Motorbike and car in Thai

อยากเช่ามอเตอร์ไซค์ครับ

yàak châo maw-dtoe-sai khráp

I'd like to rent a motorbike.

Male speaker

Name the vehicle, not "a bike" — มอเตอร์ไซค์ covers everything from a 110cc step-through upwards. If you just say เช่ารถ, people assume you mean a car. Expect the shop to answer with a question about how long, so have your duration ready.

เช่าเป็นเดือนได้ไหมคะ

châo bpen deuan dâi mǎi khá

Can I rent it by the month?

Female speaker

เป็นวัน / เป็นอาทิตย์ / เป็นเดือน is the fixed frame for by-the-day, week and month, and monthly is usually the cheapest per day, which makes it the resident's question rather than the visitor's. Ask what the shop wants alongside it rather than assuming, because the conditions change with the length. Note คะ with a high tone because this is a question — ค่ะ here would sound like a statement.

วันละเท่าไหร่ครับ

wan-lá thâo-rài khráp

How much per day?

Male speaker

ละ is the "per" particle — swap the noun for อาทิตย์ละ or เดือนละ and the sentence still works. Ask before you hand anything over, then ask how the rate changes for a week or a month — เป็นอาทิตย์ / เป็นเดือน — because the daily figure is almost never the best one.

ต้องวางมัดจำไหมครับ

dtâwng waang mát-jam mǎi khráp

Do I have to leave a deposit?

Male speaker

วางมัดจำ, "place a deposit", is the set verb — you will meet it again renting a room. Ask this before you agree on a rate, not after, because the answer usually names either cash or a document and that changes the whole arrangement.

ต้องวางพาสปอร์ตไว้ไหมครับ

dtâwng waang phâat-sà-bpàwt wái mǎi khráp

Do I have to leave my passport with you?

Male speaker

วาง…ไว้ is the same frame as วางมัดจำ above: putting something down and leaving it in someone's keeping. The blunter version, and often the more useful one, is ต้องใช้พาสปอร์ตตัวจริงไหมครับ — do you need the original. Ask it as a plain yes/no before money moves, then offer the alternative in the next card.

ใช้สำเนาพาสปอร์ตแทนได้ไหมครับ

chái sǎm-nao phâat-sà-bpàwt thaen dâi mǎi khráp

Could I use a photocopy of my passport instead?

Male speaker

แทน is the load-bearing word: "in place of". Keep printed copies at home, because asking this with one already in your hand changes the answer far more often than asking empty-handed. Whether a copy is accepted varies shop to shop, so ask rather than assume — and if the answer is no, the fallback offer is วางมัดจำแทนได้ไหมครับ, a cash deposit instead.

มีสัญญาเช่าไหมคะ

mii sǎn-yaa châo mǎi khá

Is there a rental agreement?

Female speaker

สัญญา is a written agreement of any kind. Asking marks you as a resident rather than a two-day visitor, and it opens the right follow-up: what happens if the vehicle is damaged or stolen. If there is no paper at all, photograph everything instead.

ขอดูพ.ร.บ.กับป้ายภาษีหน่อยครับ

khǎw duu phaw-raw-baw gàp bpâai phaa-sǐi nàwy khráp

Could I see the compulsory insurance and the tax sticker?

Male speaker

พ.ร.บ. is said letter by letter, phaw-raw-baw, and it is what everyone calls the basic compulsory motor insurance. ป้ายภาษี is the small square sticker for the annual road tax. Knowing the two names is itself the message: you are not a first-week tourist.

ขอเช็ครถก่อนได้ไหมครับ

khǎw chék rót gàwn dâi mǎi khráp

Can I check the bike over first?

Male speaker

เช็ค is the everyday spoken word for looking something over; ตรวจ is what a police officer or an inspection station does to a vehicle, and across a shop counter it sounds like an official audit of the man's business. You can also say ขอดูสภาพรถก่อน — the shop itself uses ขอดูรถก่อน when you bring it back. Do it standing beside the owner so you both see the same marks at the same moment.

เบรกยังดีอยู่ไหมครับ

brèek yang dii yùu mǎi khráp

Are the brakes still in good condition?

