Category: Thai Foundation

Mastering Thai Question Words

Post author By BananaThai
Post date March 17, 2025
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Learning to ask questions is one of the essential skills in any language, including Thai. Thai question words are not difficult to use, and once you understand the sentence structure, you’ll form questions like a native Thai!

Today we’ll cover the most common Thai question words, their syntax, exceptions, and practical examples to help you ask and answer questions with confidence. Let’s go!

Sentence Structure for Thai Question Words

In Thai, most question words are placed at the end of a sentence, unlike in English, where they put question words are placed at the beginning.

The basic structure for Thai questions with question words is:

[Subject] + [Verb] + [Object / Complement] + [Question Word?]

For example:

คุณชอบกินอะไร? (kun châawp gin à-rai?) = What do you like to eat?
คุณจะไปที่ไหน? (kun jà bpai tîi-nǎi?) = Where are you going?

However, some question words can appear at the beginning of a sentence. We will cover that in the exceptions section.

Exceptions: Question Words That Appear at the Beginning

While most Thai question words are at the end of a sentence, some can be placed at the beginning, especially in formal speech or writing. Examples include:

❓ทำไม (tham-mai?) = Why?

ทำไมคุณมาสาย? (tam-mai kun maa sǎai?) = Why are you late?

❓เมื่อไหร่ (mûuea-rài?) = When?

เมื่อไหร่คุณจะไปเมืองไทย? (mêeua-rài kun jà bpai meeuang-tai?) = When will you go to Thailand?

❓ใคร (krai?) = Who? – when it is asked for the “subject” of the sentence

ใครอยู่ที่นั่น? (krai yùu tîi nân?) = Who is there?

Common Thai Question Words

The Thai question words here are what we know in English as the “WH-question words”, e.g. what, when, where, why, how, etc. These question words are a group of interrogative words used to ask for specific information – not only for ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Below you will find the common Thai question words with some examples in the questions:

🌺อะไร = What?

Used to ask about things, objects, or actions.

Examples:

คุณทำอะไร? (kun tam à-rai?) = What are you doing?
นี่คืออะไร? (nîi keeu à-rai?) = What is this?
คุณเห็นอะไร? (kun hěn à-rai?) = What do you see?

💡 Tip:

As mentioned, อะไร (à-rai) can be placed either at the beginnning or at the end of the sentence depending on if it works as the subject or an object.

As a subject (at the beginning)

Examples:

อะไรอยู่ในห้อง (à-rai? yùu nai hâawng) = What’s in the room?
อะไรอร่อย (à-rai? à-ròi) = What’s delicious? / What’s good?

As an object (At the end)

Examples:

คุณกินอะไรอยู่ (kun gin à-rai? yùu) = What are you eating?
มองอะไร (maawng à-rai?) = What are you looking at?
อยากทำอะไร (yàak tam à-rai?) = What do you want to do?

🌺ใคร = Who?

Used to ask about a person’s identity.

Examples:

เขาเป็นใคร? (kǎo bpen krai?) = Who is he?
ใครโทรหาผม? (krai too hǎa pǒm?) = Who called me?

🌺กับใคร = With whom?

Used to ask about ask about companions

Examples:

คุณไปเที่ยวกับใคร? (kun bpai-tîiaw gàp krai?) = Who are you traveling with?
เขากินข้าวกับใคร? (kǎo gin kâao gàp krai?) = Who are you eating with?

🌺ของใคร = Whose?

Used as possessive pronoun and possessive adjective

Examples:

นี่ของใคร? (nîi kǎawng krai?) = Whose is this?
หมาตัวนี้ของใคร? (mǎa dtuua níi kǎawng krai?) = Whose dog is this?

🌺ที่ไหน (tîi-nǎi) = Where?

Used to ask about locations

Examples:

คุณอยู่ที่ไหน? (kun yùu tîi-nǎi?) = Where are you?
ร้านอาหารอยู่ที่ไหน? (ráan aa-hǎan yùu tîi-nǎi?) = Where is the restaurant?
พวกเขาเจอกันที่ไหน? (pûuak-kǎo juuh gan tîi-nǎi?) = Where did they meet?

🌺อย่างไร / ยังไง (yàang-rai / yang-ngai) = How?

Both “อย่างไร – yàang-rai” and “ยังไง – yang-ngai” mean “How” in English, and are generally used in the same way as that in English – which is to ask questions about manner, condition, or degree.

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้อย่างไร? (khun phûut phaa-săa Thai dâai yàang-rai?) = How can you speak Thai?
ทำยังไงให้เก่งภาษาไทย? (tham yang-ngai hâi gèng phaa-săa Thai?) = How do I become good at Thai?

