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My 6 month trip throughout Southeast Asia was one of my favorite experiences, but I remember how challenging language barriers could be.
While backpacking through Southeast Asia is fun and rewarding, it can be difficult when you’re switching countries (and languages) every few weeks.
The good news is that English is widely spoken by people working in the tourism industry across Southeast Asia. Unless you plan to spend time in rural or off-the-beaten path destinations, you can get by with English.
However, speaking (or at least attempting) the local language is courteous and goes a long way with locals.
Many languages in Southeast Asia are tonal languages, meaning it’s not just the words that are important but also the pitch. Some languages also have different words based on your gender. I know, it’s a lot to remember!
It’s true that languages in Southeast Asia can be difficult to pick up. That being said, I recommend picking a handful of useful phrases to learn each time you travel to a new country.
Google Translate is a useful tool, and it will come in handy at some point. You can “talk” with non-English speakers by passing the phone back and forth.
Here’s a go-to list of useful phrases for traveling in Southeast Asia.
Thai (Thailand)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: สวัสดี (Sawasdee [for male])/ สวัสดีค่ะ (Sawasdee ka [for female])
- How are you?: สบายดีไหม (Sabai dee mai?)
- Good morning: สวัสดีตอนเช้า (Sawasdee ton chao)
- Good afternoon: สวัสดีตอนบ่าย (Sawasdee ton bai)
- Good evening: สวัสดีตอนเย็น (Sawasdee ton yen)
- Please: กรุณา (Karuna)
- Thank you: ขอบคุณ (Khob khun)
- What’s your name?: คุณชื่ออะไร (Khun chue arai?)
- My name is…: ฉันชื่อ… (Chan chue… [for female]) / ผมชื่อ… (Phom chue… [for male])
- Do you speak English?: คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหม (Khun pood pasa Angrit dai mai?)
- I don’t speak Thai: ฉันพูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้ (Chan pood pasa Thai mai dai [for female]) / ผมพูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้ (Phom pood pasa Thai mai dai [for male])
- How much is this?: อันนี้ราคาเท่าไหร่ (An nee raa-kaa tao-rai?)
- Help: ช่วยด้วย (Chuay duay)
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: มีเมนูภาษาอังกฤษไหม (Mee menu pasa Angrit mai?)
- I am vegetarian: ฉันกินมังสวิรัติ (Chan gin mang-sa-wi-rat [for female]) / ผมกินมังสวิรัติ (Phom gin mang-sa-wi-rat [for male])
- May I have the bill?: ขอคิดเงิน (Kor kit ngern)
- What do you recommend?: คุณแนะนำอะไร (Khun nae-nam arai?)
- I would like to order…: ฉันขอสั่ง… (Chan kor sang… [for female]) / ผมขอสั่ง… (Phom kor sang… [for male])
Traveling and Directions
- Left: ซ้าย (Saai)
- Right: ขวา (Khwaa)
- How do I get to…: ฉันจะไป…ได้อย่างไร (Chan ja pai… dai yang-rai?)
- Where is…: …อยู่ที่ไหน (…yoo tee nai?):
Lao (Laos)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: ສະບາຍດີ (Sabaidee)
- How are you?: ສະບາຍດີບໍ? (Sabaidee baw?)
- Good morning: ສະບາຍດີຕອນເຊົ້າ (Sabaidee ton sao)
- Good afternoon: ສະບາຍດີຕອນສວາຍ (Sabaidee ton savay)
- Good evening: ສະບາຍດີຕອນແລງ (Sabaidee ton laeng)
- Please: ກະລຸນາ (Kaluna)
- Thank you: ຂອບໃຈ (Khob chai)
- What’s your name?: ເຈົ້າຊື່ຫຍັງ? (Chao seu nyang?)
- My name is…: ຂ້ອຍຊື່… (Khony seu…)
- Do you speak English?: ເຈົ້າເວົ້າພາສາອັງກິດໄດ້ບໍ? (Chao wao pasa Angkit dai baw?)
- I don’t speak Thai: ຂ້ອຍບໍ່ເວົ້າພາສາໄທ (Khony baw wao pasa Thai)
- How much is this?: ອັນນີ້ເທົ່າໃດ? (An ni thao dai?)
- Help: ຊ່ວຍແດ່ (Suay dae)
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: ມີເມນູພາສາອັງກິດບໍ? (Mee menu pasa Angkit baw?)
- I am vegetarian: ຂ້ອຍກິນມັງສະວິຣັດ (Khony kin mang-sa-wi-rat)
- May I have the bill?: ຂໍເກັບເງິນ (Khor keb ngern)
- What do you recommend?: ເຈົ້າແນະນຳຫຍັງ? (Chao nae-nam nyang?)
- I would like to order…: ຂ້ອຍຂໍສັ່ງ… (Khony khor sang…)
Traveling and Directions
- Left: ຊ້າຍ (Sai)
- Right: ຂວາ (Khwaa)
- How do I get to…: ຂ້ອຍຈະໄປ…ແບບໃດ? (Khony ja pai… baeb dai?)
