GreetinG

The Thai greeting referred to as the wai (Thai: ไหว้[needs IPA]) consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. It is very similar to the Indian Añjali Mudrā/namasté and the Cambodian sampeah. The higher the hands are held in relation to the face and the lower the bow, the more respect or reverence the giver of the wai is showing.
The wai is also common as a way to thank someone or apologise.
The word often spoken with the wai as a greeting or farewell is sawatdee (สวัสดี). Phonetically, Phraya Upthe word is pronounced "sa-wat-dee"[needs IPA]. This word was coined in the mid-1930s by akit Silapasan of Chulalongkorn University. This word, derived from the Sanskrit svasti (meaning "well-being"), had previously been used in Thai only as a formulaic opening to inscriptions. The strongly nationalist government of Plaek Pibulsonggram in the early promoted the use of the word sawatdee amongst the governm1940s ent bureaucracy as well as the wider populace as part of a wider set of cultural edicts to modernise Thailand.