💡Note:

However, there are cases when we use the question word “อย่างไร – yàang-rai” or “ยังไง – yang-ngai” in Thai instead of using “what (อะไร – à-rai) as in English. The nuance of it is the focus on manner, method, or qualitative information about something than merely listing something out.

Scenario:

You have had a headache for a few days with high fever, so you go to see the doctor.

The doctor may ask you:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 English question: “What symptoms do you have? (direct translation is คุณมีอาการอะไร – kun mii aa-gaan à-rai)”
🇹🇭 Thai question: “คุณมีอาการยังไงบ้าง – kun mii aa-gaan yang-ngai bâang”

With the question word อย่างไร – yàang-rai / ยังไง – yang-ngai (= how?), the doctor is asking about the nature or quality of your symptoms.

It’s akin to asking, “How are you feeling?” or “In what way are you experiencing these symptoms?”

🌺เท่าไหร่ (tâo-rài) = How much?

Used when asking about price or quantity.

อันนี้ราคาเท่าไหร่? (an-níi raa-kaa tâo-rài?) = How much is this? – Asking for “price”
คุณจะซื้อมะม่วงเท่าไหร่? (kun jà séeu má-mûuang tâo-rài?) = How much mango do you want to buy? – Asking for “quantity”

🌺ทำไม (tam-mai) = Why?

Used to ask for reasons

ทำไมคุณเรียนภาษาไทย? (tam-mai kun riian paa-sǎa tai?) = Why are you learning Thai?
ทำไมเขาถึงไม่มาเมื่อวานนี้? (tam-mai kǎo těeung mâi maa mêeua-waan-níi?) = Why didn’t he come yesterday?

💡Note:

The word ถึง – těeung in the second example can be called “Emphasis Particle”. In this case, it is sometimes put before the verb to emphasize the unexpected outcome: Yesterday he was expected to come here, but he did not. That is why the person asking this question wants to know the reason for not showing up as expected.

However, the word ถึง – těeung is omittable if the person asking the question wants only the factual reason of him not showing up.

🌺เมื่อไหร่ (mêeua-rài) = When?

Used to ask about time in a general sense, covering broader contexts

คุณจะกลับมาเมื่อไหร่? (kun jà glàp maa mêeua-rài?) = When will you come back?
งานเลี้ยงเลิกเมื่อไหร่? (ngaan-líiang lûuhk mêeua-rài?) = When does the event end?
คุณจะไปเที่ยวเชียงใหม่เมื่อไหร่? (kun ja bpai-tîiaw chiiang-mài mêeua-rài?) = When will you go to Chiangmai?

🌺กี่โมง (gìi-moong) = What time?

Used to ask about a specific time of day, equivalent to “what time?”

It focuses on asking for a specific hour in the day, unlike เมื่อไหร่ (muea-rai), which broadly asks “when?” and can refer to any point in time—past, present, or future.

ตอนนี้กี่โมง? (dtaawn-níi gìi moong?) = What time is it now?
คุณจะมาถึงที่นี่กี่โมง? (kun jà maa těung tîi-nîi gìi moong?) = What time will you arrive here?
เครื่องออกกี่โมง? (krêeuang àawk gìi moong?) = What time will the plane leave/ What is the flight time?

Mastering Thai question words can make your conversations in Thai so much smoother and more meaningful. They’re handy for asking the right questions and showing that you’re becoming more confident in the language. The more you practice, the easier it gets!

You may want to check out the following for more interesting information about questions:

Youtube –> Ask Questions in Thai | Basic Thai 101

Want to learn more about forming Thai sentences and speaking naturally? Check out Banana Thai’s online courses to master Thai in a fun and engaging way!

Happy learning!

Learn Thai Tips Thai Foundation

Your Roadmap to Thai Fluency – Starts Here!

Post author By Kru Smuk
Post date February 12, 2025
No Comments on Your Roadmap to Thai Fluency – Starts Here!

What Does It Take to Become Confident or Fluent in Thai? Let’s design your learning path.

If you’re ready to start learning Thai, you might be wondering: “How can I become fluent?” The answer depends on your personal goals!

In this blog post, I will introduce you to designed paths to reach your learning goal, whether you want to have basic conversations, speak Thai fluently, or master all four language skills.

Why You Need a Solid Plan

Learning a language without a plan can be like wandering in a maze. 😵‍💫 Thai, with its unique script, tones, and grammar, requires a focused approach. A well-thought-out plan:

Helps you prioritize skills like conversation, reading, and listening.
Maximizes your efficiency by breaking down complex concepts.
Keeps you motivated and on track by setting achievable milestones.

Without a clear plan, it’s easy to get overwhelmed or feel lost, so organizing your journey ensures consistent progress.

