This article was originally posted on WomenLearnThai.com.
Telling tails – Thai ending particles…
It is important to learn how to use Thai ending particles. The most common and well known are ครับ /kráp/ (for males) and คะ /ká/ (for females). They are used as a “politeness tag” at the end of sentences. Ending particles are also known as หางเสียง /hăang sĭang/ (tail of the sound). And someone who speaks without them (ไม่มีหางเสียง /mâi mee hăang sĭang/) is someone who speaks abruptly and is not considered very polite.
Some people ask the question of how many khrups and kaas should be used and how often we should use them. That is really a context specific situation. But one thing you can do is listen to how the person talking to you is using them and answer in the same manner.
An interesting use of ending particles is how some people (usually women) talk to little children. They will use the ending particle of the gender of the child they are talking to. When talking to a little boy they use ครับ /khrup/ and with little girls they use คะ /ká/. This is meant to help the youngsters learn how to use the ending particles by hearing them spoken to them.
Beginning Thai learners may think that the only meaning ending particles carry is to finish off a sentence in a nice polite manner. But ending particles can also carry meaning. If you want to answer a question in the affirmative you can simply use one of the ending particles. For example, if someone asks you a question like:
คุณอยากกินข้าว ไหมคะ
kun yàak gin kâao măi ká
Do you want to eat?
You can simply answer ครับ/คะ /khrup/ká/. In this case you would be answering, “yes (I would).”
But depending on the context the Thai ending particle can carry lots of different meanings. Here is a telephone conversation I overheard one day at the shopping mall (I only overheard one side of the conversation of course.).
สวัสดีค่ะ, ค่ะ, ค่ะ, ค่ะ, ค่ะ, ค่ะ, ค่ะ, OK ค่ะ, สวัสดีค่ะ
Sà-wàt-dee ká, ká, ká, ká, ká, ká, ká, OK ká, Sawadee ká.
One interpretation: Hello, yes, right, sure, that’s right, good, of course, OK, bye.
It is probably best to stick with คฺรับ /kráp/ and คะ /ká/. But as a reference here is a short list (there are many more) of some common Thai ending particles and how they are used. When you begin to use these correctly in context you Thai will seem lots smoother and fluency will be right around the corner.
Colloquial, less formal version of khrup/khaa, at the end of a question: ฮะ /há/
Example: กินข้าวไหมฮะ
gin kâao măi há
Do you want to eat?
Conveys intimacy, or with children, or someone of lower status: จ๊ะ /já/
Example: กินข้าวไหมจ๊ะ
gin kâao măi já
Do you want to eat?
Indicates a mild question; to seek agreement or confirmation: นะ /ná/
Example: กินข้าวนะ
gin kâao ná
Let’s eat, OK?
Used in the imperative and to add emphasis: ซิ /sí/
Example: กินข้าวซิ
gin kâao sí
Eat something!
Let’s: เถอะ /tùh/
Example: กินข้าวเถอะ
gin kâao tùh
Come on, let’s eat.
A softener (makes things sound more polite): ด้วย /dûay/
Example: ขอข้าวด้วย
kŏr kâao dûay
Can I have some rice please?
To soften the meaning of a sentence: หน่อย /nòi/
Example: ขอข้าวหน่อย
kŏr kâao nòi
Can I have a little rice please?
After a negative statement to make it seem milder: หรอก /ròk/
Example: ไม่อยากกินข้าวหรอก
mâi yàak gin kâao ròk
I don’t want to eat.
These next three particles are considered impolite but are often used between friends. Quite often an impolite word between friends becomes a sign of intimacy. But their use is quite subtle so unless you are really familiar with how to use them it would be best to avoid their use until then.
Shows contempt, dislike, disgust, annoyance, anger: วะ /wá/
Similar to วะ /wá/: โว้ย /wói/
Dismissive, impolite or informal: ยะ /yá/
Then there is the infamous ครับผม /kráp pŏm/. This ending particle (used by males) is often overly used by expats. It is not exactly the same as ครับ /kráp/ since it carries the meaning of “Sir/Madam” or “yes Sir”, instead of a simple “yes”. It is an ending particle that is used to sound very polite and deferential. I am an advocate of listening first and using what you hear. But this may be the cause of the ครับผม /kráp pŏm/ problem. We hear it used by others when talking to us. In this case it doesn’t mean we should use it back.
