everyone, including low ranked ones. . And the sarcastic wai I gave my young son when he asked for money again.
It's not even a good idea to wave at shop assistants or waiters or receptionists at a hotel, who would normally greet you with a wave. Although many farangs, well and kindly, often do. A friendly nod in response to the greeting is best and customary.
Sorry, my wife was born in Bangkok and in her XNUMX's categorically disagrees with the tenor above. She claims that the Thai appreciate someone making the effort to respect their culture. According to her, many young people no longer use the wind, as a kind of disrespect towards the elderly and I must say that I have not seen much of the younger Thai teenagers use the wind towards an older person. I have often heard from farang who have lived in Thailand for a long time that the Thai do not care about many things what someone does. This article claims the opposite. Again, it is my Thai wife's opinion that I can classify as very modern. For example, that much-discussed dowry that farang apparently like to pay, has never been discussed with us. My income has decreased due to being laid off, but my wife will make up for that perfectly by working more hours in the coming period until I have a good income again. In that sense I am very grateful to my Thai wife. She shows that Thai women should not be seen as submissive, but can also be modern and loyal to their partner.
Indeed, Thai customs are also changing.
In the village (fortunately) I don't get much fanfare, only greetings.
Men sometimes shake my hand and the little ones often call my name and wave when they see me walking.
Indeed, teenagers do not often blow their mind to parents, unless they have to come up with money.
They are no longer very obedient.
This is probably due in large part to the “social” media.
When to blow or not to blow in public? In the beginning I used the question 'would you shake hands with someone in the Netherlands for this?' No? Then no wai, then a wai: you don't shake hands with the cashier, so no wai either, but if they search half the case and then after a lot of effort they come up with your product, then you can give a hand or a wai to give. Of course it is all a bit more complicated than this, but for the very beginning this is an easy guideline.
I miss the 'funny wai': I was once cycling through a street when someone gave me a greeting, I quickly gave a wai with both hands. That's crazy, of course, the other had to laugh too. Wai from behind the wheel with one hand, the half wai.
While I'm here:
สวัสดี sawàt die (middle, low, middle) greetings
ขอบคุณ khòhp khoen (low, middle) thanks*
ครับ/ค่ะ (male/female) khráp & kháp / khâ (high / falling with middle long aa at the end)
* ขอบใจ khòhp tjai (low, middle) informal thanks or to subordinates.
For audio and more examples:
http://thai-language.com/id/196672
And the naughty wai. I had just come out of the shower with a towel around my lower body that I was holding in one hand when there was a banging on the door and a man was standing in front of the door who waved at me and that I waved back with a nice wai with the result that the towel…..
I (perhaps not like many of the readers) have not been to Thailand that often (only 4 times and not in the last 2 years) but have closed the country to my heart from the first time. Now that we no longer kiss and/or shake hands 3 times in the Netherlands; I will greet people with the Wai out of a kind of automatism (but also out of nostalgia for Thailand), because I think that elbow pressing and fist bumping is just a stupid thing – at most with strangers I just raise my hand and say hello, but nothing else . but when I leave I always say goodbye with the Wai (and then I'll be back in Thailand for a while) – Especially to my close acquaintances it's my way of showing respect. Maybe they should introduce that here too.
Why do you write that a Farang is higher than the store staff? Not a Thai then? Just write that the customer is in the higher ranking… the customer is king.
Apart from that, I hardly ever use it. Why? Now at 64 I'm usually older than most people I get to know and then I don't have to. I do greet people, but instead of a blow I nod my head in a friendly way. I never hear my wife complain. Well when I came to the family in the beginning and the kids greeted me with a blow and I wanted to do it back, she told me not to.
So now only with a person in a high position or someone older than me….
I've been coming to Thailand since I was 22, now about 42 years ago. And I always liked that people touched each other so little. Yet I was married to a Brazilian and I never felt comfortable. Was always happy when the greetings were over. Yes, sometimes it was nice to cuddle a sexy Brazilian. But the men also did it among themselves…. slightly less pleasant.
No, in that respect I find the wind in Thailand pleasant. I also think bowing in Japan is better than shaking hands…
Even long before Covid-19.
And why do you think that because you are 64, the wai should no longer correspond to persons younger than you?
.
This does not have to be to children or persons who welcome you to a business. That's a welcome wai. Like when you board a plane to stay in your mind.
Someone giving you a wai doesn't absolve you from answering it, because in that case it's a courtesy greeting. You should always answer it regardless of your age. Only the youngest will greet the eldest first.
But arrogant people will surely agree with you…
Even outside of the pandemic time, where most prefer not to shake hands to prevent contamination, I think the Wai is the most beautiful greeting on this planet.
Now, during the pandemic, if you look at the bumbling of people who can't seem to live without a human disturbance, you first see what a fumbling it has become.
Some still bump fists against each other, which if shaking hands would be contagious, almost as contagious, and others you see still clumsy with bumping each other's elbows.
Even outside of the pandemic time, where everyone still shook hands and the three kisses, of which you didn't know at all whether everyone was served by the latter, I found it very questionable as long as it didn't take place with your immediate family.
Lovely 38°C in the shade, and then such a nice person who handed out hands and kisses with his clammy hands and wet perspiring face, and thought to be very polite and friendly.
Forgive me that I may have a special opinion for many, but then give me the Thai Wai.555
I completely agree with you that (as it used to be) first wipe your clammy hands and then shake hands with the other person with the same hand. Don't think about it now 5555.
Maybe it should just become standard that we introduce the Wai in the Netherlands. Prime Minister Rutte could give an example of this in his corona press conference. LOL
The fact that Thais don't immediately feel the need to hug or lick each other at every opportunity will certainly have an influence... 😉
The only one waiting here in the village is my brother-in-law's dog…..
Every morning she lies on her back and folds her legs.
And yes, she will get a treat from me, a crust of my brown bread.