Episode 14:Who pays the bill in Thai dining?

Thai restaurant
  • Sharebar

In episode 14 : We talk about who pays the bill in Thai culture! Join us for this round table discussion on ordering food and getting the attention you want at a restaurant.

 

Listen to Mia talk about this episode IN THAI below the cartoon image.

 

Download MP3 to listen offline here

by  Lani

Who pays the bill? The guy does, of course. Actually, in Thai culture, it’s the oldest person at the table.  Lame-o.  (That’s like a bowl of spaghettiOs but more lame.)

So if it’s the oldest egg at the table, it’s probably going to be me! My how the tables have turned! I actually like it when the waitress hands the bill to the man! “Going dutch” (splitting the bill 50/50) is for women who aren’t comfortable receiving gifts, compliments and lavish attention! Not me. No, no, no.

Thailand, we need to have a talk!

The reasoning behind this is the older person is more established and has had the time to accumulate wealth and status. And for Thais who are old enough to care for our parents, they are expected to pick up the family tab as well. Egats.

The older person could feel uncomfortable or เสียหน้า/ sĭa nâa if the younger one is trying to pay.

It also happens to men when dating Thai girls, often the man is expected to pay and the girl won’t even batter an eyelid when the bill comes.

This is not always the case but does happen.

But this is not as fatal as I make it out to be. It’s just Thai culture. And this is always good to know when you are in such a social setting or situation. Fighting over the bill is perfectly acceptable but after a few rounds (of Muay Thai boxing), it’s best to let it go.

Even though Mia has put all the vocabulary and language from the podcast following this post, we should review by saying, whenever you want to get the wait staff’s attention you should say น้อง/ nóng or พี่ /pêe ka or kráp.  Nóng is for the waiter/waitress that is younger than you and pêe for the staff that is older than you.

Using สั่งอาหาร sàng aa hăan when you want to also get the attention of the wait staff, as a way of saying, “I’m ready to order now.”

ขอ/ kŏr is the polite way of ordering and เอา/ ao is more casual and what you are most likely to hear and use in street side restaurants and food stands. To be honest, I use เอา ao and not ขอ/ kŏr but I will try to use ขอ/ kŏr more often.

It’s not that I don’t want to be polite, it’s just I heard from my brother that my mom thinks I speak “ Shakespearean Thai” so I’ve made an effort to sound less formal. Will I ever get it right!???

กินให้อร่อย / Gin hâi a-ròi!/ Enjoy eating :)

 

 

Listen to episode14 in Thai version here and download transcripts here


Thai lesson of Episode 14

1.น้อง/ nóng /you (used when talking to someone younger)

2. พี่/ pêe/you (used when talking to someone older)

 3. ขอโทษkŏr tôht/ sorry ! ; excuse me !


4. สั่งอาหาร/  sàng aa hăan/ (I’d like to) order food

-สั่ง/ sàng/ [to] order ; command ; direct

-อาหาร/ aa hăan/ food


5.รับอะไรดี/ráp a-rai dee/what would you like?

-รับ/ ráp/ [to] receive ; get ; accept

-อะไร/ a-rai/ what

-ดี/ dee/ [to be] good ; nice


5.เอาอะไรดี/ao  a-rai dee/what do you want(to order)?

-เอา/ ao/ [to] want ; desire


6.ขอ/kŏr/+….(what you want) /may I have…..

-ขอ/ kŏr/ [to] ask for ; request for ; ask

example :ขอเบียร์/kŏr beer/ may I have a beer


7.เอา/ao/ +….(what you want)/(I’ll)have…..

-เอา/ ao/ [to] want ; desire

example :เอาเบียร์/ao beer/ (I’ll) have a beer


 

QUIZ: What is the boy in green saying?

 

 

116 thoughts on “Episode 14:Who pays the bill in Thai dining?

