The WAI - Traditional Thai Greeting WAIWAI is used to call interesting, exciting, and a little strange or unusual things that make people go "really ? wow !" WAI! - This is an exclamation that is used a lot in Japanese. It's like saying "Yeah!" or "Yay!". They use it a lot when they're really happy. WAI is used also for: 1) Greeting 2) Thank 3) Good Bye 4) Apologize 5) Praying to the Buddha 6) Begging The "WAI" is really a sociable thing, invested with fine cultural nuances. The person who usually gives the first WAI is the one showing the respect to the other person. In your example: - "are you available?" - "wai wai." = Yeah! Yay! For more information see the following links: 1) http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Thailand/Central_Eastern_Thailand/Bangkok-1445238/Local_Customs-Bangkok-The_Wai_Traditional_Thai_Greeting-BR-1.html 2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_greeting