“Sawatdee”: The invented Thai greeting

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Transcript

00:00Sawaddee is the iconic word that Thai people use to greet each other.

00:04But did you know that this word was invented not too long ago?

00:08Long before sawaddee, people simply asked each other,

00:10ginn khaaw hru yang?

00:11Have you eaten yet?

00:12Or pai nai ma?

00:14Where have you been?

00:14Casual everyday questions, not a formal greeting.

00:17So how did this now-famous word sawaddee come to be?

00:21Let me uncover this story for you.

00:23In the 1930s, Thai radio hosts end the show with Rati Sawad or Goodnight,

00:28but some felt it sounded like a direct English translation

00:31and wanted more uniquely Thai greeting.

00:33That's when Phraya Upakit Sillapasan, a brilliant scholar,

00:37invented sawaddee from ancient Sanskrit,

00:39so meaning good and asti meaning to have.

00:42So it means wishing you goodness and well-being.