Thai shopping exchanges use a small set of productive frames: ราคาเท่าไร asks a price, ขอดู/ขอลอง asks to inspect or try something, เอา... selects an item, and ลดได้ไหม asks whether a reduction is possible. The product and participants are often omitted because seller, customer, and visible goods are already clear.
Classifier choice remains central. A shirt is เสื้อตัวนี้, shoes are รองเท้าคู่นี้, and a bag is กระเป๋าใบนี้. In exact counts, Thai uses noun–number–classifier order. Neither the transaction nor the polite particle licenses English order.
Core shopping frames
| Task | Productive frame | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ask a price | (item) + ราคาเท่าไร | neutral price question |
| ask to see an item | ขอดู + item + หน่อย | customer request |
| ask to try it | ขอลอง + item + ได้ไหม | clothes, shoes, or usable goods |
| ask availability | มี + desired feature + ไหม | color, size, model, quantity |
| select | เอา + item/quantity | ordinary customer choice |
| ask for a discount | ลดได้ไหม / ลดเหลือ + amount + ได้ไหม | market or negotiable sale |
| decline without closing the interaction | ขอคิดดูก่อน | polite “let me think about it” |
เสื้อแขนยาวตัวนี้ราคาเท่าไรคะ
suea khaen yao tua ni rakha thaorai kha
How much is this long-sleeved shirt? (ordinary polite price question, female customer; ตัว is the shirt classifier)
ห้าร้อยเก้าสิบบาทครับ ลดจากเจ็ดร้อยแล้ว
ha roi kao sip bat khrap lot chak chet roi laeo
It is 590 baht; it has already been reduced from 700. (ordinary polite reply, male seller)
ขอดูกระเป๋าสีน้ำตาลใบนั้นหน่อยค่ะ
kho du krapao si namtan bai nan noi kha
Could I see that brown bag? (ordinary polite request, female customer; ใบ supports the demonstrative)
An amount can be a complete price answer because the question supplies the missing relation. Thai does not require “It is” before ห้าร้อยเก้าสิบบาท. The numeral precedes บาท, and price context identifies the product.
Point to the right item
Thai demonstratives normally follow a classifier when the noun is stated: เสื้อตัวนี้, รองเท้าคู่นั้น, กระเป๋าใบไหน. Generic อันนี้ “this one” is useful when the object category is obvious but its conventional classifier is not being named.
ขอลองรองเท้าคู่นั้นได้ไหมครับ
kho long rongthao khu nan dai mai khrap
May I try on that pair of shoes? (ordinary polite request, male customer)
เสื้อตัวนี้มีสีอื่นไหมคะ
suea tua ni mi si uen mai kha
Does this shirt come in another color? (ordinary polite availability question, female customer)
กระเป๋าใบนี้ใหญ่ไป มีใบที่เล็กกว่านี้ไหมครับ
krapao bai ni yai pai mi bai thi lek kwa ni mai khrap
This bag is too big. Do you have a smaller one? (ordinary polite question, male customer; noun omitted after repeated classifier ใบ)
In the final sentence, ใบ stands for another bag because the category is active. เล็กกว่า supplies the comparison and นี้ gives the current bag or degree as the reference. Thai does not need English one after the adjective.
Quantities and classifier ellipsis
Exact quantities follow product + number + classifier. Once the product is active, an answer can retain just number + classifier.
ถุงเท้าสามคู่ราคาเท่าไรคะ
thung thao sam khu rakha thaorai kha
How much are three pairs of socks? (ordinary polite question, female customer; คู่ counts the pairs)
สามคู่หนึ่งร้อยบาทครับ ซื้อแยกคู่ละสี่สิบบาท
sam khu nueng roi bat khrap sue yaek khu la si sip bat
Three pairs are 100 baht; bought separately, they are 40 baht per pair. (ordinary polite market explanation, male seller)
งั้นเอาสามคู่ค่ะ
ngan ao sam khu kha
Then I'll take three pairs. (ordinary polite selection, female customer; product noun omitted)
คู่ละสี่สิบบาท uses distributive ละ: forty baht per pair. The classifier does not simply pluralize the noun; it identifies what counts as one sale unit.
