There is a fair bit of confusion when it comes to foreigners pronouncing the Thai word for boxing - "Muay".

There are a lot of people who say "Moo" Thai - WRONG.

The word "Muay" rhymes with the word "Boy". The correct pronunciation is "Moy Thai". But it is spelled "Muay Thai".

When in Thailand, there is no need to say Muay Thai - just Muay.

These are some of the Thai words associated with Muay Thai that you will need to know. This will help.

SINGLE WORDS

MUAY - Boxing.

CHOK - Fight.

FARANG - White Caucasian Person.

NAK - Practitioner of. (Pronounced Nuck).

NAKMUAY- Practitioner of Boxing.

BORAN - Ancient.

MUANG - City / Town.

CHAIYA - Southern Style Boxing.

KANGRANG - Hard / Strong.

MONGKON - Spiritual Headband.

KRU - Teacher.

COMBINATIONS

Correct Translation As Pronounced By The Thais

- MUAY THAI - Boxing Thai.

- CHOK MUAY - Fight Boxing.

- MUAY BORAN - Boxing Ancient.

- MUAY CHAIYA - Boxing Southern Style.

- MUAY FARANG - Boxing White Caucasian Person.

- WAI KRU - Dance Teacher.

- MUANG CHAIYA - City Southern Style.

Translation That Makes Sense To Us.

- MUAY THAI - Thai Boxing.

- CHOK MUAY - Boxing Fight.

- MUAY BORAN - Ancient Boxing.

- MUAY CHAIYA -Southern Style Boxing.

- MUAY FARANG - White Caucasian Boxer.

- WAI KRU - Teachers Dance.

- MUANG CHAIYA - Southern Style City Boxer.

Ka & Krup - RESPECT

In Thailand, you will constantly hear these two words used at the end of sentences or greetings, even on their own. I'm going to translate this the easiest way possible. Both words mean the same thing, but women say Ka and men say Krup.

It basically means "Respect". It's not a direct translation, but this is the easiest way to understand. Thai people are constantly paying respect to each other when talking.

EXAMPLES - The greeting Thai people use is,

Sa Wat Dee - Hello / Goodbye.

This is how a woman says Hello - Sa Wat Dee Ka - Hello Respect.

This is how a man says Hello - Sa Wat Dee Krup - Hello Respect.

Kop Khun - Thank you.

Woman - Kop Khun Ka - Thank you Respect.

Man - Kop Khun Krup - Thank you Respect.

Chai - Yes

Woman - Chai Ka - Yes Respect.

Man - Chai Krup - Yes Respect.

Mai - No

Woman - Mai Ka - No Respect.

Man - Mai Krup - No Respect.

Usually, the easiest way to say YES is just Ka or Krup on its own. If you want to say NO to someone or something and be polite, you say Mai Ka or Mai Krup; that way there are no bad feelings.

You can also refer to people with this, such as if you want to get someone's attention, you can say "Khun Ka" or "Khun Krup", meaning "You, Respect". YOU is an acceptable term for a person in Thailand, and it's also a title.

To address someone as "Older Brother or Sister," in Thailand, put the letter P in front of their name, such as P’ John. You can just say P' Ka or P' Krup if you don’t know the person, but want to be very respectful towards them.

This term is important; use it at training and anywhere needed. Respect in Thailand goes a long way.

Numbers / Counting

This Has Been Writen As Clearly As Possible For An English Speaking Person. Just Read Them Straight Of The Page As You Would If They Were English Words. Anything In Brackets Is A Rhyming Word.

1 - Noong
2 - Song
3 - Sarm
4 - Cee
5 - Haa
6 - Hok
7 - Jet
8 - Bat
9 - Gow
10 - Sip

11 - Sip Et
12 - Sip Song
13 - Sip Sarm
14 - Sip Cee
15 - Sip Haa
16 - Sip Hok
17 - Sip Jet
18 - Sip Bat
19 - Sip Gow

20s Use Yee Instead Of Song

20 - Yee Sip
21 - Yee Sip Et
22 - Yee Sip Song
23 - Yee Sip Sarm
24 - Yee Sip Cee
25 - Yee Sip Haa
26 - Yee Sip Hok
27 - Yee Sip Jet
28 - Yee Sip Bat
29 - Yee Sip Gow

30s Onwards To 90s Continue With Numbers From 3 to 9 For The First Number. All Followed By Sip Then 1 To 10.

30 - Sarm Sip
31 - Sarm Sip Et
32 - Sarm Sip Song
33 - Sarm Sip Sarm
34 - Sarm Sip Cee
35 - Sarm Sip Haa
36 - Sarm Sip Hok
37 - Sarm Sip Jet
38 - Sarm Sip Bat
39 - Sarm Sip Gow

40 - Cee Sip
41 - Cee Sip Et
42 - Cee Sip Song
43 - Cee Sip Sarm

50 - Haa Sip
60 - Hok Sip
70 - Jet Sip
80 - Bat Sip
90 - Gow Sip

Roi (Roy) - Hundred (No Need To Say Noong Roi, Just Roi For 100).

100 - Roi
101 - Roi Noong
102 - Roi Song
103 - Roi Sarm
104 - Roi Cee
105 - Roi Haa
106 - Roi Hok
107 - Roi Jet
108 - Roi Bat
109 - Roi Gow
110 - Roi Sip

110 - Roi Sip
111 - Roi Sip ET
112 - Roi Sip Song
113 - Roi Sip Sarm

120 - Roi Yee Sip
121 - Roi Yee Sip Et
122 - Roi Yee Sip Song
123 - Roi Yee Sip Sarm

130 - Roi Sarm Sip
140 - Roi Cee Sip
150 - Roi Haa Sip
160 - Roi Hok Sip
170 - Roi Jet Sip
180 - Roi Bat Sip
190 - Roi Gow Sip

200 - Song Roi
201 - Song Roi Noong
202 - Song Roi Song
203 - Song Roi Sarm

210 - Song Roi Sip
211 - Song Roi Sip Et
212 - Song Roi Sip Song
213 - Song Roi Sip Sarm

220 - Song Roi Yee Sip
221 - Song Roi Yee Sip Et
222 - Song Roi Yee Sip Song
223 - Song Roi Yee Sip Sarm

230 - Song Roi Sarm Sip
240 - Song Roi Cee Sip
250 - Song Roi Haa Sip
260 - Song Roi Hok Sip
270 - Song Roi Jet Sip
280 - Song Roi Bat Sip
290 - Song Roi Gow Sip

300 - Sarm Roi
400 - Cee Roi
500 - Haa Roi
600 - Hok Roi
700 - Jet Roi
800 - Bat Roi
900 - Gow Roi
999 - Gow Roi Gow Sip Gow

Pun - Thousand (No Need To Say Noong Pun, Just Pun For 1000).

1000 - Pun
1001 - Pun Noong
1002 - Pun Song
1003 - Pun Sarm

1011 - Pun Sip Et
1012 - Pun Sip Song
1013 - Pun Sip Sarm

1020 - Pun Yee Sip
1021 - Pun Yee Sip Et
1022 - Pun Yee Sip Song
1023 - Pun Yee Sip Sarm

1030 - Pun Sarm Sip
1040 - Pun Cee Sip
1050 - Pun Haa Sip
1060 - Pun Hok Sip
1070 - Pun Jet Sip
1080 - Pun Bat Sip
1090 - Pun Gow Sip
2000 - Song Pun

3000 - Sarm Pun
4000 - Cee Pun
5000 - Haa Pun
6000 - Hok Pun
7000 - Jet Pun
8000 - Bat Pun
9000 - Gow Pun
10000 - Sip Pun