Step 1: Choose your goals

Goal 1: Become just conversational

If your goal is to become confident in speaking daily Thai and can get by with ease, you can focus on a few things:

✅ Solid conversational foundation
✅ Speak incorrect syntax and word orders
✅ Focus on learning 300 essential vocabulary
✅ Learn common Thai phrases in different daily situations

❌ No distraction with too advanced topics
❌ You can skip basic Thai reading. (unless you want to learn it)

→ See Path A below

Goal 2: Become Fluent in Speaking Thai

Nice one! 👏🏽

If you aim to become fluent in speaking, it takes more effort and time, but worth it! Here is your focus:

✅ Everything from Goal 1, plus…
✅ Learn basic Thai pronunciation at the beginning
✅ Master advanced topics like: unit words, ending words, tenses, if-clause, conditional, conjunction, etc. to communicate in complex sentences
✅ Truly understand the nuances and colloquial Thai.
✅ Tons of practice. Collecting your speaking hours like a pilot collecting flying miles

💡 Expert Tip:
We highly recommend you learn basic Thai reading as you will no longer rely on English transliteration, improve your pronunciation as well as open new sources to learn the language (Visual learning method).

→ See Path B below

Goal 3: Become Fluent in all skills

If your dream is to master Thai in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, it’s inevitable not to learn basic Thai reading. So your focuses are as follows:

✅ Start off with basic Thai reading rules
✅ Everything from Goal 2, plus…
✅ Enhance your comprehension with different learning sources such as articles, short stories, podcasts, movies, and songs
✅ Focus on both input (learn, read, listen) and output (express, speak, write, journal)
✅ Challenge yourself to think in Thai instead of translating from your native language.

💡 Expert Tip: 90% of students who became fluent in Thai start learning basic Thai reading at the beginning of their journey.

→ See Path C below

Step 2: Follow the ready-to-learn Paths

Path A: Intensive Thai for Beginners

Goals:

Build a solid foundation in basic conversation and reading.
Become ready to continue improving at the higher levels.
Communicate in ALL daily situations comfortably.

Path Instruction:

Start with Intensive Thai Volume 1 (Chapters 1-8) to learn basic syntax, build up vocabulary, and see the overview of how the language works.
Continue with Volume 2 to enhance your foundation with more advanced topics.

🌟Skills: Conversation & Foundation
🚀Level: Beginner to upper-beginner
📚Number of courses: x2
⏳Study time: 4 months
💲Price: 9,990 THB

Path B: Intensive Thai Series

Goals:

Designed for learners who want to focus solely on speaking Thai without delving into reading or writing.
Build competence in conversation by mastering essential topics for Thai syntax, word orders, colloquial elements, etc.
Build up your vocabulary to 500-600 Thai words with more than 40 daily conversations.

Path Instruction:

Start with the Beginner Bundle (Volume 1&2)
Continue with Volume 3 to extend more vocabulary and enhance Thai proficiency, spontaneity, and confidence to engage more in deeper-level topics in Thai.
Lastly complete the last volume, to elevate proficiency to fluency, enhancing their speaking skills and expanding their vocabulary dynamics.

🌟Skills: Conversation & Foundation
🚀Level: Beginner to Intermediate
📚Number of courses: x4
⏳Study time: 8-10 months
💲Price: 17,000 THB

Path C: 4-skill Ultimate Thai Bundle

Goals:

Be able to read Thai sentences or basic Thai stories with full understanding.
Takes you from beginner to advanced, ensuring well-rounded proficiency.
Enhance your foundation and elevate your skills with additional exercises and drills.

Path Instruction:

Start of with reading basic Thai, take the Ultimate Thai Reading Course.
Continue with Intensive Thai volumes 1&2 to build a solid foundation of communication.
Enhance your listening skills with 15 Thai colloquial dialogues in the Thai Listening Exercise.
Improve your reading comprehensive with 20 short and fun stories and speed up your reading skills.

🌟Skills: Conversation & Foundation
🚀Level: Beginner to Intermediate
📚Number of courses: x6
⏳Study time:12 months
💲Price: 25,000 THB

Summary

No matter what your ultimate goal is, we do believe you can achieve it.

With our comprehensive and structured programs and our student support, learning Thai is possible and can be fun! 🥳

If you’d like to get started with learning Thai, contact us or book a call with us. We are here to support you and help you get started with ease!

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How to say this in Thai Thai Foundation

All meanings of ได้ (dâi)

Post author By Kru Smuk
Post date February 5, 2023
No Comments on All meanings of ได้ (dâi)

ได้ (dâi) is one of the most frequently used in daily Thai. Maybe it’s because this word has many meanings. In this post, I will teach you all meanings of ได้ (dâi) and ways to use it in your Thai sentences. Let’s enjoy!

ได้ dâi (Verbs)

ได้ (dâi) can be verbs in Thai.

