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.
Salutation A salutation using "Chère/Cher" and a title ("Madame/Monsieur/Docteur") followed by a person's name (e.g. "Cher Monsieur Dupuis") used to be considered incorrect. However, maybe following English usage, such a construction is now rather common and deemed relatively formal. In case the author and the recipients are close friends or intimates, one may use the given name of the recipient immediately after "Cher/Chère". In case they are family, they may use their familial link preceded by "Cher/Chère". This is almost compulsory if the author is a younger member of the family (child to parent, nephew to aunt/uncle, grandchild to grandparent, godchild