- Where is…: …ຢູ່ໃສ? (…yuu sai?)
Khmer (Cambodia)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: សួស្ដី (Suosdey)
- How are you?: តើអ្នកសុខសប្បាយទេ? (Te anak sokh sabbay te?)
- Good morning: អរុណសួស្ដី (Aroun Suosdey)
- Good afternoon: ទិវាសួស្ដី (Tivea Suosdey)
- Good evening: សាយ័នសួស្ដី (Sayon Suosdey)
- Please: សូម (Soum)
- Thank you: អរគុណ (Arkun)
- What’s your name?: តើអ្នកឈ្មោះអ្វី? (Te anak chhmua avei?)
- My name is…: ខ្ញុំឈ្មោះ… (Knhom chhmua…)
- Do you speak English?: តើអ្នកនិយាយភាសាអង់គ្លេសទេ? (Te anak niyeay phiesa Angkles te?)
- I don’t speak Thai: ខ្ញុំមិនចេះនិយាយភាសាថៃទេ (Knhom min cheh niyeay phiesa Thai te)
- How much is this?: នេះមានតម្លៃប៉ុន្មាន? (Nih mean domlai bonman?)
- Help: ជួយផង (Chuoy phong)
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: តើអ្នកមានម៉ឺនុយជាភាសាអង់គ្លេសទេ? (Te anak mean menu chea phiesa Angkles te?)
- I am vegetarian: ខ្ញុំជាមនុស្សបួសជ្រក់ (Knhom chea mnus buh jrok)
- May I have the bill?: សូមគិតលុយ (Soum ket luy)
- What do you recommend?: តើអ្នកណែនាំអ្វី? (Te anak naenam avei?)
- I would like to order…: ខ្ញុំចង់បញ្ជា… (Knhom chong banhchea…)
Traveling and Directions
- Left: ឆ្វេង (Chhveng)
- Right: ស្តាំ (Sdam)
- How do I get to…: តើខ្ញុំត្រូវទៅដល់…ដោយរបៀបណា? (Te knhom trov tov dol… daoy robieb na?)
- Where is…: …ស្ថិតនៅទីណា? (…sthat nov ti na?)
Vietnamese (Vietnam)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: Xin chào
- How are you?: Bạn có khỏe không?
- Good morning: Chào buổi sáng
- Good afternoon: Chào buổi chiều
- Good evening: Chào buổi tối
- Please: Làm ơn
- Thank you: Cảm ơn
- What’s your name?: Bạn tên là gì?
- My name is…: Tôi tên là…
- Do you speak English?: Bạn có nói tiếng Anh không?
- I don’t speak Thai: Tôi không nói tiếng Thái
- How much is this?: Cái này bao nhiêu tiền?
- Help: Giúp với
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: Bạn có thực đơn tiếng Anh không?
- I am vegetarian: Tôi ăn chay
- May I have the bill?: Cho tôi xin hóa đơn
- What do you recommend?: Bạn đề nghị món gì?
- I would like to order…: Tôi muốn gọi món…
Traveling and Directions
- Left: Trái
- Right: Phải
- How do I get to…: Làm sao để tôi đến…?
- Where is…: …ở đâu?
Malay (Malaysia)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: Helo / Hai
- How are you?: Apa khabar?
- Good morning: Selamat pagi
- Good afternoon: Selamat tengah hari
- Good evening: Selamat petang
- Please: Tolong / Sila
- Thank you: Terima kasih
- What’s your name?: Siapa nama awak?
- My name is…: Nama saya…
- Do you speak English?: Awak boleh cakap bahasa Inggeris?
- I don’t speak Thai: Saya tak cakap bahasa Thai
- How much is this?: Berapa harga ini?
- Help: Tolong
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: Ada menu dalam bahasa Inggeris?
- I am vegetarian: Saya seorang vegetarian
- May I have the bill?: Boleh saya dapatkan bil?
- What do you recommend?: Apa yang awak cadangkan?
- I would like to order…: Saya nak pesan…
Traveling and Directions
- Left: Kiri
- Right: Kanan
- How do I get to…: Bagaimana saya nak pergi ke…?
- Where is…: Di mana…?
Indonesian (Indonesia)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: Halo
- How are you?: Apa kabar?
- Good morning: Selamat pagi
- Good afternoon: Selamat siang / Selamat sore
- Good evening: Selamat malam
- Please: Tolong / Silakan
- Thank you: Terima kasih
- What’s your name?: Siapa nama kamu?
- My name is…: Nama saya…
- Do you speak English?: Apakah kamu bisa berbahasa Inggris?
- I don’t speak Thai: Saya tidak bisa berbahasa Thai
- How much is this?: Berapa harga ini?
- Help: Tolong
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: Apakah ada menu dalam bahasa Inggris?