1. ได้รับ (dâi) = to receive to get
Please note that, many times Thai people just say “ได้” (dâi) for example, คุณได้เงินหรือยัง (khun dâi nguen reǔ-yang) = Did you received the money?

2. ได้ยิน (dâi-yin) = to hear
คุณได้ยินฉันไหม (khun dâi-yin chǎn mǎi) = Do you hear me?

3. อยากได้ (yàak-dâi) = to want to have/to get/to buy
ฉันอยากได้รถคันใหม่ (chǎn yàak-dâi ròt kan mài) = I want to have a new car.

ได้ dâi as “Yes!”

The word ได้ (dâi) is used to confirm the possibility, ability, availability, and permission. So it can be a reply as “sure”, “of course!” or “absolutely”.

When someone asked you to go to the cinema, and you want to respond as “yes, sure!”, you can say “ได้ (dâi)”.

ได้ + ending words

You can add some particles (ending words) to use with ได้ (dâi) to give specific feelings or implications.

For examples
– ได้เลย (dâi loey) = Absolutely yes.
– ได้สิ (dâi sì) = Ys, of course!
– ได้มั้ง (dâi máng) = Probably yes.

Example dialogue

A: คืนนี้เราไปดูหนังกันไหม (keun née rao bpai doo năng gan măi)
= Let’s go watch a movie tonight?

B: ได้เลย (dâi loey)
= Yes, Absolutely!

ได้ dâi as “Verb Can/Could”

The helping Verb “can” in Thai is ได้ (dâi). Please note that there are other words that can be used as “can” in English. For now, I will only explain the ได้ (dâi) as “can”.

If you put the word ได้ (dâi) at the end of the sentence, it works as Verb can.

ได้ (dâi) = “can” for availability

If you want to state that something/someone is available, you can use ได้ (dâi).

For examples
– ฉันไปทำงานพรุ่งนี้ได้ (chǎn bpai tam-ngaan prûng-níi dâi) = I can go to work tomorrow (because I am free.)
– คุณใช้คอมเครื่องนี้ได้ (kun chái kom krêuuang née dâai) =You can use this computer (because no one is using it now)

ได้ (dâi) “can” for ability

If you want to state that someone has the ability to do something, you can use ได้ (dâi).

For examples
– ฉันขับรถได้ (chǎn khàb-rót dâi) = I can drive. (because I do not have a visual disability)
– ฉันว่ายน้ำได้ (chǎn wâai-náam dâi) = I can swim (because I do not have skin infection)

ได้ (dâi) “can” for permission

If you want to state that someone has permission to do something, you can use ได้ (dâi).

For examples
– เข้ามาได้ (kâo maa dâi) = You can come in.
– ฉันไปเที่ยวกับเธอได้ (chǎn bpai tîiaw gàb ter dâi) = I can go out with you (because my mom allowed me to)

📍This topic is also taught in the Intensive Thai course. You can see the free preview lesson of the Verb “can/could” in Thai on YouTube.

Tips for Verb can

As you learned above, there are many cases to use ได้ (dâi) as the “Verb can”. It depends on the context.

For example

ฉันนขับรถได้ (chǎn kàp-ròt dâi) means, I can drive.

It can be because I do not have a visual disability, because I am available to drive or because I am allowed to drive.

ได้ dâi for past tense

As you might know that there is no conjugation of verbs in Thai including for tenses, we use filling words (aka. particles) to indicate tense. ได้ (dâi) is one of the past tense indicators.

📍 Learn more about Past Tense on our blog post (5-min read)

“Subject + ได้ (dâi) + verb” is one of the syntaxes for past tense as “I got a chance to…”.

For examples

– ฉันได้กินเค้กแล้ว (chǎn dâi gin cake láew) = I already ate the cake. (got a chance to eat the cake)
– ฉันไม่ได้กินเค้ก (chǎn mâi-dâi gin cake) = I did not eat cake.

Tips to differentiate “past tense” and “verb can”

As you can use ได้ (dâi) for both cases, here is a tip from me. Look at the position of ได้ (dâi):

ได้ (dâi) at the end of the sentence = Verb can
ได้ (dâi) before a verb = Past tense

– ฉันกินเค้กได้ (chǎn gin cake dâi) = I can eat cake.
– ฉันได้กินเค้ก (chǎn dâi gin cake) = I got a chance to eat cake.

Summary

That’s it for the common ways to use ได้ (dâi) in Thai. One word can have many meanings and also use in different locations of a sentence. I hope you enjoy reading and learning from this blog post.

In case want to improve your Thai foundation and syntax, please feel free to check out the Intensive Thai course, a fundamental course to learn basic Thai foundation (A1-A2 levels). Or if you’d like to have lessons with our certified BananaThai teachers, please check out our private lessons.

