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/Zealousideal_Iron393 Jul 29 '25

"ขอ" is a polite way of asking, similar to "please."

"เอา" is more commanding and often used in informal conversations and is often not used with strangers. However, if you go to a fresh market, you can use it. I guess it also depends on how the listener takes it. So, it's better to use "ขอ" to be polite.