Thai greeting Thai greeting The Thai greeting referred to as the "wai" (, ) consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. It has its origin in the Indian "Añjali Mudrā", like the Indian "namaste" and Burmese "Mingalar Par". The higher the hands are held in relation to the face and the lower the bow, the more respect or reverence the giver of the "wai" is showing. The "wai" is traditionally observed upon formally entering a house. After the visit is over, the visitor asks for permission to leave and repeats the salutation made upon entering.
Thai greeting The "wai" is also common as a way to express gratitude or to apologise. The word often spoken with the "wai" as a greeting or farewell is "sawatdi" (RTGS for , , sometimes romanized as "sawasdee"). This verbal greeting is usually followed by "kha" when spoken by a female and by "khrap" when spoken by a male person (see note on Thai polite particles). The word "sawatdi" was coined in the mid-1930s by Phraya Upakit Silapasan of Chulalongkorn University. Derived from the Sanskrit "svasti" (स्वस्ति meaning 'well-being'), it had previously been used in Thai only as a formulaic opening to