If a shop asks เอากี่ชิ้นครับ, the answer สองชิ้นค่ะ is complete. The noun is omitted because both speakers are looking at or discussing the same product.
ของแบบนี้เหลือกี่ชิ้นครับ
khong baep ni luea ki chin khrap
How many pieces of this type are left? (ordinary polite stock question, male customer)
เหลือสองชิ้นค่ะ
luea song chin kha
Two are left. (ordinary polite reply, female seller; product omitted)
Minimal contrast: price and quantity
เท่าไร asks an amount or degree; กี่ + classifier asks a count.
ผ้าผืนนี้ราคาเท่าไรคะ
pha phuen ni rakha thaorai kha
How much is this piece of cloth? (ordinary polite price question, female customer)
ต้องการผ้ากี่ผืนครับ
tongkan pha ki phuen khrap
How many pieces of cloth do you need? (ordinary polite quantity question, male seller)
The answer to the first is money; the answer to the second is a count completed by ผืน. English uses how much for both price and uncounted quantity in some contexts, but Thai chooses the question construction from the requested value.
The currency page covers baht, satang, and change in depth. In live speech, เท่าไรครับ/คะ alone can ask the price if the customer is pointing at an item.
Bargaining and where it fits
ลดได้ไหมครับ/คะ is an ordinary polite way to ask whether the seller can reduce the price. Bargaining is expected at some markets, for some services, and in some large purchases; it is not appropriate for every posted-price shop, restaurant, or chain store. Grammar cannot decide the commercial norm—observe the setting.
ถ้าซื้อเสื้อสองตัว ลดได้ไหมคะ
tha sue suea song tua lot dai mai kha
If I buy two shirts, could you reduce the price? (ordinary polite bargaining, female customer at a negotiable market stall)
ตัวนี้มีตำหนิตรงแขนเสื้อ ลดเหลือสี่ร้อยได้ไหมครับ
tua ni mi tamni trong khaen suea lot luea si roi dai mai khrap
This one has a flaw on the sleeve. Could you reduce it to 400? (ordinary polite bargaining, male customer)
ราคานี้ลดไม่ได้แล้วค่ะ แต่แถมถุงผ้าให้ได้
rakha ni lot mai dai laeo kha tae thaem thung pha hai dai
I can't reduce this price any further, but I can include a cloth bag for free. (ordinary polite reply, female seller)
ได้ไหม makes the request negotiable. A bare command ลดราคา “reduce the price” can sound demanding. Polite particles help, but reason, tone, and the seller's ability to refuse also matter. There is no universal Thai word that makes any demand polite.
Selecting, declining, and paying
Once the choice is clear, เอา + item commits to it. ไม่เอา rejects an offered item; ขอคิดดูก่อน postpones the decision more gently.
เอาเสื้อสีฟ้าสองตัวครับ
ao suea si fa song tua khrap
I'll take two blue shirts. (ordinary polite selection, male customer)
ขอคิดดูก่อนนะคะ เดี๋ยวเดินกลับมาใหม่
kho khit du kon na kha diao doen klap ma mai
Let me think about it first; I'll come back later. (warm polite deferral, female customer)
จ่ายด้วยบัตรได้ไหมครับ
chai duai bat dai mai khrap
Can I pay by card? (ordinary polite payment question, male customer)
เอา is direct but normal in a purchase when followed by a clear selection and appropriate politeness. In browsing, ขอดู... or ขอลอง... avoids implying that the customer has already decided to buy.
Ordinary-polite dialogue
A customer asks about a jacket at a market stall.
