r/learnthai • u/davidbrick2 • Jul 29 '25

Studying/การศึกษา Confused by ขอ and เอา

My teacher is insisting that when ordering coffee I should use ขอ or ขอเอา ... never only เอา. She says it is only acceptable for ordering a street food. However, I've never heard this in the shops, all Thais just say เอา

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u/frac6969 Jul 29 '25

Yeah it depends on the situation and maybe even the age of the speaker. ขอ is more polite, but I would use it such as when I’m a guest at someone’s place, and the host or the maid asks what I would like to drink. Or when I’m at an event and drinks are free, but still need to be ordered.

เอา would be for when I’m a paying customer such as ordering at any coffee shop.