How to say "can you speak slowly, please?" in Thai (with phonetics)
พูดช้าๆ หน่อยได้ไหม
phûut cháa-cháa nɔ̀ɔi dâai-mǎi
Could you speak slowly, please?
When you are talking with a neighbour, this is the everyday way to say "can you speak slowly, please?" in Thai.
Tips
- To add politeness, put a particle at the very end: a man says ครับ (khráp), a woman says คะ (khá) after a question like this. A woman says ค่ะ (khâ) in statements. Example: พูดช้าๆ หน่อยได้ไหมครับ / ได้ไหมคะ.
- Tone tip: ไหม mǎi (question word, rising) is not ไม่ mâi (not, falling) or ใหม่ mài (new, low). In ช้าๆ cháa-cháa, both syllables are high tone.
- A shorter version is พูดช้าๆ หน่อย (phûut cháa-cháa nɔ̀ɔi), 'Please speak slowly'. Adding ได้ไหม makes it a softer question.
Word by word
- พูด phûut: to speak (Falling tone.)
- ช้าๆ cháa-cháa: slowly (ๆ means repeat the word. Repeating it makes the request softer and more natural.)
- หน่อย nɔ̀ɔi: a little, please (softener) (Makes the request polite and gentle.)
- ได้ dâai: can, be able to (Falling tone.)
- ไหม mǎi: question particle (yes/no) (Rising tone.)
Say it your own way
Type it half in English, half in Thai, spelled any way you like: Thinglish works out what you meant and gives you the Thai with tones and a native voice.
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Romanisation and tones are written by the Thinglish tutor. Generated 2026-10-24.