Thai Market Phrases: Prices, Bargaining and Shopping for Clothes

To shop at a Thai market, point at what you want and ask อันนี้เท่าไหร่ an-níi tâo-rài, “how much is this?”. To bargain, smile and ask ลดได้ไหม lót dâai mǎi, “can you lower the price?”. When you have decided, say เอาอันนี้ ao an-níi, “I’ll take this one”, and if you are only browsing, ดูก่อน duu gɔ̀ɔn, “just looking first”. End each sentence with ครับ kráp (male speaker) or ค่ะ / คะ kâ / ká (female speaker).

Those four sentences get you through most markets in Thailand, from the morning fresh market in your soi to a night market full of clothes and bags. This article adds what comes around them: units and classifiers, the unwritten rules of bargaining, sizes and colors, and how to pay.

How to ask the price in Thai

เท่าไหร่ tâo-rài is also spelled เท่าไร; you will see both, and they are pronounced the same. Thai puts the question word at the end of the sentence, so “this one, how much?” is the natural word order.

The answer usually comes as a bare number, without บาท bàat: ห้าสิบ hâa-sìp means 50 baht. Vendors also shorten round prices in a way that catches beginners out: ร้อยห้า rɔ́ɔi-hâa is usually 150 (short for ร้อยห้าสิบ), and พันสอง pan-sɔ̌ɔng is 1,200. If you are not sure, ask them to repeat or type it on a phone or calculator, which vendors do all the time. To read prices comfortably, start with our guide to Thai numbers.

Kilos, “per” and pieces

Fruit, vegetables and meat are sold by weight; clothes and objects by the piece. The little word ละ lá, “per”, links the two: unit + ละ + price.

ขีด kìit is very handy for small amounts: สองขีด sɔ̌ɔng kìit is 200 grams of chilies, nuts or dried fruit.

When you count items, Thai uses a classifier after the number, chosen by the kind of object: เอาสองอัน ao sɔ̌ɔng an (“I’ll take two”). The ones you meet at the market:

If you forget the right one, อัน an is understood almost everywhere. The full system is in our article on Thai classifiers.

How to bargain politely in Thai

Bargaining in Thailand is a friendly game, not a fight. It is expected at clothes, souvenir and night markets; it is done with a smile; and the discount is usually modest.

หน่อย nɔ̀i (“a little”) is the magic word: it turns a demand into a gentle request. ไป bpai after an adjective means “too”: แพงไป is “too expensive”, not just “expensive”.

A typical exchange goes like this:

1. Ask the price: ตัวนี้เท่าไหร่ครับ dtua-níi tâo-rài kráp (for a shirt).
2. React lightly, smiling: แพงไปนิดหน่อย pɛɛng bpai nít-nɔ̀i, “a bit too expensive”.
3. Ask for a discount, or propose a price: ลดหน่อยได้ไหม, then ร้อยห้าสิบได้ไหม rɔ́ɔi-hâa-sìp dâai mǎi.
4. Close the deal with ตกลง dtòk-long or เอา ao, or leave politely with ไม่เป็นไรครับ ขอบคุณ mâi-bpen-rai kráp, kɔ̀ɔp-kun.

You will hear vendors answer with ได้ dâai (“OK”), ไม่ได้ mâi dâai (“can’t”), ลดให้แล้ว lót hâi lɛ́ɛo (“I’ve already lowered it for you”) or ขาดทุน kàat-tun (“I’d be losing money”). Buying several items is the most reliable lever: in the story The night market, Hugo gets two bags for four hundred baht and a free bow with แถม tɛ̌ɛm. His very first haggle, over mangoes, is in At the market.

When not to bargain

Bargaining in the wrong place is awkward for everyone. Prices are fixed in:

• 7-Eleven, supermarkets and malls. The price on the label is the price. Hugo tries anyway in the story At the mall, without success.
• Food stalls and restaurants, especially when prices are on a board. Street food margins are small, and a plate is already cheap.
• Small everyday items at the fresh market. Haggling over five or ten baht on vegetables comes across as stingy.

At a fresh market, rather than a discount, people sometimes ask for a little extra: a few more chilies or a handful of herbs thrown in.

Buying clothes: sizes, colors and trying on

At a clothes stall, shirts and trousers take the classifier ตัว dtua: ตัวนี้ dtua-níi is “this one” (garment), and size questions are built on it too.

Sizes are mostly said with the English letters S, M, L, XL. Many market clothes are ฟรีไซซ์ frii-sai, “one size”, and stalls often have no fitting room: the vendor may hold the item against you, or you check it against your body. Shoes have numbered sizes, เบอร์ bəə (from the English “number”), and come in pairs, คู่ kûu.

To say how it fits:

The basic colors, after สี sǐi: ดำ dam (black), ขาว kǎao (white), แดง dɛɛng (red), เหลือง lʉ̌ang (yellow), เขียว kǐao (green), ฟ้า fáa (light blue), ชมพู chom-puu (pink). Hugo’s search for a shirt in the right size is the story Shopping for a shirt.

“I’ll take it” and “just looking”

ดูก่อน duu gɔ̀ɔn is the polite way to keep browsing when a vendor calls out to you. Vendors often greet you with เชิญครับ / เชิญค่ะ chəən kráp / chəən kâ, “please, come and look”, or ask เอาอะไรดี ao à-rai dii, “what would you like?”.

Paying: cash, QR code and change

QR payment is everywhere in Thailand, even at tiny stalls: a printed code hangs on the cart, linked to the national PromptPay system, พร้อมเพย์ prɔ́ɔm-pee. You need a Thai banking app to use it, so most short-term visitors pay cash.

Cash means small notes. At a morning market, a 1,000-baht note for a 40-baht bag of fruit is a real problem for the vendor. Ask ทอนแบงก์พันได้ไหม tɔɔn bɛ́ng-pan dâai mǎi, “can you break a thousand?”, or better, keep 20s and 100s for markets. Change is เงินทอน ngən-tɔɔn.

Market etiquette: shop with a smile

• Keep it light. Raising your voice or showing irritation makes everyone lose face. Thais value staying calm, ใจเย็น jai-yen (“cool heart”).
• Only bargain if you mean to buy, and once a price is agreed, buy. Walking away after ตกลง is rude.
• The first sale counts. Many vendors believe the day’s first sale, เปิดถุง bpə̀ət-tǔng (“opening the bag”), brings luck for the rest of the day, so early customers sometimes get a good price, and haggling hard then and leaving is especially unwelcome.
• Never step on money. Banknotes and coins carry the King’s portrait. If a coin rolls away, stop it with your hand, not your foot.
• Support the small stalls. Vendors may say อุดหนุนหน่อย ùt-nǔn nɔ̀i, “support me a little”: buying something from a stall is seen as a kind gesture.

How to practise

• Learn the four core sentences first: price, discount, “I’ll take it”, “just looking”. Then add units, sizes and payment.
• Listen to real exchanges. In Kru May, three stories follow Hugo from his first mangoes to clothes and the night market, with each sentence read at natural and slow speed, so you can hear the rhythm of a haggle before you try it. For the food side of the market, see how to order food in Thai.