To say parents in Thai you say ผู้ปกครอง (pôo bpòk krong), พ่อแม่ (pôr mâe), or บุพการี (bùp-pá-gaa-ree)
ผู้ปกครอง (pôo bpòk krong) literally translates to people that rule. ผู้ปกครอง is mostly used in formal settings like school meetings.
พ่อแม่ (pôr mâe) literally means dad, mom. You cannot say แม่พ่อ (mâe pôr) to mean parents. พ่อแม่ is what is used in everyday conversation.
บุพการี (bùp-pá-gaa-ree) is a word from Pali/Sanskrit origin and it is a very formal way to say parents.
There is another way to say parents but this way is more poetic / used when filling out forms and not used in daily conversation. It is บิดามารดา (bì-daa maan-daa) where บิดา (bì-daa) is dad and มารดา (maan-daa) is mom.
Dad
As mentioned above, dad can be either พ่อ (pôr) or บิดา (bì-daa). In everyday conversation you will always say พ่อ (pôr).
Some Thais call their dads ป่าป๊า (bpàa bpáa), mostly if the family is from Chinese descent.
Nowadays, If you are talking about your friend’s dad or if you want to be really respectful you would say คุณพ่อ kun-pôr
Mom
As mentioned above, mom can be either แม่ (mâe) or มารดา (maan-daa). In everyday conversation you will always say แม่ (mâe).
Some Thais call their mom หม่าม้า (màa máa), mostly if the family is from Chinese descent.
Nowadays, If you are talking about your friend’s mom or if you want to be really respectful you would say คุณแม่ kun-mâe.
I hope you now know how to say parents, and mom and dad in Thai.