Male speaker

Same ยัง…อยู่ frame as the tyres card — swap the noun and it keeps working for any part of the vehicle. Even more casual, and very common in a shop, is เบรกโอเคไหมครับ. Test front and rear separately before you leave the forecourt: on a hired bike the rear is the one that has been worn out by strangers.

ไฟหน้ากับไฟเลี้ยวติดไหมครับ

fai nâa gàp fai líao dtìt mǎi khráp

Do the headlight and the indicators work?

Male speaker

เปิด is what you do to the switch — เปิดไฟหน้า, switch the headlight on — while ติด is what the light itself does, whether it actually comes on. It is the same ติด as an engine catching, สตาร์ทไม่ติด. The set is ไฟหน้า headlight, ไฟเลี้ยว indicators, ไฟเบรก brake light, ไฟท้าย tail light, and dead indicators are the commonest fault on a rental.

ยางยังดีอยู่ไหมคะ

yaang yang dii yùu mǎi khá

Are the tyres still in decent condition?

Female speaker

ยัง…อยู่ frames "still in that state" and works for anything from tyres to a marriage. Crouch and look at the tread as you ask; in the rainy season a bald rear tyre is the difference between stopping and sliding. ยางเก่า old, ยางใหม่ new.

ตรงนี้มีรอยอยู่แล้วนะครับ

dtrong níi mii rawy yùu láew ná khráp

There's already a scratch here, just so we're agreed.

Male speaker

รอย covers scratches, scuffs and dents alike. อยู่แล้ว — "already there" — is the entire point: you are recording that it predates you. Say it while pointing, and let นะครับ keep it collaborative rather than accusing.

ขอถ่ายรูปไว้หน่อยนะครับ

khǎw thàai rûup wái nàwy ná khráp

I'm just going to take a few photos, if that's alright.

Male speaker

ไว้ after a verb means doing something now for later use — precisely what a record photo is. Walk the whole vehicle with the video running and capture the odometer and the number plate. An honest shop never objects; one that does has just told you something.

มีหมวกกันน็อคให้ไหมคะ

mii mùak gan náwk hâi mǎi khá

Do you provide a helmet?

Female speaker

หมวกกันน็อค is literally "anti-knock hat", built on the English word knock. ให้ at the end turns having one into providing one for you. Ask for two if you carry a passenger, and check the strap latches before you ride off.

ต้องคืนรถกี่โมงครับ

dtâwng kheun rót gìi moong khráp

What time do I have to bring it back?

Male speaker

คืน is to give back. Shops differ on whether a "day" means until a clock hour or a full twenty-four, and that unpredictability is exactly why this is a day-one question rather than a day-you-are-late one. กี่โมง is the everyday "what time".

มีมอเตอร์ไซค์มือสองขายไหมครับ

mii maw-dtoe-sai meu sǎwng khǎai mǎi khráp

Do you have any second-hand bikes for sale?

Male speaker

มือสอง, "second hand", is a direct calque and works for phones, fridges and cars too. Say มอเตอร์ไซค์ rather than a bare รถ, which on its own sends people's minds to a car. Rental shops routinely sell off their retired bikes, so this is the natural next question at a place you have already been renting from.

มีเล่มทะเบียนไหมครับ

mii lêm thá-bian mǎi khráp

Does it come with the registration book?

Male speaker

เล่มทะเบียน is the vehicle registration book foreigners call the green book; เล่ม is the classifier for anything bound. Ask to hold it and read the owner's name yourself. If there is no book, ask why before anything else — เล่มอยู่ไหนครับ — because there is one common innocent answer, the finance company, and anything vaguer than that is a conversation to leave rather than to negotiate.

ชื่อในเล่มเป็นชื่อคุณไหมครับ

chêu nai lêm bpen chêu khun mǎi khráp

Is the name in the book yours?

Male speaker

The person selling and the person registered are very often not the same, and that changes everything about how a transfer happens. Ask it plainly and early. If the answer is no, the next question is simply who will be signing.

โอนเล่มเป็นชื่อผมได้ไหมครับ

oon lêm bpen chêu phǒm dâi mǎi khráp

Can you transfer it into my name?

Male speaker

โอน is the verb for transferring anything official — money, a phone number, a vehicle — and in the vehicle trade what gets transferred is the book or the bike itself: โอนเล่ม, โอนรถ, โอนทะเบียน, never โอนชื่อ, which sounds like renaming an account. You will also hear โอนลอย, oon-lawy, where the seller signs but nothing is re-registered; ask which of the two is actually being offered before you agree to anything.

