# wai vs wali

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### wai
*noun · IPA /waɪ/ · frequency rank #24,637*
A Thai greeting wherein the palms are brought together in front of the face or chest, sometimes accompanied with a bow.

### wali
*noun · IPA /ˈwɑːliː/ · frequency rank #47,414*
A provincial governor in certain Muslim contexts.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wai-vs-wali