Situational Thai Thai Foundation

Thai Past Tense อดีตกาล – Tell a story in the past

Post author By Kru Smuk
Post date January 20, 2023
No Comments on Thai Past Tense อดีตกาล – Tell a story in the past

Who said Thai doesn’t have tenses? That’s not true. We do have tenses like in English but do not have conjugation to indicate the tense, instead, we use Tense particles (words put into a sentence to indicate tense). In this blog post, I will teach you how to make sentences in Past Tense effortlessly. Let’s dive into it.

Tense indicators

In English, we use the conjugation of verbs to indicate tenses.

For example
– I “go” to school. (present simple tense)
– I “went” to school (past simple tense)

However, in Thai, we do not conjugate the verb form. It never changes. Instead, we do have a few words to put in the sentence and it will be understood as this already happened in the past.

Adverbs of time (for the past)

You can indicate the past tense by putting an adverb of time-related to the past. Let’s see some examples:

เมื่อวานนี้	mêuua waan née	yesterday
เมื่อกี้	mêuua-gêe	just now
เมื่อก่อน	mêuua gòn	before
ในอดีต	nai à-dèet	in the past
อาทิตย์ที่แล้ว	aa-tít têe láew	last week
เดือนที่แล้ว	deuuan têe láew	last month
ปีที่แล้ว	bpee têe láew	last year

Once you put this word at the beginning or at the end of the sentence, this sentence turns out to be in the past form.

For examples
– ฉันกินผัดไทย chăn gin pàt tai) = I eat Pad Thai.
– เมื่อวานนี้ฉันกินผัดไทย (mêuua waan née chăn gin pàt tai) = I ate Pad Thai yesterday.

– ฉันทำงานที่ประเทศไทย (chăn tam ngaan têe bprà-têt tai) = I work in Thailand
– ปีที่แล้วฉันทำงานที่ประเทศไทย (bpee têe láew chăn tam ngaan têe bprà-têt tai) = I worked in Thailand last year.

มา maa (When something happened somewhere else)

This is one of the most common past tense forms we use in daily. Basically, we put the tense indicating particle มา (maa) at the end of the sentence.

This form of the past tense is to tell what happened somewhere in the past, while the speaker is now in a different location in the present.

– ฉันไปภูเก็ตมา (chăn bpai poo-gèt maa) = I went to Phuket.
– ฉันกินข้าวที่ร้านญี่ปุ่นมา (chăn gin kâao têe ráan yêe-bpùn maa) = I ate at a Japanese restaurant.
– ฉันขับรถไปซื้อของมา (chăn kàp rót bpai séu kŏng maa) = I drove to buy something.
– ฉันบินไปฝรั่งเศษอาทิตย์ที่แล้วมา (chăn bin bpai fà-ràng sèt aa-tít têe láew maa) = I flew to France last week.

If you observe these examples close, you will see that many times, the verbs include movement such as ไป (bpai) = to go, ขับรถ (kàb-rót) = to drive, etc. Of course, you can also use other verbs as well in this form.

ได้ dâi (When something is completed, finished, ended)

This form is commonly used when you want to highlight an action that has already been completed, finished, or done. There are two past words in this form. ได้ (dâi) implies “I got a chance to …” and the word แล้ว (láew) means “already”.

For examples

– ฉันได้เจอจอห์นแล้วเมื่อวานนี้ (chăn dâai jer jon láew mêuua waan née) = I already met John yesterday.
– คุณได้ไปซื้อของมาแล้วใช่ไหม (kun dâai bpai séu kŏng maa láew châi măi) = Did you go to shop already, right?
– ฉันทำงานเสร็จแล้ว (chăn tam ngaan sèt láew) = I finished work already.

Please note that either indicating word can be obsolete or skipped.

When the verb is not visually with motions or action

For verbs with non-action that one can visually see, we do not need to put an indicator. We usually understood it from the context.

คิด	kít	to think
รู้สึก	róo-sèuk	to feel
รัก	rák	to love
ชอบ	cháawp	to like
เห็น	hěn	to see
เป็น	bpen	to be
เข้าใจ	kâo-jai	to understand
อยู่	yùu	to be (located)

These words can be used in both presents tense and past tense without any other indicators needed.

For examples:

– ฉันคิดว่าเขาสวย (chǎn kít-wâa kǎo sǔay) = I think/thought she is/was beautiful.
– ฉันอยู่ที่ลอนดอน (chǎn yùu tîi London) = I am/was in London.
– เขาเป็นคนดี (kǎo bpen kon-dii) = He is/was a good person.

Negative form

To build a negative sentence in the past form, you always need to add a negative particle “ไม่ได้” (mâi-dâi) before the verb.