  1. These podcasts just keep getting better and better! There is something for everyone here. I really appreciated the Thai version and along with the transcript, the learners’ notes on how to use it. On first run through I got about 50% I would have got more than that but I have a bad habit of trying to understand every single word. That means that if a word comes up that I don’t get, I turn my attention to digging in my memory to try to find it and so miss the next few. I know I could pause the playback, but don’t think that will help me in the long term. So I shall be listening repeatedly to this over the next couple of days or so. The fact that the recording is a few minutes long also helps us get more of a feel for the rhythms of speech. In a lesson which consists of talking about a topic and questions and answers, there is more concentration on detail, this adds a different dimension. Great stuff and thanks for the work that went into it. The content of the whole episode is not such good news for me, being an old man, it means that I will always have to pick up the bill :-( You don’t really want anything with that boiled rice do you? Oh OK a glass of water then…

    • @Keith: I got similar comments from people who have an younger Thai friends. I’m sure your younger friends will treat you next occasion or return the appreciation some other ways.

  2. I agree – these podcasts are VERY helpful and I always look forward to them. I will listen to them several times. I have an older friend who lives in Korat. When I visit him I will tell him that HE must pay for me! :)

  3. Let me add my thanks for these podcasts. I especially appreciate hearing Thai in a female voice, and with transcripts, too.

    • Gaelee, Your welcome! I would like to “thank YOU” to leave the comment. I’m glad to hear when my work has benefited Thai language learners.

  4. Will you please explain about the use of the word เนี่ย ? I haven’t been able to find it in any dictionary, online or otherwise. Thanks.

  5. I think particles are one of the most difficult aspects of Thai. Apart from the everyday ones like krap and ka, there are so many and often the differences in meaning are very subtle. I am very cautious about attempting to use them

  6. wAnqpN If you dont mind, where do you host your blog? I am searching for a very good web host and your webpage seams to be extremely fast and up all the time

  7. I do not know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everybody else encountering issues with your blog.
    It seems like some of the written text within your posts are running off
    the screen. Can somebody else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them as
    well? This might be a issue with my browser because I’ve had this happen before.
    Kudos
    홀덤클럽포커 recently posted.. 홀덤클럽포커My Profile

  8. If you would like to improve your know-how only
    keep visiting this web page and be updated with the most up-to-date information posted here.

  9. Hello everyone, it’s my first visit at this web page,
    and paragraph is genuinely fruitful designed for me, keep up posting such articles.

  10. Fantastic site. Plenty of helpful info here.

    I am sending it to several buddies ans also sharing in delicious.

    And naturally, thanks to your sweat!

  11. Good post. I learn something new and challenging on websites
    I stumbleupon every day. It will always be helpful to read through
    articles from other writers and practice something from their web
    sites.

  12. Excellent post. Keep posting such kind of info
    on your site. Im really impressed by your site.

    Hey there, You’ve done a great job. I’ll definitely digg it and in my
    view recommend to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this web site.

  13. I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the page
    layout of your website? Its very well written; I love what youve got
    to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people
    could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only
    having 1 or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?
    https://sunchang-krmassage3.blogspot.com recently posted.. https://sunchang-krmassage3.blogspot.comMy Profile

  14. My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP.

    I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses.
    But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a variety of websites
    for about a year and am worried about switching to another platform.
    I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I
    can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
    https://whale-Erwin.blogspot.com recently posted.. https://whale-Erwin.blogspot.comMy Profile

  15. What i don’t realize is actually how you’re now not really
    a lot more well-liked than you may be now. You’re so intelligent.
    You understand thus considerably relating to this subject, made me individually imagine
    it from a lot of various angles. Its like women and men aren’t interested until it is something to accomplish with Lady
    gaga! Your personal stuffs great. All the time care for it
    up!
    https://www.zkxgasb2um.online recently posted.. https://www.zkxgasb2um.onlineMy Profile

  16. I was with a Thai-girl that I’m dating and another female friend (Japanese) went for dinner and when it comes to the bill I was casual and split the bill three ways and paid mine first. The Japanese girl followed and pay second and the Thai-girl quietly whispered to me that she didn’t bring any money. So I helped her with her bill.

    There was this awkward silence on the way back home. I can clearly see she was “disappointed” somehow. But I thought I just helped her out with her bill. She also didn’t mention anything about paying me back the bill after I dropped her off.

    Now that I’ve read your article, maybe she won’t event contact me anymore after this? haha.