ต้องใช้เอกสารอะไรบ้างคะ

dtâwng chái èek-gà-sǎan à-rai bâang khá

What documents do I need to bring?

Female speaker

อะไรบ้าง asks for a list; drop บ้าง and you have asked for one single item. This exact sentence works at the transport office, the bank, immigration and the hospital — learn it once and it pays for itself.

ต่อภาษีได้ที่ไหนคะ

dtàw phaa-sǐi dâi thîi-nǎi khá

Where can I renew the road tax?

Female speaker

ต่อ is to extend or renew — the same verb as ต่อวีซ่า for a visa and ต่อ พ.ร.บ. for the compulsory insurance. You will hear the same errand called ต่อทะเบียน just as often as ต่อภาษี; they mean the same trip, and the พ.ร.บ. usually gets renewed at the same counter. Let people name the place rather than assuming it is the main office.

อยากทำใบขับขี่ไทยครับ

yàak tham bai khàp khìi thai khráp

I'd like to get a Thai driving licence.

Male speaker

ทำใบขับขี่, "make a licence", is how everyone phrases it. Specify ใบขับขี่รถยนต์ for car or ใบขับขี่รถจักรยานยนต์ for motorbike — they are separate licences, and plenty of residents end up needing both. The office is ขนส่ง, khǒn-sòng.

ต้องสอบไหมคะ

dtâwng sàwp mǎi khá

Do I have to sit a test?

Female speaker

สอบ is any exam, from a school paper to a driving test. Follow up with สอบข้อเขียนหรือสอบปฏิบัติคะ — written or practical. Let the staff tell you which parts apply to you and in what order rather than working from what a friend was told years ago.

เต็มถังครับ

dtem thǎng khráp

Fill it up, please.

Male speaker

Two words is the entire sentence; attendants hear it a hundred times a day. For a partial fill, name a baht amount instead — สองร้อยครับ. Say the grade first if the station has more than one pump you could be sent to.

เก้าห้าเต็มถังครับ

gâo hâa dtem thǎng khráp

Ninety-five, fill it up.

Male speaker

Fuel grades are said digit by digit — เก้าห้า for 95, เก้าหนึ่ง for 91. Nobody says เก้าสิบห้า at a pump. แก๊สโซฮอล์ gáet-soo-haw is gasohol and ดีเซล dii-sen is diesel; if you are unsure, look inside the filler cap before you open your mouth.

ขอเติมลมยางหน่อยค่ะ

khǎw dtoem lom yaang nàwy khâ

Could I put some air in the tyres?

Female speaker

เติม is to top up — fuel, air, water, phone credit, all the same verb. Most petrol stations keep an air pump at the side of the forecourt; if you cannot see it, ask ตรงไหนคะ and someone will point. Soft tyres are the quiet cause of a lot of bad handling.

รถสตาร์ทไม่ติดครับ

rót sà-dtàat mâi dtìt khráp

The bike won't start.

Male speaker

สตาร์ทไม่ติด is the fixed expression, using ติด again — the same verb as a light coming on. If it turns over weakly, add the next phrase. Of everything here, this is the sentence you are most likely to need first.

แบตน่าจะหมดครับ

bàet nâa jà mòt khráp

I think the battery's flat.

Male speaker

น่าจะ softens a claim to "probably", which is how you offer a guess without appearing to tell a mechanic his job — and that matters more than the vocabulary. แบต is short for แบตเตอรี่. หมด is the same verb as running out of petrol.

เวลาเบรกมีเสียงดังครับ

wee-laa brèek mii sǐang dang khráp

There's a loud noise when I brake.

Male speaker

เวลา at the head of a clause means "whenever", and building it in answers the mechanic's first question before he asks it; ตอนเบรก does the same job. มีเสียงดัง, "has a loud sound", is the all-purpose way to report any noise a vehicle should not be making — point at where it comes from as you say it. For a squeal specifically, add เสียงเอี๊ยด, sǐang íat.

โซ่หย่อนช่วยตั้งให้หน่อยครับ

sôo yàwn chûay dtâng hâi nàwy khráp

The chain's slack — could you adjust it?