For examples

– ฉันไม่ได้ไปภูเก็ต (chǎn mâi-dâi bpai Phuket) = I did not go to Phuket.
– ฉันไม่ได้ไปทำงาน = I did not go to work.
– เขาไม่ได้คิดว่าเขาสวย = I did not think that she is beautiful.

Telling a story

To tell a story that happened in the past, you only need to start with the first sentence in the past with the indicators mentioned above, the following sentences can be without a tense indicator as long as it’s still related to the first sentence.

Example story

เมื่อวานนี้ฉันไปกินข้าวที่ร้านอาหารญี่ปุ่นมา อาหารที่นั่นอร่อยมาก ฉันเลยโทรหาเพื่อนให้มากินด้วยกัน

(mêuua waan née chăn bpai gin kâao têe ráan aa-hăan yêe-bpùn maa · aa-hăan têe nân à-ròi mâak · chăn loiie toh hăa pêuuan hâi maa gin dûuay gan)

Yesterday I went to eat at a Japanese restaurant. The food there was very delicious, so I called my friends to join me.

Learn More

If you’d like to continue learning this topic of past tense in Thai, I made an episode on my Thai Podcast Channel on Spotify and YouTube. Please feel free to listen and enjoy learning with me.

Summary

Unlike English, Thai does not have conjugation of verbs even for tense. We do have tense indicators in the forms of adverbs as well as particles (fill words).

If you want to learn more about Thai tenses or any fundamental topics of conversational Thai and foundation. Check out the Intensive Thai course. It’s the best online Thai course to get started.

Thai Foundation

Quick Guide to Thai Classifiers (units of noun)

Post author By Kru Smuk
Post date December 2, 2022
No Comments on Quick Guide to Thai Classifiers (units of noun)

One of the most important concept to master Thai is classifier or units of nouns (ลักษณะนาม: lák-sà-nà-naam). This classifier concept is used in daily life especially when you want to tell an amount of things. You need to include the classifier of the noun. This guide will help you go through the important keys of this concept and finally be able to use it in your Thai conversation.

What are classifiers?

Basically, they are words that are used with specific nouns. Each noun has a classifier word. This concept is also applicable in English for uncountable nouns. We usually add a unit of noun when telling an amount of uncountable noun in English.

For example

– A “glass” of water in stead of a water.
– Two “baskets” of vegetables, instead of 2 vegetables.
– A “loaf” of bread instead of a bread.

However in Thai, this concept is applied for both countable and uncountable nouns. So we can conclude that, we always use a classifier when telling an amount of noun. (Hence we also call it a unit of noun)

How to use classifiers?

To talk about a amount of noun

Whenever you want to ask for an amount of noun or to tell an amount of noun, we need to include a classifier.

How would you say this sentence?

“I have 2 dogs.”

If you want to say this according to English syntax, you probably say “ฉันมีสองหมา (chǎn mii sǒorng mǎa)”.

ฉัน chǎn = I

มี mii = to have/has

สอง sǒorng = 2

หมา mǎa = dogs

But this is wrong. In Thai, we say “ฉันมีหมาสองตัว (chǎn mii mǎa sǒorng dtua)”. The word ตัว (dtua) in the sentence is the classifier of the noun หมา (mǎa) or a dog.

Syntax to tell Amount of Noun

Noun + Amount + Classifier

For examples

1.) หมาสองตัว (mǎa sǒorng dtua) = 2 dogs:

หมา (mǎa) is a noun. สอง (sǒorng) is an amount “2” and ตัว (dtua) is a classifier of dog and animals.

2.) นักเรียนหนึ่งคน (nák-riian nèung kon) = A student:

นักเรียน (nák-riian) is a noun. หนึ่ง (nèung) is an amount “1” and คน (kon) is a classifier of human or person.

3.) ฉันเอาเบียร์สองขวด (chǎn ao beer sǎam kùuad) = I want 3 bottles of beer.

เบียร์ (beer) is a noun, สาม (sǎam) is an amount “3” and ขวด (kùuad) is a classifier as a container of food/drink.

Ask about Amount of Nouns

And then you want to ask for an amount of noun, you can use this syntax:

Noun + กี่ (gìi) + Classifier = How many?

For beginners, you probably learned the word เท่าไหร่ (tâo-rài) as “how much/how many?”, but if you want to speak natural Thai, you better use the word “กี่ gìi”

For example

1.) หมากี่ตัว (mǎa gìi dtua) = How many dogs?

หมา (mǎa) is a noun “dog”, กี่ (gìi) is a question word and ตัว (dtua) is a classifier of dogs or animals.

2.) นักเรียนกี่คน (nák-riian gìi kon) = How many students?:

นักเรียน (nák-riian) is a noun “student”, กี่ (gìi) is a question word and คน (kon) is a classifier of human or person.

