Thai Airport Words and Signs: Arrivals, Departures, Gate

ขาเข้า khǎa-khâo is arrivals. ขาออก khǎa-àwk is departures. The difference is the second syllable: khâo means in, àwk means out.

That's the whole trick with this card. It's a recognition card — you read these off signs far more than you say them.

In and out, everywhere

khâo in and àwk out are two of the highest-value little words in Thai, and once you've learned them at the airport you'll start seeing them on doors, at parking garages, on toll booths, and on the entrance and exit of every mall in Bangkok.

Learn the pair once at the airport, get the whole country's signage for free. That is a genuinely good trade for two syllables.

The -bin family

เครื่องบิน khrêuang-bin is an airplane and เที่ยวบิน thîao-bin is a flight — the specific one, with a number, on the board. The shared bin piece means fly.

thîao-bin is the one you'll hear in announcements. If you catch thîao-bin followed by a string of letters and numbers, that's your flight number being called, and it's worth looking up.

bprà-dtuu means gate, and also just door

ประตู bprà-dtuu is the plain word for door, and the airport borrows it for gate. So bprà-dtuu plus a number is your boarding gate — and the numbers page finally pays off in a place where getting it wrong is expensive.

Which Bangkok airport am I flying from?

Bangkok has two, and this catches people out every year. Suvarnabhumi (usually written BKK) handles most full-service international flights. Don Mueang (DMK) handles most of the budget carriers, including a lot of the domestic hops to the islands and the north. The split isn't absolute — some airlines run flights out of both — which is exactly why you check rather than assume.

They are about 30 miles apart on opposite sides of the city, and the transfer runs anywhere from 45 minutes to well over an hour depending on traffic. Check the airport code on the booking, not just the city — a domestic connection is very often at the other one.

grà-bpǎo — your bag

กระเป๋า grà-bpǎo covers a bag, a suitcase, a handbag and a backpack. It's the word at the check-in desk, at the carousel, and when a hotel asks whether you'd like your luggage taken up.

Takeaways

• khǎa-khâo arrivals, khǎa-àwk departures — khâo is in, àwk is out.
• That in/out pair appears on doors and signs all over Thailand.
• thîao-bin is your flight; listen for it in announcements.
• bprà-dtuu plus a number is your gate. It's also the everyday word for door.
• Bangkok has two airports, roughly an hour apart in traffic. Check BKK or DMK on the booking.