Male speaker

ช่วย…ให้หน่อย is the standard polite frame for any small job: help + verb + for me + a bit. If the chain needs replacing rather than tightening he will say ยืดแล้ว, yêut láew — stretched.

ยางรั่วปะได้ไหมครับ

yaang rûa bpà dâi mǎi khráp

I've got a puncture — can you patch it?

Male speaker

ยางรั่ว is a leaking tyre and ยางแบน a flat one; you will use both. ปะยาง is the roadside patching trade advertised on hand-painted signs all over the country, often nothing more than a stool and a compressor outside somebody's house.

ขอเปลี่ยนถ่ายน้ำมันเครื่องค่ะ

khǎw bplìan thàai nám-man khrêuang khâ

I'd like an oil change.

Female speaker

น้ำมันเครื่อง is engine oil — plain น้ำมัน is fuel, so dropping เครื่อง asks for something very different. เปลี่ยนถ่าย is the set pair for draining and refilling. The shop normally puts a small label — สติกเกอร์ — on the frame or the fork with the mileage and the next change due, so both of you know when it is next needed.

ใช้เวลานานไหมคะ

chái wee-laa naan mǎi khá

Will it take long?

Female speaker

The answer decides whether you sit on the plastic stool or go away and come back. If he names an hour, repeat it back to him — Thai clock time with โมง and ทุ่ม is exactly where foreigners lose an afternoon.

ค่าซ่อมประมาณเท่าไหร่ครับ

khâa sâwm bprà-maan thâo-rài khráp

Roughly what will the repair cost?

Male speaker

ประมาณ, "approximately", is what makes the question askable at all before anyone has opened anything up — without it you are demanding a fixed quote for an unseen job. Ask it again before any part he had to order gets fitted.

ขอล้างรถหน่อยค่ะ

khǎw láang rót nàwy khâ

I'd like the bike washed, please.

Female speaker

ล้างรถ places are everywhere and nearly all of them do motorbikes as well as cars. You are buying an advertised service, so ขอ…หน่อย is all it takes — save ช่วย…ให้หน่อย for the garage, where you really are asking someone a favour. After a wash, ride the first minute gently: wet drum brakes either grab or do nothing, and neither is what you want at a junction.

จอดรถได้ที่ไหนคะ

jàwt rót dâi thîi-nǎi khá

Where can I park?

Female speaker

จอด is to park or to bring a vehicle to a halt — a bus does the same verb at a stop. Ask a security guard rather than guessing: the current word is รปภ., said letter by letter raw-phaw-phaw, with ยาม as the older one. They direct parking at malls, markets and condos and will point you where to go.

เช่ากี่วันคะ

châo gìi wan khá

How many days?

Female speaker

The first thing you will hear, delivered fast and flat with no subject and no verb for "you". Answer with a bare number plus วัน — สามวันครับ. If you want longer, say เป็นเดือน and expect the rate to be recalculated.

มีใบขับขี่ไหมครับ

mii bai khàp khìi mǎi khráp

Do you have a driving licence?

Male speaker

ใบขับขี่ is the licence; ใบขับขี่สากล is the international one. Some shops ask and some do not, but the honest answer matters far more to you than to them if anything happens on the road afterwards.

ขอพาสปอร์ตด้วยค่ะ

khǎw phâat-sà-bpàwt dûay khâ

I'll need your passport as well.

Female speaker

ขอ…ด้วย is a polite requirement, not a suggestion — ด้วย means "on top of what we already said". This is the moment to offer the photocopy if you would rather keep the original. Note ค่ะ, the statement particle, not the question คะ.

วางมัดจำหรือทิ้งพาสปอร์ตไว้ก็ได้ค่ะ

waang mát-jam rěu thíng phâat-sà-bpàwt wái gâw dâi khâ

You can either leave a deposit or leave your passport.

Female speaker

ก็ได้ at the end means "either is fine with us", and it is the sound of a real choice — take the one you prefer, not the one named first. Notice she says ทิ้ง…ไว้ where you would say วาง…ไว้: on its own ทิ้ง means to discard, but ทิ้ง…ไว้ is simply leaving a thing in someone's keeping. Hearing this also tells you the shop is flexible, so it is the moment to propose a copy.

หมวกอยู่ใต้เบาะค่ะ

mùak yùu dtâi bàw khâ

The helmet's under the seat.

