Unit 1Free preview
How to say “Excuse me / Sorry” in Thai
ขอโทษครับ/ค่ะkho-thot khrap/kha
Excuse me / Sorry
ขอโทษ + particle — excuse me or sorry.
How to read it
ขอโทษ → kho-thot
ขอ → kho
- ข
/kh/
kh-
- อ
o
vowel o
kho
โทษ → thot (written โ ท ษ)
- โ
o
1st written · vowel
- ท
/th/
said with โ
- ษ
/t/
final · /t/
thot
โทษ: โ before ท; final ษ = /t/
ขอ = “ask for.” โทษ = “fault / blame.” Together: “ask forgiveness” → excuse me / sorry. โ is another left-side vowel: written before ท, spoken as the o in thot. Final ษ is in the same ending family as ส จ ช — at syllable end it is unreleased /t/, not an “s” sound. (Same idea as final ส in สวัสดี.)
Add ครับ/ค่ะ. Soft reply often ไม่เป็นไร.
Say it
kho-thot + particle.
Where it comes from
From asking to be excused for a โทษ (offense).
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