    I don’t mind paying for it had I known this is Thai culture (and that they will pay me back in some other way). To make the matter worse, this happened at a Thai restaurant ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    P.S. you should clean-up the “spam” comments on your page.

  17. Excellent items from you, man. I have bear in mind your stuff previous to and
    you are just extremely magnificent. I really like what you’ve
    bought right here, certainly like what you’re saying and the way in which through which you assert it.
    You are making it enjoyable and you still care for to stay it sensible.
    I can not wait to learn much more from you.
    This is really a terrific website.
    https://www.urajoa2uj.online recently posted.. https://www.urajoa2uj.onlineMy Profile

  18. May I simply just say what a relief to discover a person that really understands what
    they’re talking about online. You actually realize how to bring an issue to
    light and make it important. More and more people really need to
    check this out and understand this side of your story.
    I can’t believe you’re not more popular because you most certainly possess
    the gift.
    무료바둑이사이트 recently posted.. 무료바둑이사이트My Profile

  19. With havin so much content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation?
    My site has a lot of completely unique content I’ve either created myself
    or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my permission. Do you
    know any ways to help reduce content from being ripped off?

    I’d really appreciate it.
    더킹 recently posted.. 더킹My Profile

  20. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your site.

    You have some really great posts and I think I would
    be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d really like to write some content for your blog in exchange for a link
    back to mine. Please blast me an email if interested.
    Thanks!
    우리 카지노 먹튀 recently posted.. 우리 카지노 먹튀My Profile

  21. This is the right blog for everyone who would
    like to understand this topic. You understand a whole
    lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really will need to…HaHa).
    You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic that has
    been written about for ages. Great stuff, just wonderful!
    대만 카지노 recently posted.. 대만 카지노My Profile

  22. Importante empresa, solicita TELEMERCADERISTA, con experiencia minima un año en telemercadeo; estudiante de carreras administrativas comerciales, Tecnico on Tecnologo en Administracion, Comercio, Mercadeo Afines. Importante empresa del sector Salud requiere Técnico en carreras Administrativas y / Contable con experiencia mínima de 1 año en solicitud y trámite de autorizaciones de servicios hospitalarios de los pacientes, diligenciar e informar a los usuarios los valores a cancelar y realizar censo de asignación de camas. Se requieren Ingeniero de Sistemas con experiencia certificada en desarrollo de software de más de 4 años.

  23. First off I want to say excellent blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if
    you do not mind. I was interested to find out how you center yourself and clear your mind before writing.
    I have had trouble clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out there.

    I truly do take pleasure in writing however it just
    seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally lost simply just
    trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or hints?

    Thanks!
    마닐라 하얏트 호텔 recently posted.. 마닐라 하얏트 호텔My Profile

  24. I just like the valuable info you supply in your articles.
    I will bookmark your blog and take a look at once more here regularly.

    I am fairly sure I will be told a lot of new stuff right right here!
    Best of luck for the following!
    홀덤 딜러 recently posted.. 홀덤 딜러My Profile

  25. I do believe all of the ideas you have offered in your post.

    They’re very convincing and can certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too
    brief for beginners. Could you please extend them a little from next
    time? Thank you for the post.
    해적게임총판 recently posted.. 해적게임총판My Profile

  26. I’m very happy to discover this website. I wanted to thank you for ones time for this wonderful read!!
    I definitely loved every little bit of it and I have you book marked to check out new things in your blog.
    website recently posted.. websiteMy Profile

  27. ggwpstore adalah sebuah agen yang sangat lesngkap sawfe dan terpercaya di indonesia, berlainan berasal
    dari agen -agen yang lainnya, ggwpstore tawarkan kemenangan yang aat ringan dan pelayanan yang amat ramah,di yakin sebagai agen pkv games sejak 2015 hingga
    kala ini pengguna / user terbukti benar-benar meningkat berasal dari tahun ke tahun, Artinya tambah banyak pengguna spesifik
    nya orang ndonesia gunakan jasa sarana agen ggwpstore.
    ggwpstore recently posted.. ggwpstoreMy Profile

Leave a Reply to plumbing and heating Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

CommentLuv badge