Female speaker

On the step-throughs actually rented out here the helmet lives ใต้เบาะ, under the hinged seat; where a bolted-on top box exists it is กล่องท้าย, or กล่องหลัง. Lift the seat before you ride away rather than at the first checkpoint. If you want to know where the paperwork is, ask เอกสารอยู่ไหนคะ — some shops put a copy of the registration under the seat, many keep everything at the shop.

ตอนคืนรถเติมน้ำมันให้เต็มด้วยนะครับ

dtawn kheun rót dtoem nám-man hâi dtem dûay ná khráp

Fill the tank when you bring it back.

Male speaker

ตอน at the front is what turns คืนรถ into "when you return it" rather than an order to return it now; without it the two verb phrases just queue up in the wrong order. ให้เต็ม, "make it full", is the standard condition, and you will also hear it clipped the other way round: เติมน้ำมันเต็มถังมาคืนด้วยนะครับ. Photograph the fuel gauge at handover so you know what this shop's "full" looked like.

ถ้ารถพังต้องจ่ายค่าซ่อมเองนะคะ

thâa rót phang dtâwng jàai khâa sâwm eeng ná khá

If the bike gets damaged, you pay the repair yourself.

Female speaker

พัง is how damage gets described across a counter; เสียหาย, which you will see in the written contract, is not what she says out loud. เอง — "yourself, out of your own pocket" — is where this sentence bites, and ค่า in front of a noun makes it a charge: ค่าซ่อม repair, ค่าเช่า rent, ค่าปรับ fine. Hearing it is your cue to ask what the shop's own insurance actually covers.

วันนี้รถหมดแล้วค่ะ

wan-níi rót mòt láew khâ

We've no bikes left today.

Female speaker

หมด is "all gone, sold out" — the same verb as running out of petrol, and the one used for stock of any kind. Do not reach for เต็ม here: เต็ม belongs to things that fill up, ห้องเต็ม rooms, โต๊ะเต็ม tables, คิวเต็ม the queue, and รถเต็ม would be heard as a vehicle full of passengers. Follow up with พรุ่งนี้มีไหมครับ; in high season, reserving a monthly bike a week ahead is completely normal.

เดี๋ยวขอดูรถก่อนนะคะ

dǐao khǎw duu rót gàwn ná khá

Hang on, let me check the bike over first.

Female speaker

What you hear the second you hand a rental back, before your deposit or passport reappears. เดี๋ยว at the head of a sentence means "hold on a second". Walk round with them, phone in hand, handover photos open.

เล่มยังอยู่กับไฟแนนซ์ครับ

lêm yang yùu gàp fai-naen khráp

The registration book is still with the finance company.

Male speaker

ไฟแนนซ์ is the hire-purchase lender; while instalments are outstanding the book stays with them, so the seller cannot hand it to you on the day. This is a normal situation rather than automatically a scam, but it changes what you are agreeing to — ask ผ่อนหมดเมื่อไหร่ครับ, when do the payments finish.

เอาตัวจริงมาด้วยนะคะ

ao dtua jing maa dûay ná khá

Bring the original documents with you too.

Female speaker

ตัวจริง is "the real one", meaning the original, as against สำเนา a copy. Counters routinely want to see the original and keep the copy, so carry both. นะคะ here is a rule delivered kindly, not a suggestion you may skip.

เติมอะไรคะ

dtoem à-rai khá

Which fuel do you want?

Female speaker

Literally "fill what" — three syllables, fired at you before you have got your helmet off. Answer with the grade alone. You may hear เต็มถังไหมคะ instead, which is asking whether you want it full.

เติมเท่าไหร่ครับ

dtoem thâo-rài khráp

How much do you want?

Male speaker

This is asking for a baht amount, not a number of litres — Thais buy fuel by money. Answer with a number plus บาท, or say เต็มถัง. At motorbike pumps the attendant asks this before touching the nozzle.

เต็มแล้วครับ

dtem láew khráp

That's it — full.

Male speaker

แล้ว marks a completed change of state; it is not a past tense but a "now it is". The attendant will then either say the amount or walk you to the booth. ขอบคุณครับ is the whole of your reply.

รถเป็นอะไรครับ

rót bpen à-rai khráp

What's the matter with the bike?

