Study Focus: Thai Pronouns

• Thai uses a wider variety of pronouns than English. Also, many of the pronouns are more flexible in their use.

• The same pronoun could mean "you," "me," "he," or "she" depending on the context.

• But Thai pronoun usage is more simple than English in one sense, which is that you can use all pronouns as both subjects and objects.

• So ผม (phǒm) can mean both "I" or "me" depending on its position in the sentence.

• In the same way, พวกเขา (phûuak-khǎo) can mean either "they" or "them."

• Here is a breakdown of the most common pronouns and their use:

  • ผม (phǒm) ➤ "I"

    • Polite first-person pronoun that only male speakers use.

  • ดิฉัน (dì-chǎn) ➤ "I"

    • Polite first-person pronoun that only female speakers use.

  • ฉัน (chǎn) ➤ "I"

    • First-person pronoun you can use when speaking casually to others who are relatively equal in status.

    • Both male and female speakers can use it, but females much more commonly use it.

    • This is also the most common first-person pronoun both genders use in pop music.

  • หนู (nǔu) ➤ "I," "you"

    • It literally means "mouse." You can use it as both a first-person and second-person pronoun when referring to children.

    • Children use it to refer to themselves, and older people use it when speaking to children to mean "you."

    • Young women who want to sound cute when talking to older men also sometimes use it

  • เรา (rao) ➤ "we," "I"

    • First-person pronoun that you can use as both singular and plural.

    • When you use it in a singular sense to mean "I," it is more casual than ผม (phǒm) or ดิฉัน (dì-chǎn), and you shouldn't use it when speaking to superiors.

  • พวกเรา (phûuak-rao) ➤ "we"

    • First-person plural pronoun that you can use instead of เรา (rao) to be more specific when you intend a plural meaning.

• Names and nicknames, such as "I," "you": Unlike in English, Thai speakers often use their own name or nickname when referring to themselves. Likewise, they can use the name or nickname of the person they are speaking to instead of a different pronoun for "you."

  • พี่ (phîi) ➤ "I," "you"

    • It literally means "elder sibling."

    • You can use it as both a first-person or second-person pronoun, and it's okay to use with those you are not familiar with.

    • But when you use it for "I," you must be older than the person you are talking to, and when you use it for "you," the person you're talking to must be older than you.

  • น้อง (náawng) ➤ "I," "you"

    • This literally means "younger sibling."

    • Just like พี่ (phîi), you can use it as either a first-person or second-person pronoun, but the relative ages are reversed.

    • For "I," the speaker must be younger than the listener, and for "you," the listener must be younger than the speaker.

  • คุณ (khun) ➤ "you"

    • Polite second-person pronoun that is appropriate for almost any situation. It would only be inappropriate when speaking to monks, royalty, or others with a very high status.

  • ท่าน (thân) ➤ "you," "he," she"

    • Polite second- or third-person pronoun you can use to refer to someone respectfully.

  • เธอ (thooe) ➤ "she," "you"

    • You can use it as a polite third-person pronoun when speaking about a woman.

    • You can use it as a second-person pronoun between two close female friends or between a male and female who are in a close relationship.

    • This is also the most common second-person pronoun both genders use in pop music.

  • เขา (khǎo) ➤ "he," "she"

    • This is the most general third-person pronoun.

    • You can use it in most situations, but you shouldn't use it for speaking about monks or about members of the royal family.

  • พวกเขา (phûuak khǎo) ➤ "they"

    • This is the plural form of เขา (khǎo).

    • It's a plural third-person pronoun that you can use in most situations for "they" or "them," but you shouldn't use it to refer to a group of monks or to the royal family.

  • มัน (man) ➤ "it"

    • Third-person pronoun that you can use when referring to animals or inanimate objects.

    • People also sometimes use it in an insulting and derogatory way to refer to another person.

  • กู/มึง (guu/mueng) ➤ "I"/"you"

    • They are considered to be rude versions of the first- and second-person pronouns.

    • กู (guu) means "I" or "me," and มึง (mueng) means "you."

    • Although generally considered rude speech, people commonly use them, especially among close male friends.

    • But if you use them in the wrong situation, you could get yourself in trouble, so it is best for Thai language students to stick with using other pronouns.

Vocabulary & Phrases

• ไม่ต้อง (mâi dtâwng)

  • **ไม่ (**mâi) means "not."

  • ต้อง (dtâwng) is a verb that means "must" or "to be necessary."

  • This phrase means "not necessary." It comes before another verb in the sentence.

  • ไม่ต้องไป (mâi dtâwng bpai) ➤ "It's not necessary to go" or "You don't need to go."

• พอแล้ว (phaaw láaeo)

  • This phrase literally means "enough already."

  • พอ (phaaw) is "enough" or "sufficient," and แล้ว (láaeo) means "already" in this usage.

  • We can use this phrase in a polite situation, such as telling someone that you've had enough to eat.

  • We can also use it to lightly scold someone or get someone to stop talking just as you would by saying "That's enough already!" in English.

• พา...ไป... (phaa...bpai...)

  • This is a sentence construction you can use to say that you are taking someone somewhere.

  • พา (phaa) means "to take someone." Then you say the name of the person being taken.

  • ไป (bpai), meaning "to go," followed by the destination.

  • We can use this pattern when talking about two other people as well by stating the subject in the beginning. So the whole pattern looks like:

  • Subject + พา (phaa) + Person being taken + ไป (bpai) + Destination

    • คุณพาแม่ไปร้านอาหาร (khun phaa mâae bpai ráan-aa-hǎan)

      ➤ "You took mother to a restaurant."

• หรอก (ràawk)

  • This is a particle we use at the end of a negative statement to make it softer or lessen the sense of negativity in the statement.

  • Sometimes we could translate it in English as "not really," and other times we would not translate it directly, but it would change the tone of voice used in the English translation to sound less harsh.

  • เขาไม่อยากไปไหนหรอก (kǎo mâi yàak bpai nǎi rɔ̀ɔk)

    ➤ "He doesn’t want to go anywhere.”

How to Choose the Right Pronoun

• The choice of pronouns in Thai relies on the relative ages, social standing, and familiarity of the speakers. It might also convey your degree of regard for the recipient.

• Men are generally safe using ผม (phǒm) in almost any situation.

• Women should probably use the polite form ดิฉัน (dì-chǎn) when speaking to strangers, but with close acquaintances it will sound too formal, and a different first-person pronoun, such as ฉัน (chǎn), would be more appropriate.

• คุณ (khun) is almost always okay to use for "you," but you should use the more respectful ท่าน (thân) when speaking to someone with a much higher social status than yourself.

• When speaking to children, on the other hand, it would be more appropriate to call them either น้อง (náawng) or หนู (nǔu).