ไม่เป็นไร: the sentence that runs Thailand

Literally 'it isn't anything', ไม่เป็นไร is 'you're welcome', 'no worries', 'never mind' and 'let it go' at once. A waiter spills a drink: ไม่เป็นไร. Your taxi is late: ไม่เป็นไร. It is the spoken form of a Buddhist reflex — not clinging to small losses — and the social lubricant that keeps face intact for everyone. Foreigners sometimes hear it as evasiveness; it is closer to a gift: I release you from this. One warning: Thais may say it when something does matter but confrontation would cost more, so read the smile too.