Learn about sentence-final particles in Thai
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| Michael: What are the sentence-final particles in Thai? |
| Nantanee: And how are they used? |
| Michael: At ThaiPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Arisa Ampawa is cooking dinner. She asks her daughter, |
| "Are you hungry?" |
| Arisa Ampawa: หิวไหมจ๊ะ (hĭu măi já) |
| Dialogue |
| Arisa Ampawa: หิวไหมจ๊ะ (hĭu măi já) |
| Arunpan Ampawa: หิวมากเลยค่ะ (hĭu mâak looei khâ) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Arisa Ampawa: หิวไหมจ๊ะ (hĭu măi já) |
| Michael: "Are you hungry?" |
| Arunpan Ampawa: หิวมากเลยค่ะ (hĭu mâak looei khâ) |
| Michael: "Yes, I'm very hungry!" |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: You've probably noticed the particles at the end of each sentence in the dialogue. These are called |
| Nantanee: ประโยคสุดท้ายอนุภาค (bprà-yòok sùt-tháai à-nú-phâak) |
| Michael: or "sentence-final particles," and they're used to modulate the meaning of a sentence. Today, we will introduce you to some of the most common of these particles. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's start by examining their function in the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Arisa Ampawa asks "Are you hungry?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Nantanee as Arisa Ampawa: หิวไหมจ๊ะ (hĭu măi já) |
| Michael: Here, Arisa uses the sentence-final particle |
| Nantanee: จ๊ะ (já) |
| Michael: This is a specific particle that is used to convey intimacy. It is also used with children, which is the case here. Sometimes, it's also used when addressing someone of a lower status. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: This time, let's see how the child responds to her mom. |
| Do you remember how Arunpan Ampawa says "Yes, I'm very hungry?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Nantanee as Arunpan Ampawa: หิวมากเลยค่ะ (hĭu mâak looei khâ) |
| Michael: Here, you will see that Arunpan ends her sentence with the particle, |
| Nantanee: ค่ะ (khâ) |
| Michael: As a learner of the Thai language, you will have definitely encountered this particle often and have grown quite familiar with it, especially if you're female. This particle is what's known as a "politeness tag." The most basic use of this particle is to end a sentence in a polite manner. However, even if Arunpan replied with only this word, her mom would still understand it as a confirmation. By now, you also probably know that the male counterpart of this particle is: |
| Nantanee: ครับ (khráp) |
| Michael: It's always better to stick to these two particles to make sure that you convey your message in a polite manner. There is a less formal version of these two particles, though. It's the particle |
| Nantanee: ฮะ (há). |
| Michael: You can also use this in the same way that you would use the two politeness tags earlier. |
| Nantanee: กินข้าวไหมฮะ (gin khâao măi há) |
| Michael: "Do you want to eat?" This is not a rude way to ask someone if they want to eat, but it's less formal than if you ended the sentence with either of the two politeness tags we've previously covered. Now, if you wish to ask a question or seek agreement or confirmation, the sentence-final particle that you can use is |
| Nantanee: นะ (ná), |
| Michael: such as when you want to say |
| Nantanee: กินข้าวนะ (gin khâao ná) |
| Michael: "Let's eat, all right?" Speaking of eating, what if you want to ask for more rice in a polite manner? In that case, you should use the particle |
| Nantanee: ด้วย (dûuai). |
| Michael: This particle is used to soften requests, such as when you say |
| Nantanee: ขอข้าวด้วย (khǎaw khâao dûuai) |
| Michael: "Can I have some rice, please?" A similar particle would be |
| Nantanee: หน่อย (nàauy) |
| Michael: Just like the previous particle, this one is used to soften a sentence. Here's an example: |
| Nantanee: ขอข้าวหน่อย (khǎaw khâao nàauy) |
| Michael: "Please give me some rice." Now, if you want to add some emphasis on your statement or if you want to give a command, the particle to use is |
| Nantanee:ซิ (sí) |
| Michael: For instance, you can say, |
| Nantanee: กินข้าวซิ (gin khâao sí) |
| Michael: or "Eat some rice." And, finally, to make a negative sentence not sound rude, you can use the particle, |
| Nantanee: หรอก (ràawk), |
| Michael: such as when saying, |
| Nantanee: ไม่อยากกินข้าวหรอก (mâi yàak gin khâao ràawk) |
| Michael: or "I don't want to eat some rice." So far, these are some of the most common sentence-final particles in Thai. There are a few more that you could learn, but these are the ones you could practice with first when you're just beginning to learn Thai. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sample conversation: Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud, and then listen carefully as the native speaker models the correct answer. Repeat after her, with the focus on your pronunciation. Are you ready? |
| How do you say, "Are you hungry?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Nantanee as Arisa Ampawa: หิวไหมจ๊ะ (hĭu măi já) |
| Michael: Did you get it right? Listen again and repeat. Remember to focus on your pronunciation. |
| Nantanee as Arisa Ampawa: หิวไหมจ๊ะ (hĭu măi já) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Nantanee as Arisa Ampawa: หิวไหมจ๊ะ (hĭu măi já) |
| Michael: Let's move on to the second sentence. How do you say, "Yes, I'm very hungry!" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Nantanee as Arunpan Ampawa: หิวมากเลยค่ะ (hĭu mâak looei khâ) |
| Michael: Did you get that one right? Listen again and repeat. |
| Nantanee as Arunpan Ampawa: หิวมากเลยค่ะ (hĭu mâak looei khâ) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Nantanee as Arunpan Ampawa: หิวมากเลยค่ะ (hĭu mâak looei khâ) |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: In Thai, simply responding with the particle |
| Nantanee: ค่ะ (khâ) |
| Michael: is enough to let the other person know that you are listening to them. |
| Nantanee: For instance, if the person you're having a conversation with makes a point, you can interject with the particle in question occasionally to let them know that you agree with them. It's like saying, "yes," "sure," or "uh-huh." Of course, you can always respond with something more formal, such as |
| Nantanee: ค่ะท่าน (khâ thân) |
| Michael: or |
| Nantanee: ครับท่าน (khráp thân), |
| Michael: which both mean "Yes, sir." |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Nantanee: แล้วพบกันใหม่เร็วๆ นี้ค่ะ (láaeo-phóp-gan-mài reo-reo-níi khâ) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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