3.) คุณเอาเบียร์กี่ขวด (kun ao beer. gìi kùuad) = How many bottle of beer do you want?

เบียร์ (beer) is a noun, กี่ (gìid) is a question word and ขวด (kùuad) is a classifier as a container of food/drink.

To specify a noun

Whenever you want to ask someone to specify a noun, or when you want to specify a noun, you need to use a classifier.

A few examples of sentences that include specification of nouns are:

Which dog is yours?
Which dish did you like the most?
Which house is more expensive?

This dog is mine.
I like the last dish the most.
The big house is more expensive.

To ask a specific question with the question word “which”, we ALWAYS use a classifier with a noun.

Which one?

Noun + classifier + ไหน (nǎi) = Which? 

For examples

1.) หมาตัวไหน (mǎa dtua nǎi) = Which dog?
2.) นักเรียนคนไหน (nák-riian kon nǎi) = Which student?
3.) เบียร์ขวดไหนอร่อยที่สุด (beer kùuad nǎi, aròi tîi-sùd) = Which bottle of beer is the most delicious.

To specify a noun with “the/this/that”, in Thai we use this following syntax with a classifier:

Definitive Noun (This, That, The)

Noun + classifier + adjective

For examples

1.) หมาตัวนี้ (mǎa dtua níi) = This dog
2.) นักเรียนคนไทย (nák-riian kon Thai) = The Thai student
3.) เบียร์ขวดเล็กอร่อยที่สุด (beer kùuad lék à-ròi tîi-sùd) = The small beer is most delicious.

To use with adjectives of quantity

Some บาง (baang)

Noun + บาง baang + classifier = some ….

For example,

1.) หมาบางตัว (mǎa baang dtua) = Some dogs
2.) นักเรียนคนไทยบางคน (nák-riian kon-Thai baang kon) = Some Thai students.
3. อาหารบางอย่าง (aa-hǎan baang yàang) = Some food

Every ทุก (túk)

Noun + ทุก túk + classifier = every ….

For example,

1.) ร้านอาหารทุกร้าน (ráan aa-hǎan túk ráan) = Every restaurant
2.) แมวทุกตัว (maew túk dtua) = Every cat
3.) เสื้อทุกตัว (sêua túk dtua) = Every shirt

Many หลาย (lǎai)

Noun + หลาย lǎai + classifier = many ….

For example,

1.) ครูหลายคน (kruu lǎai kon) = Many teachers
2.) อาหารหลายจาน (aa-haǎn lǎai jaan) = My dishes of food
3.) โทรศัพท์หลายเครื่อง (too-ra2-sàb lǎai krêuang) = Many phones

A list of Thai Classifiers

Here I gathered all classifiers that are commonly used in daily life and grouped them in an easy way to remember.

Common Classifiers

Human / Person	คน kon	ex. นักเรียนหนึ่งคน (nák-riian nèung kon) = A student
Animals / Clothes / Furniture	ตัว dtua	ex. โต๊ะหนึ่งตัว (dtó nèung dtua) = A table
Fruits / spherical shape	ลูก lûuk	ex. กล้วยหนึ่งลูก (glûuay nèung lûuk) = A banana
Devices	เครื่อง krêuang	ex. โทรศัพท์หนึ่งเครื่อง (thoo-rá-sàb nèung krêuang) = A phone
Piece of	ชิ้น chín	ex. เค้กหนึ่งชิ้น (cake nèung chín) = A piece of cake
Cars / bicycles / scooters / spoon / fork	คัน can	ex. รถหนึ่งคัน (ród nèung kan) = A car
Houses	หลัง lǎng	ex. บ้านหนึ่งหลัง (bâan nèung lǎng) = A house
Service units (restaurant, cinema, etc)	ที่ tîi	ex. ข้าวเปล่าหนึ่งที่ (kâo-bplào nùeng tîi) = A unit of rice served
Pen, knife, axe	ด้าม	ex. ปากกาหนึ่งด้าม (bpàa-gaa nèung dâam) = A pen
Kinds	ชนิด	ex. สัตว์หนึ่งชนิด (sàt nèung chà-níd) = A kind of animals

Cheat word

If you do not really know the classifier of a noun, you can say อัน (an) for small objects.

For example,
If you want to say “two glasses”, you can say “แก้วสองอัน gáew sǒorng an”. Thai people will surely understand you even though the correct classifier for most of containers is ใบ (bai).

Classifier for food and drinks

The classifiers for food and drinks in Thai are similar to English, we usually use the containers as a classifier.