เสื้อคลุมตัวนี้เท่าไรคะ
suea khlum tua ni thaorai kha
How much is this jacket? (ordinary polite price question, female customer)
แปดร้อยห้าสิบบาทครับ ผ้าหนาและกันน้ำได้
paet roi ha sip bat khrap pha na lae kan nam dai
It is 850 baht. The fabric is thick and water-resistant. (ordinary polite reply, male seller)
ขอลองได้ไหมคะ แล้วถ้าพอดีลดเหลือแปดร้อยได้ไหมคะ
kho long dai mai kha laeo tha phodi lot luea paet roi dai mai kha
May I try it on? And if it fits, could you reduce it to 800? (ordinary polite bargaining, female customer)
ได้ครับ ถ้ารับวันนี้ลดให้ได้
dai khrap tha rap wan ni lot hai dai
Yes. If you take it today, I can give you the discount. (ordinary polite reply, male seller)
The jacket remains recoverable after the first turn. Neither speaker repeats an English-style subject or object in every sentence.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting บาท before the amount
❌ กระเป๋าใบนี้ราคาบาทหกร้อยค่ะ
Incorrect currency order—the number precedes บาท.
✅ กระเป๋าใบนี้ราคาหกร้อยบาทค่ะ
krapao bai ni rakha hok roi bat kha
This bag costs 600 baht. (ordinary polite price statement, female speaker)
2. Putting a numeral before the product
❌ เอาสองเสื้อสีขาวครับ
Incorrect count order—state the product, then numeral and classifier.
✅ เอาเสื้อสีขาวสองตัวครับ
ao suea si khao song tua khrap
I'll take two white shirts. (ordinary polite selection, male customer)
3. Reversing noun–classifier–demonstrative order
❌ ขอลองคู่นี้รองเท้าค่ะ
Incorrect order—the noun รองเท้า comes before classifier คู่ and demonstrative นี้.
✅ ขอลองรองเท้าคู่นี้ค่ะ
kho long rongthao khu ni kha
May I try on this pair of shoes? (ordinary polite request, female customer)
4. Bargaining with a bare command
❌ ลดราคาเดี๋ยวนี้ครับ
Grammatically command-like but socially inappropriate for ordinary bargaining—‘reduce the price now’ leaves no room to refuse.
✅ ถ้าซื้อสามชิ้น ลดราคาได้ไหมครับ
tha sue sam chin lot rakha dai mai khrap
If I buy three pieces, could you lower the price? (ordinary polite bargaining, male customer)
5. Adding an English copula to a price
❌ ชิ้นนี้เป็นราคาสามร้อยบาทค่ะ
Unnatural ordinary price statement—Thai does not need เป็น before the price frame.
✅ ชิ้นนี้ราคาสามร้อยบาทค่ะ
chin ni rakha sam roi bat kha
This piece costs 300 baht. (ordinary polite statement, female seller)
Key Takeaways
- Ask ราคาเท่าไร, then answer with number + บาท; no English-style subject and copula are required.
- Use noun-appropriate classifier frames such as เสื้อตัวนี้, รองเท้าคู่นั้น, and กระเป๋าใบไหน.
- Count products as noun + number + classifier and let a known noun disappear from replies.
- Use ขอดู/ขอลอง while browsing, เอา when selecting, and a ได้ไหม question for context-appropriate bargaining.
Now practice Thai
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Start learning Thai →Related Topics
- Baht, Satang, Prices, and ChangeB1 — Read Thai currency amounts by named baht and satang units, state prices, mark exact whole-baht totals, and handle cash change naturally.
- The Core Noun–Number–Classifier OrderA2 — Form exact Thai counts with noun–numeral–classifier order and extend the frame to questions, demonstratives, ordinals, and ellipsis.
- Classifier Phrases with นี้, นั้น, and โน้นA2 — Point out this, that, and that-over-there referents with the Thai noun–classifier–demonstrative order.
- กี่ and Classifier QuestionsA2 — Ask how many with noun–กี่–classifier, then answer in the matching noun–number–classifier pattern.
- Request Frames with ขอ, ช่วย, and รบกวนB1 — Choose ขอ for what the requester seeks, ช่วย for the listener's cooperation, and รบกวน to acknowledge an imposition.
- Comparatives with กว่าA2 — Compare Thai properties with property + กว่า + standard, omit recoverable standards, and express unequal degree without adjective inflection.