Male speaker

The mechanic's opening line, and word for word the same question a doctor asks about you — which is exactly why he names รถ out loud: the bike is the patient. Keep รถ in front of it yourself, because a bare เป็นอะไรครับ is aimed at a person who looks unwell or upset. Answer with a symptom rather than a diagnosis: สตาร์ทไม่ติด, มีเสียงดัง, ยางรั่ว.

ลองขี่ให้ดูหน่อยครับ

lawng khìi hâi duu nàwy khráp

Ride it up and down so I can see.

Male speaker

ให้ดู — "so that I can see" — is the whole request: he wants the symptom itself, not your description of it. Ride slowly past him and brake hard once if the complaint was a noise. Note ขี่ for riding a bike, ขับ khàp for driving a car.

มารับตอนห้าโมงเย็นนะครับ

maa ráp dtawn hâa moong yen ná khráp

Come and pick it up at five.

Male speaker

ห้าโมงเย็น is five in the afternoon — Thai splits the day into blocks and โมงเย็น is the late-afternoon one. มารับ is "come and collect". If you cannot make it, say พรุ่งนี้ได้ไหมครับ rather than simply not appearing.

ทิ้งรถไว้ก่อนนะครับ

thíng rót wái gàwn ná khráp

Leave the bike here for now.

Male speaker

ก่อน here means "for the time being", not "before" — you are being told this is not a wait-and-watch job. ทิ้ง alone is to discard, but ทิ้ง…ไว้ is simply leaving a thing in someone's keeping. Ask กี่วันครับ if he does not volunteer a day, and clear out whatever is under the seat before you walk off.

อะไหล่ไม่มีต้องสั่งครับ

à-lài mâi mii dtâwng sàng khráp

We haven't got the part — it has to be ordered.

Male speaker

อะไหล่ is any spare part. Notice the object comes first for emphasis, a very common spoken pattern. Your follow-up is รอกี่วันครับ — how many days do I wait — or อะไหล่มากี่วันครับ, because "ordered" can mean tomorrow morning or next week.

พรุ่งนี้ค่อยมานะครับ

phrûng-níi khâwy maa ná khráp

Come back tomorrow instead.

Male speaker

ค่อย before a verb means "do it later rather than now" and is everywhere in spoken Thai — ค่อยคุยกัน, let's talk later. It is a soft refusal of today, not a rude one. Pin down the hour before you leave.

อันนี้ซ่อมไม่ได้ต้องเปลี่ยนใหม่ครับ

an-níi sâwm mâi dâi dtâwng bplìan mài khráp

This one can't be repaired — it needs replacing.

Male speaker

เปลี่ยนใหม่ is "swap in a new one"; the ใหม่ is obligatory in Thai even though English drops it. Before agreeing, ask ของแท้หรือของเทียบครับ — genuine part or aftermarket — because both are usually on the shelf at different prices.

ผ้าเบรกหมดแล้วครับ

phâa brèek mòt láew khráp

The brake pads are worn right down.

Male speaker

ผ้าเบรก, literally "brake cloth", is the pads — หมด again, the same word as running out of fuel. If you hear this straight after complaining about a noise, the diagnosis and the quote are about to be the same sentence.

ราคาแล้วแต่อะไหล่ครับ

raa-khaa láew-dtàe à-lài khráp

The price depends on the part.

Male speaker

แล้วแต่ is a single unit meaning "it depends on" or "it's up to", and you will meet it constantly — แล้วแต่คุณ, up to you. It is an honest answer rather than an evasion, but ask him to phone you with the figure before anything gets fitted.

มีคิวอยู่สามคันค่ะ

mii khiu yùu sǎam khan khâ

There are three vehicles ahead of you.

Female speaker

Queues are counted in คัน for vehicles and คน for people; คัน is the classifier for anything on wheels. This is the reply to รอนานไหมคะ, raw naan mái khá — "is it a long wait" — which is worth learning as a set phrase for garages, clinics and noodle shops alike.

ตรงนี้จอดไม่ได้ครับ

dtrong níi jàwt mâi dâi khráp

You can't park here.

Male speaker

Delivered flatly by guards and shopkeepers, usually with a hand already pointing somewhere else. It is not aggression and there is nothing to argue about — move, and it ends there. Reply จอดตรงไหนได้ครับ to be shown the right spot.