I hear it often from my gardener and on a recent trip to Bangkok the taxi drivers made frequent use of it. It is usually used by men of a lower status with people of a higher status. But I have heard expats using ครับผม /kráp pŏm/ with little children, market vendors, and house servants. They should probably just stick with a simple ครับ kráp. By the way, theoretically there is a female equivalent to ครับผม /kráp pŏm/. It is ค่ะท่าน /kâ tâan/. I have never heard this used.
Here are some examples of how ครับผม /kráp pŏm/ is used:
Boss: อย่าขี้เกียจ ไปทำงาน
yàa kêe gìat bpai tam ngaan
Don’t be lazy. Get to work.
Worker: ครับผมนาย
kráp pŏm naai
Yes boss.
And this is heard very often:
General: ต่อสู้ศัตรู
dtòr sôo sàt-dtroo
Fight the enemy.
Private: ครับผม
kráp pŏm
Yes sir! (snapping to attention and saluting).
And if you are ever in the north you will hear the very melodic female ending particle จ้าว /jâow/, with an elongated vowel, spoken by the ladies of Chiang Mai. Bangkok men come up to Chiang Mai just to hear the girls say จ้าว /jâow/. It buckles their knees.
Hugh Leong
Retire 2 Thailand
Retire 2 Thailand: Blog
eBooks in Thailand
Well, the sentences ” Khor-Khao-Duay” and “Khor-Khao-Noy” are actually the same feeling to thai ears. It’s not softened but rather a demanding sentence. To make it softer ,you need to add particle “Krup/Kah” too. “Duay” in that sentences really means “also,too” straight not an ending particle but “noy” ( a little bit) in here means “too” not the literal meaning as “little”. IF you want less than a scoopful rice you need to say ” Khor-Khao-Nid-dieo” “Khor-Khao-Noi-Noi” (น้อย not หน่อย).
ครับผม. That has to be one of the most wrongly used words by people, good explanation here though.
I think it’s because falangs just have it in there minds that you have to constantly say ผม or ครับ constantly otherwise you’re not polite. To me, overuse just sounds cringe-worthy and embarrassing sometimes especially when used with people that you’re close with.
only thing i would add to the article is that โว้ย isn’t as harsh as ว่ะ, you can use it jokingly after hearing something with friends to exaggerate your reaction somewhat
Yes, ครับผม is insanely overused by foreigners. I’m told it sounds a bit absurd coming from a farang, partly for some uncomfortable class hierarchy reasons — i.e., Thais have a hard time imagining a farang sounding so subservient to a Thai. In any case, I’ve pretty much deleted it from my speech.
I’d like to add, however, that I’ve heard it many times from (non-ทอม) women as well. (ค่ะท่าน is totally new to me.) I think the intent is to be playful and just a tad sarcastic, but I was quite confused when I heard it for the first time.
Excellent post Hugh. I have known about and used na & ja but I didn’t realize all the other possibilities. Definitely a list to print out and keep handy as I learn.
Hugh & Catherine – I have heard krap pom spoken to me many times by my girlfriend’s uncle but until now I didn’t realize the reasoning behind it. I have repeated it back to him many times. Whoops.
Thai really does seem a complex language because it involves so many class rules. By that I mean there seems another language within the main language depending on whom you are talking to. Confusing but I’m sure with time it rolls off the tongue naturally.
yes yes yes, thai ending particles carry a lot of meanings, it is a wonderful way to nuance your utterance. And it’s very tricky to give one definition for one ending particle in a “western grammar” style. Maybe it’s too subtle for “western grammar”. The particularly stupid claim that asian languages have no grammar is made by people who lack this subtelty.
But this obsession with ครับ/คะ sounds sometimes unnatural. And this นะครับ/คะ, it’s like a verbal tic that everyone uses every 20 sec in a speach ! As if in english everybody had the verbal tic “isn’t it”.
No such verbal tics in lao where they do use ending particles.
Is there any distinguished linguist around to trace back the origin of this difference between the 2 languages ?
Fantastic article, Hugh. Thanks for writing it. Sometimes it’s very frustrating with words like ด้วย, when I’m constantly thinking it means “also, too” all of the time.
I’m printing this out and studying it this week!