Thai Phrases › Practice › Pharmacy dialogue

Thai dialogue: buying medicine at a pharmacy

One short, everyday conversation — the one every traveller in Thailand eventually has, in Thai. First you hear it, then you take the traveller's side: report a fever, show where it hurts, answer the allergy question before any medicine is offered, ask for pain relief, catch the dose frequency and pay by card — all in Thai. Every line is spoken aloud, and the full transcript is written out below so you can read along or study offline. New to the words? Warm up with the emergency phrases first. This page is language practice, not medical advice — if symptoms are serious, see a doctor or call 1669 for an ambulance.

🎯 Your mission

Setting
A pharmacy counter in Bangkok. You woke up with a fever and a sore throat, and you need medicine you can take safely.
You
The traveller — you speak only the Thai you've got, and the pharmacist can only help with what you manage to say.
The bystander
The pharmacist — who will hand over exactly what you manage to ask for, in Thai, and nothing you haven't checked.
Your goal
Leave with the right medicine — report the fever, answer the allergy question before anything is offered, catch the dose frequency, and pay, all in Thai, without a single pushy word.
Ready

14 short lines. Wrong answers never end the visit — the pharmacist reacts, you get a coaching note, and you try the line again.

Read the full conversation

The whole dialogue, line by line. Lines marked new were written for this dialogue and are awaiting a native Thai speaker's proofread; every other line is from the emergency phrase list.

  1. Pharmacistเป็นอะไรครับ new
    pen à-rai khráp
    What's wrong?
  2. Youมีไข้
    mee khâi
    I have a fever
  3. Pharmacistเจ็บตรงไหนครับ new
    jèp trong-nǎi khráp
    Where does it hurt?
  4. Youเจ็บตรงนี้
    jèp trong née
    It hurts here
  5. Pharmacistแพ้อะไรไหมครับ new
    phâe à-rai mǎi khráp
    Are you allergic to anything?
  6. Youแพ้ถั่ว
    phâe thùa
    I'm allergic to peanuts
  7. Pharmacistต้องการยาอะไรครับ new
    tông-gaan yaa à-rai khráp
    What medicine do you need?
  8. Youขอยาแก้ปวดหน่อยครับ new
    khǒo yaa gâe-pùat nòi khráp
    Pain relief, please
  9. Pharmacistกินวันละสามครั้ง หลังอาหารครับ new
    gin wan-lá sǎam khráng lǎng aa-hǎan khráp
    Take three times a day, after meals.
  10. Pharmacistกินสามวันครับ new
    gin sǎam wan khráp
    Take it for three days.
  11. Youเท่าไหร่
    thâo-rài
    How much is it?
  12. Pharmacistห้าสิบบาทครับ new
    hâa-sìp bàat khráp
    Fifty baht.
  13. Youจ่ายด้วยบัตรได้ไหม
    jàai dûai bàat dâai mǎi
    Can I pay by card?
  14. Youขอบคุณมาก
    khòp khun mâak
    Thank you very much

What a Thai speaker would say: a pharmacy visit runs on short, plain reports: mee khâi (มีไข้, I have a fever) first, then jèp trong née (เจ็บตรงนี้, it hurts here) with a point, and phâe thùa (แพ้ถั่ว, allergic to peanuts) before any medicine is offered. Ask for the kind of medicine — khǒo yaa gâe-pùat nòi khráp (ขอยาแก้ปวดหน่อยครับ, pain relief, please) — listen for the dose frequency, ask the price before reacting to it, and never add the pushy particle sì (สิ) to a request.

Pharmacy Thai — quick answers

How do you say you have a fever in Thai?

Say mee khâi (มีไข้) — I have a fever. Lead with the symptom at a pharmacy counter, not the shop name: the pharmacist can only help once they know what is wrong.

How do you say you're allergic to peanuts in Thai?

Say phâe thùa (แพ้ถั่ว) — I'm allergic to peanuts. Say it before any medicine is offered, not after, and swap the food word for any other allergy.

How do you ask for pain relief in Thai?

Say khǒo yaa gâe-pùat nòi khráp (ขอยาแก้ปวดหน่อยครับ) — pain relief, please. Asking for the kind of medicine, not a brand name, is how a pharmacy visit normally works.