ไปจอดข้างหลังนะครับ

bpai jàwt khâang lǎng ná khráp

Go and park round the back.

Male speaker

ข้างหลัง behind, ข้างหน้า in front, ข้างๆ alongside — guards use the whole set constantly, so learn them together. Motorbikes are very often sent to a separate area from cars, sometimes on a different level entirely.

น้ำมันหมดกลางทางครับ

nám-man mòt glaang thaang khráp

I ran out of petrol on the way.

Male speaker

กลางทาง, "mid-journey", is the useful half — it tells the listener the bike is somewhere else and you walked. Look for a ตู้เติมน้ำมันหยอดเหรียญ, a coin-and-note fuel machine, which now stands outside village shops and at junctions all over the country. Some shops still sell it by the bottle; ask ขายน้ำมันไหมครับ at the nearest one.

รถเสียอยู่แถวนี้ช่วยมาดูให้หน่อยได้ไหมครับ

rót sǐa yùu thǎew níi chûay maa duu hâi nàwy dâi mǎi khráp

My bike's broken down near here — could you come and look at it?

Male speaker

รถเสีย is the all-purpose "the vehicle has broken". แถวนี้, "around here", is what you say when you cannot name the road — and then you send your location on LINE, which solves the address problem entirely. Most small garages will come out to you.

กุญแจรถหายทำยังไงดีครับ

gun-jae rót hǎai tham yang-ngai dii khráp

I've lost the bike key — what should I do?

Male speaker

ทำยังไงดี, "what would be the good thing to do", is how you throw yourself on someone's help in Thai, and people respond to it warmly. หาย means lost or missing, not taken — for stolen you need ถูกขโมย, thùuk khà-mooy.

รถถูกขโมยต้องแจ้งความที่ไหนครับ

rót thùuk khà-mooy dtâwng jâeng khwaam thîi-nǎi khráp

My bike's been stolen — where do I report it?

Male speaker

ถูก marks the bad-passive, used for things done to you against your will. แจ้งความ is to file a police report, and it is filed at the station covering the place it happened — ask for the paper itself, ขอใบแจ้งความด้วยครับ, since it may be issued as บันทึกประจำวัน and every later conversation depends on it. Police 191, tourist police 1155.

รอยนี้มีอยู่ตั้งแต่วันแรกผมมีรูปครับ

rawy níi mii yùu dtâng-dtàe wan râek phǒm mii rûup khráp

This scratch was there from the first day — I've got photos.

Male speaker

ตั้งแต่ is one word meaning "since", and it carries the whole sentence. Say it calmly and open the photo instead of raising your voice: this is the exact situation the handover pictures exist for. In Thailand a raised voice loses the argument even when the facts are yours.

รถล้มแต่ไม่เป็นไรค่ะ

rót lóm dtàe mâi bpen rai khâ

The bike went over, but I'm not hurt.

Female speaker

ล้ม is to topple — used of people, trees and bikes alike. Notice there is no word for "I": Thai drops the pronoun here, and putting ฉัน in would sound like a song lyric rather than someone standing at the roadside. Lead with the second half if anyone looks worried, because here ไม่เป็นไร genuinely means "I am unhurt" rather than "never mind"; if someone is injured, the ambulance number is 1669.

ประกันคุ้มครองไหมครับ

bprà-gan khúm-khrawng mǎi khráp

Does the insurance cover this?

Male speaker

Insurance is คุ้มครอง, and the coverage itself is ความคุ้มครอง; ครอบคลุม sounds close but belongs to the scope of an area or a syllabus, not a policy. At a garage counter the more useful version is อันนี้เคลมประกันได้ไหมครับ — can this be claimed — because เคลม is the word a shop actually uses. Ask before agreeing to pay anything out of your own pocket, and if the answer is vague, ขอดูกรมธรรม์หน่อยครับ, let me see the policy.

ตอนแรกไม่ได้ตกลงไว้แบบนี้ครับ

dtawn râek mâi dâi dtòk-long wái bàep níi khráp

That isn't what we agreed at the start.

Male speaker

ตกลง is to agree or settle on something, and ไม่ได้ before a verb is the past negative. This is a firm sentence, so keep the volume down and keep the ครับ on the end — in Thailand the tone of voice, not the wording, decides whether a disagreement stays fixable.