Food in a dish	จาน jaan	ex. ข้าวผัดหนึ่งจาน (kâaw-pàt nèung jaan) = A dish of fried rice
Food in a bowl (noodles, soup)	ชาม chaam	ex. ต้มยำหนึ่งชาม (dtôm-yam nèung chaam) = A bowl of Tom Yam soup
Sauce or food in a small saucer	ถ้วย tûuay	ex. ไอศรีมหนึ่งถ้วย (i-sà-cream nèung tûuay) = A small bow of icecream
Food in a box (take away)	กล่อง glàwng	ex. ผัดไทยหนึ่งกล่อง (Pad Thai nèung glòng) = A box of Pad Thai
Food in a bag (take away)	ถุง tǔng	ex. ก๋วยเตี๋ยวหนึ่งถุง (gǔay-tǐiaw nèung tǔng) = A bag of noodles
Drink in a glass or cup	แก้ว gáew	ex. น้ำแข็งหนึ่งแก้ว (náam kǎeng nèung gâew) = A glass of ice
Drink in a bottle	ขวด kùuad	ex. โค้กหนึ่งขวด (Coke nèung kùuad) = A bottle of Coke
Drink in a can	กระป๋อง grà-pǎwng	ex. สไปร์ทหนึ่งกระป๋อง (sà-príte nèung grà-pǎwng) = A can of Sprite

Practical examples

Let’s learn the usage of classifier in practical Thai dialogues.

A: เอาน้ำเปล่ากี่ขวด (ao náam-bplaao gìi kùuad)
= How many bottles of water do you want?

B: สองขวด (sǒorng kùuad)
= Two

A: บ้านคุณหลังไหน (bâan khun lǎng nǎi)
= Which house is yours?

B: บ้านใหญ่ๆหลังนี้ (bâan yài-yài lǎng níi)
= This big house.

A: ในห้องเรียนมีนักเรียนทั้งหมดกี่คน (nai hôorng-riian, mii nák-riian táng-mòt gìi kon)
= How many students in total in the class?

B: มีนักเรียนสามสิบคน (mii nák-riian sǎam sìb kon)
= There are 30 students.

A: วันนี้อยากซื้ออะไร (wan-níi yàak séu à-rai)
= What do you want to buy today?

B: อยากซื้อของหลายอย่าง (yàak séu kǒorng lǎi yàang)
= I want to buy many things.

Summary

Learning classifiers or units of nouns is the must in order to speak Thai naturally. Even though this concept might not exist in your mother’s language, however it can be learned and you can master it with ease and use in your daily life.

If you want to learn more about Classifiers or any fundamental topics of conversational Thai and foundation. Check out the Intensive Thai course. It’s the best online Thai course to get started.

Table of Contents

Sentence Structure for Thai Question Words

Exceptions: Question Words That Appear at the Beginning

Common Thai Question Words

🌺อะไร = What?

As a subject (at the beginning)

As an object (At the end)

🌺ใคร = Who?

🌺กับใคร = With whom?

🌺ของใคร = Whose?

🌺ที่ไหน (tîi-nǎi) = Where?

🌺อย่างไร / ยังไง (yàang-rai / yang-ngai) = How?

Scenario:

🌺เท่าไหร่ (tâo-rài) = How much?

🌺ทำไม (tam-mai) = Why?

🌺เมื่อไหร่ (mêeua-rài) = When?

🌺กี่โมง (gìi-moong) = What time?

Table of Contents

Why You Need a Solid Plan

Step 1: Choose your goals

Goal 1: Become just conversational

Goal 2: Become Fluent in Speaking Thai

Goal 3: Become Fluent in all skills

Step 2: Follow the ready-to-learn Paths

Path A: Intensive Thai for Beginners

Path B: Intensive Thai Series

Path C: 4-skill Ultimate Thai Bundle

Summary

Hear from Our Students

Content Overview

ได้ dâi (Verbs)

ได้ (dâi) can be verbs in Thai.

ได้ dâi as “Yes!”

ได้ + ending words

ได้ dâi as “Verb Can/Could”

ได้ (dâi) = “can” for availability

ได้ (dâi) “can” for ability

ได้ (dâi) “can” for permission

Tips for Verb can

ได้ dâi for past tense

Tips to differentiate “past tense” and “verb can”

Summary

Table of Contents

Tense indicators

Adverbs of time (for the past)

มา maa (When something happened somewhere else)

ได้ dâi (When something is completed, finished, ended)

When the verb is not visually with motions or action

Negative form

Telling a story

Example story

Learn More

Summary

Table of Contents

What are classifiers?

How to use classifiers?

To talk about a amount of noun

Syntax to tell Amount of Noun

Ask about Amount of Nouns

To specify a noun

Which one?

Definitive Noun (This, That, The)

To use with adjectives of quantity

Some บาง (baang)

Every ทุก (túk)

Many หลาย (lǎai)

A list of Thai Classifiers

Common Classifiers

Cheat word

Classifier for food and drinks

Practical examples

Summary