How Much in Thai: Ask Prices with เท่าไหร่ (thao rai)

The simplest way to ask “How much?” in Thai is เท่าไหร่ (thao rai?), or more fully ราคาเท่าไหร่ (raa-khaa thao rai?), meaning “What is the price?” Add ครับ (khrap) if you are a male speaker or คะ (kha) if you are a female speaker asking the question.

That single sentence is enough to ask a price today. In the next few minutes, this lesson on how much in Thai takes you through 5 short steps: the core word, the full question, the polite endings, 4 price patterns, and how to use them at a market, a restaurant and in a taxi.

One note before you start. All romanization in this article is approximate, designed for English-speaking beginners rather than as a phonetic transcription. Thai is a tonal language, so tones matter, and when you get to real prices you will want to count in Thai too, which we cover in our guide to numbers in Thai.

Step 1: Say เท่าไหร่ (thao rai), the Short Thai Question

เท่าไหร่ (thao rai) means “how much” and is used to ask an amount or a price. It is a short way to ask about an amount or a price, and it works across shopping situations.

The learner-friendly pronunciation is approximately thao rai. Syllable 1, เท่า (thao), carries a falling tone, and syllable 2, ไหร่ (rai), carries a low tone. Treat this as an approximate guide rather than a phonetic transcription, because the written Thai carries the tone detail.

A quick way to practise is to say the 2 syllables separately first: เท่า (thao), then ไหร่ (rai). Once each syllable feels comfortable, join them into 1 word and repeat the whole phrase 5 times at a relaxed speed.

Step 2: Use the Full Question ราคาเท่าไหร่ (raa-khaa thao rai)

ราคาเท่าไหร่ (raa-khaa thao rai) asks what the price is. The added word is ราคา (raa-khaa), which means “price”, so the full phrase spells out that you are asking about cost specifically.

You can break it into 2 parts: ราคา (raa-khaa, price) plus เท่าไหร่ (thao rai, how much). Hearing those pieces separately makes the longer phrase easier to remember than memorising it as 1 sound.

In day-to-day shopping, the short form เท่าไหร่ (thao rai) is fine. The full form ราคาเท่าไหร่ (raa-khaa thao rai) is the natural choice when you are pointing at an item, because it makes the price question explicit and leaves no room for doubt about what you want to know.

Step 3: Add the Polite Ending: ครับ (khrap), ค่ะ (kha) or คะ (kha)

The polite ending is ครับ (khrap) for a male speaker, ค่ะ (kha) for a female statement and คะ (kha) for a female question. Because you are asking a question, male speakers use ครับ (khrap) and female speakers use the question form คะ (kha).

Here are the full price questions with the correct endings attached:

The distinction between ค่ะ (kha) and คะ (kha) is the detail beginners most often fumble. Both are spelled the same in romanization, but คะ (kha) with a high tone belongs to questions, while ค่ะ (kha) with a falling tone belongs to statements. The official TISI handbook for English speakers lists เท่าไรคะ (thao rai kha) as its “How much?” question, which confirms the pattern you are learning here.

Adding 1 of these endings to a price question instantly makes it more polite. If you want more everyday phrases with the same politeness built in, our collection of Thai phrases to know is the next natural stop.

Step 4: Ask About This Item, the Total, per Kilogram or per Piece

Four useful price patterns are อันนี้เท่าไหร่ (an nee thao rai), ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่ (tang mot thao rai), กิโลละเท่าไหร่ (ki-lo la thao rai) and ชิ้นละเท่าไหร่ (chin la thao rai). Each one fits a different buying situation, so you can point, total, weigh or count with confidence.

Use อันนี้เท่าไหร่ (an nee thao rai) when pointing at an item, such as something on a market stall. Use ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่ (tang mot thao rai) when you want the whole bill, for example at the end of a meal.

Use กิโลละเท่าไหร่ (ki-lo la thao rai) when goods are sold by weight, such as fruit at a market. Use ชิ้นละเท่าไหร่ (chin la thao rai) when items are priced individually. Remember that you can add the polite ending from Step 3 to any of these patterns, so อันนี้เท่าไหร่ครับ (an nee thao rai khrap) and อันนี้เท่าไหร่คะ (an nee thao rai kha) are both complete, polite questions.

Step 5: Practise the Questions in Real Situations

Use อันนี้เท่าไหร่ (an nee thao rai) when pointing at an item, ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่ (tang mot thao rai) when asking for the bill total, and เท่าไหร่ (thao rai) with a polite ending when asking about a fare. Here is how each situation plays out from your side of the conversation.

At a market: Point at the item and ask อันนี้เท่าไหร่คะ (an nee thao rai kha) if you are a female speaker, or อันนี้เท่าไหร่ครับ (an nee thao rai khrap) if you are a male speaker. If the goods are sold by weight, switch to กิโลละเท่าไหร่ (ki-lo la thao rai).

At a restaurant: When you want the bill, ask ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่คะ (tang mot thao rai kha) or ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่ครับ (tang mot thao rai khrap).

In a taxi: Ask เท่าไหร่ครับ (thao rai khrap) or เท่าไหร่คะ (thao rai kha) to ask how much the fare is. The short form plus your polite ending is all you need here, because the context already makes the meaning clear.

These buyer-side lines are deliberately kept to your side of the conversation. Practising these questions with a certified teacher can give you guided practice, and if you are in Bangkok, our Thai language course gives you exactly that.

FAQ: Asking How Much in Thai

What is the difference between เท่าไหร่ (thao rai) and ราคาเท่าไหร่ (raa-khaa thao rai)?

เท่าไหร่ (thao rai) means “how much” and asks an amount or a price in the shortest possible form. ราคาเท่าไหร่ (raa-khaa thao rai) adds the word ราคา (raa-khaa), meaning “price”, so it explicitly asks what the price is. Use the short form day to day and the full form when you want the price question to be unmistakable.

Should I say ครับ (khrap) or คะ (kha) when asking how much in Thai?

Say ครับ (khrap) if you are a male speaker and คะ (kha) if you are a female speaker asking a question. Female speakers use ค่ะ (kha) for statements, but a price question takes the question form คะ (kha). So a male speaker asks เท่าไหร่ครับ (thao rai khrap) and a female speaker asks เท่าไหร่คะ (thao rai kha).

How do you pronounce เท่าไหร่ (thao rai)?

The learner-friendly pronunciation is approximately thao rai, with a falling tone on syllable 1 and a low tone on syllable 2. This romanization is an approximate guide for beginners, not a phonetic transcription. Practise by saying เท่า (thao) and ไหร่ (rai) separately first, then joining them.

What does กิโลละเท่าไหร่ (ki-lo la thao rai) mean?

กิโลละเท่าไหร่ (ki-lo la thao rai) means “How much per kilogram?” and you use it when goods are sold by weight, such as fruit or vegetables at a market. It is 1 of 4 beginner price patterns, alongside อันนี้เท่าไหร่ (an nee thao rai), ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่ (tang mot thao rai) and ชิ้นละเท่าไหร่ (chin la thao rai). Add ครับ (khrap) or คะ (kha) to make it polite.