Thai Phrases › Practice › Taxi dialogue

Thai dialogue: taking a taxi in Bangkok

One short, real conversation — the one almost every visitor has on day one. First you hear it, then you take the passenger's side: greet the driver, get the meter running before the car moves, beat the flat-fare trick, and stop at the right terminal. 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 taxi & transport phrases first.

🎯 Your mission

Setting
Outside a hotel in central Bangkok. Your flight leaves in a few hours and you've just flagged down a taxi.
You
The passenger — you speak only the Thai you've got.
The driver
Friendly, fast-talking, and hoping you'll agree to a flat fare.
Your goal
Agree the price BEFORE the car moves — meter on, no flat fare — and get dropped at the airport terminal.
Ready

13 short lines. Wrong answers never end the ride — the driver 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 taxi phrase list.

  1. Driverสวัสดีครับ ไปไหนครับ new
    sà-wàt-dee khráp, pai nǎi khráp
    Hello! Where to?
  2. Youไปสนามบิน
    pai sà-nǎam bin
    Go to the airport
  3. Driverมิเตอร์หรือเหมาครับ new
    mii-têe rǔe mǎo khráp
    Meter, or a flat price?
  4. Youเปิดมิเตอร์หน่อย
    pòet mii-têe nòi
    Please use the meter
  5. Driverเหมา 500 บาทดีกว่าครับ new
    mǎo hâa rói bàat dee gwàa khráp
    A flat 500 baht is better.
  6. Youแพงไป
    phaang pai
    Too expensive
  7. Driverได้ครับ มิเตอร์ก็ได้ new
    dâai khráp, mii-têe gâw dâai
    OK — the meter is fine.
  8. Driverตรงไปหรือเลี้ยวซ้ายครับ new
    trong pai rǔe léeo sáai khráp
    Straight on, or turn left?
  9. Youตรงไป
    trong pai
    Go straight
  10. Driverถึงสนามบินแล้วครับ new
    thǔeng sà-nǎam bin léeo khráp
    We've arrived at the airport.
  11. Youจอดที่นี่
    jòot thêe-nêe
    Stop here
  12. Driverขอบคุณครับ เดินทางปลอดภัยครับ new
    khòp khun khráp, dern-thaang plòot-phai khráp
    Thank you. Have a safe trip!
  13. Youขอบคุณมาก
    khòp khun mâak
    Thank you very much

What a Thai speaker would say: real Bangkok drivers keep sentences short — a destination, a question about the meter, a number. Politeness rides on two tiny words: khráp (ครับ, said by men) / khâ (ค่ะ, said by women) at the end, and nòi (หน่อย, “a little, please”) softening any request. Get those two habits right and the rest of this dialogue is just vocabulary.

Taxi Thai — quick answers

How do you ask a Bangkok taxi driver to use the meter?

Say pòet mii-têe nòi (เปิดมิเตอร์หน่อย) — please use the meter. Ask before the car starts moving. A metered airport ride is charged by distance and time, while a flat fare offered up front is almost always higher. If the driver pushes a flat 500 baht, smile and say phaang pai (แพงไป) — too expensive — then insist on the meter or take the next taxi.

How do you say to the airport in Thai?

Pai sà-nǎam bin (ไปสนามบิน) — literally go airport. Start any taxi trip with pai plus your destination. Bangkok has two airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, so if it matters, show the driver your booking or add the airport name.

What do you say when the taxi arrives at your stop?

Say jòot thêe-nêe (จอดที่นี่) — stop here. If the driver is going too fast on the way, cháa nòi (ช้าหน่อย) means slower, please. As you pay, finish with khòp khun mâak (ขอบคุณมาก) — thank you very much.