- I am vegetarian: Saya seorang vegetarian
- May I have the bill?: Boleh saya minta tagihannya?
- What do you recommend?: Apa yang kamu rekomendasikan?
- I would like to order…: Saya ingin pesan…
Traveling and Directions
- Left: Kiri
- Right: Kanan
- How do I get to…: Bagaimana cara saya ke…?
- Where is…: Di mana…?
Tagalog / Filipino (The Philippines)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: Kamusta / Hi
- How are you?: Kamusta ka?
- Good morning: Magandang umaga
- Good afternoon: Magandang hapon
- Good evening: Magandang gabi
- Please: Pakiusap / Please
- Thank you: Salamat
- What’s your name?: Anong pangalan mo?
- My name is…: Ang pangalan ko ay…
- Do you speak English?: Marunong ka bang mag-Ingles?
- I don’t speak Thai: Hindi ako marunong mag-Thai
- How much is this?: Magkano ito?
- Help: Tulong
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: Mayroon bang menu na Ingles?
- I am vegetarian: Ako ay vegetarian
- May I have the bill?: Puwede bang makuha ang bill?
- What do you recommend?: Ano ang mairekomenda mo?
- I would like to order…: Gusto kong umorder ng…
Traveling and Directions
- Left: Kaliwa
- Right: Kanan
- How do I get to…: Paano ako makakapunta sa…?
- Where is…: Nasaan ang…?
Burmese (Myanmar)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: မင်္ဂလာပါ (Mingalaba)
- How are you?: နေကြတယ်လား? (Nei krat la?)
- Good morning: မနက်ဖြန်မင်္ဂလာပါ (Manekpyan Mingalaba)
- Good afternoon: မင်္ဂလာနေ့လည် (Mingala nei lay)
- Good evening: ညနေချိန်မင်္ဂလာပါ (Nya nay kyin Mingalaba)
- Please: ကျေးဇူးပြု၍ (Kyeizu pyu ywae)
- Thank you: ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ် (Kyeizu tin par tal)
- What’s your name?: နာမည်ဘာလဲ? (Name bar le?)
- My name is…: ကျွန်တော်/ကျွန်မနာမည်… (Kyun taw / Kyun ma name…)
- Do you speak English?: အင်္ဂလိပ်စကားပြောပါသလား? (English sa kar pyo par la?)
- I don’t speak Thai: ကျွန်တော်/ကျွန်မသိုင်းစကားမပြောပါဘူး (Kyun taw / Kyun ma Thai sa kar ma pyo par bu)
- How much is this?: ဤအထည်၏စျေးနှုန်းကဘာလဲ? (I a htei e sei hnun ka bar le?)
- Help: ကူညီပါ (Ku nyee par)
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: အင်္ဂလိပ်စာရင်းရှိပါသလား? (English sa yin shi par la?)
- I am vegetarian: ကျွန်တော်/ကျွန်မဟင်းလျာမစားပါ (Kyun taw / Kyun ma hnyar sa par ma)
- May I have the bill?: ဘက်ငွေကိုပေးပါ (Bhet nway ko pay par)
- What do you recommend?: မင်းဘယ်အရာကိုအကြံပေးမလဲ? (Min beh a ya ko akyan pay ma le?)
- I would like to order…: ကျွန်တော်/ကျွန်မ…အော်ဒါတင်ချင်ပါတယ် (Kyun taw / Kyun ma… order tin chin par tal)
Traveling and Directions
- Left: ဘယ် (Be)
- Right: ညာ (Nya)
- How do I get to…: …သို့ဘယ်လိုသွားရမလဲ? (… thoh beh lo thwa ya ma le?)
- Where is…: …ဘယ်နေရာမှာလဲ? (… beh nay ya hma le?)
Brunei Malay (Brunei)
General Words and Phrases
- Hello: Hello / Hai
- How are you?: Apa khabar?
- Good morning: Selamat pagi
- Good afternoon: Selamat tengah hari
- Good evening: Selamat petang
- Please: Tolong / Sila
- Thank you: Terima kasih
- What’s your name?: Siapa nama awak?
- My name is…: Nama saya…
- Do you speak English?: Adakah anda boleh bercakap bahasa Inggeris?
- I don’t speak Thai: Saya tidak boleh bercakap bahasa Thai
- How much is this?: Berapa harga ini?
- Help: Tolong
In a Restaurant
- Do you have an English menu?: Adakah anda mempunyai menu dalam bahasa Inggeris?
- I am vegetarian: Saya seorang vegetarian
- May I have the bill?: Bolehkah saya minta bil?
- What do you recommend?: Apa yang anda syorkan?
- I would like to order…: Saya ingin memesan…
Traveling and Directions
- Left: Kiri
- Right: Kanan
- How do I get to…: Bagaimana cara saya ke…?
- Where is…: Di mana…?
I hope this list of useful phrases in Southeast Asia helps! Remember: it’s okay if your pronunciation isn’t perfect, it’s the effort that counts.
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