Khráp and khâ: the polite endings in Thai

The tone on every syllable

Thai has five tones, and each syllable carries one. Here's the shape your voice makes on each part of ครับ. The dotted line is your normal speaking pitch.

Other ways to say it

ค่ะ	khâ polite ending, woman speaking (statements)	▶
คะ	khá polite ending, woman speaking (questions)	▶

Getting it right

• khráp is high. In everyday speech the r is often soft or dropped.
• khâ (ค่ะ) is falling: start high and drop.
• khá (คะ) is high, like ครับ.

When to use it

• Men use ครับ (khráp) at the end of almost everything polite: statements, questions and “yes”.
• Women use ค่ะ (khâ) on statements and คะ (khá) on questions.
• On its own, ครับ or ค่ะ also means a polite “yes” or “I'm listening”.

Check your tones

Reading the tone is one thing; saying it is another. In Ravela's Pronunciation Lab you say ครับ and see your pitch drawn over a native line, with notes on what to change. It's free to start, no card needed.

Practise ครับ free Try the no-signup tone test

Questions people ask

What's the difference between ค่ะ and คะ?

ค่ะ (khâ, falling) ends statements; คะ (khá, high) ends questions. Women use both.

Do men ever say ค่ะ?

The ending follows the speaker, not the listener, so a man says ครับ even when talking to a woman.

More Thai phrases

hello · thank you · sorry / excuse me · how are you? · delicious · how much? · beautiful · yes / no · where's the toilet? · excuse me · I love you · good night · what's your name? · I don't understand · where are you from? · the bill, please

The audio is Ravela's reference voice. Romanisation follows Ravela's house style, with the tone marked on every syllable.