B2 Passive & Reported Speech 5 min read かんたん

Reported Speech with 'Tha' (Indirect Discourse)

Use ថា to bridge reporting verbs and statements without ever changing the original verb's tense.
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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Use 'tha' (ថា) as a bridge to report what someone else said, thought, or felt.

  • Place 'tha' immediately after the verb of communication (e.g., 'niyeay tha' - said that).
  • Keep the original tense of the reported statement unless the context requires a shift.
  • Use 'tha' to connect thoughts, beliefs, and speech to the main subject.
Subject + Verb (say/think) + ថា (tha) + Reported Clause

Overview

Ever wondered how to spill the tea in Khmer? Or maybe you just need to tell your boss what a client said during a meeting. Either way, you need a bridge to connect who said what.
In English, we use the word that for this. In Khmer, that magic bridge is the word ថា. It is the ultimate tool for indirect discourse.
It allows you to report thoughts, statements, and even rumors without quoting someone word-for-word. Think of it as the glue of Khmer conversation. It connects a reporting verb like say or think to the actual information.
Without it, your sentences might feel like a bunch of random thoughts floating in space.

How This Grammar Works

Here is the best news you will hear all day. Khmer reported speech is much easier than English. In English, you have to backshift tenses.
If someone says I am hungry, you report it as
He said he was hungry.
In Khmer, we don't do that. We don't have tense changes. If they are hungry now, they are hungry in your report.
You just take the original sentence and stick it after ថា. The only thing you really need to keep an eye on is pronouns. If Dara says, I am busy, you report it as
Dara said ថា he is busy.
You change I to he so people don't think you are the busy one.
It’s like a grammar traffic light—ថា gives you the green light to share information.

Formation Pattern

1
Creating a reported sentence is a simple four-step process.
2
Start with the subject (the person who spoke or thought).
3
Choose your reporting verb. Common ones include និយាយ (to speak), ប្រាប់ (to tell), or គិត (to think).
4
Add the connector word ថា immediately after the verb.
5
State the information being reported, adjusting only the pronouns to fit the context.
6
Pattern: [Subject] + [Reporting Verb] + ថា + [Reported Statement].
7
Example: គាត់និយាយថាគាត់ស្រលាញ់ស្រុកខ្មែរ (He said that he loves Cambodia).

When To Use It

You will use this pattern constantly in daily life.
  • Reporting facts: Use it when you tell a friend what the news said. ព័ត៌មាននិយាយថាថ្ងៃនេះមេឃភ្លៀង (The news said that it will rain today).
  • Sharing thoughts: Use it to express what you believe. ខ្ញុំគិតថាម្ហូបនេះឆ្ងាញ់ (I think that this food is delicious).
  • Work scenarios: In a job interview, you might say,
    My previous manager told me ថា I am a hard worker.
  • Ordering food: If your friend is shy, you can tell the waiter,
    He said ថា he wants the spicy noodles.
  • Asking directions:
    That local man told me ថា the pagoda is just around the corner.

When Not To Use It

Don't use ថា when you are using direct quotes with quotation marks. If you are reading a book and it says: Dara said, Stop!, you don't need ថា. Also, avoid using it with verbs that don't involve communication or mental states.
You wouldn't say
I ran ថា I am tired.
That just sounds like you're trying to invent a new language. Lastly, don't confuse it with ដែល. While both can translate to that in English, ដែល is for describing nouns, while ថា is for reporting information.
Yes, even native speakers mess this up when they are tired, but you're a pro, so you won't!

Common Mistakes

The biggest mistake is trying to be too English with your tenses. Do not try to find a past tense version of the verb inside the reported clause. If you say គាត់និយាយថាគាត់បានឃ្លាន to mean
He said he was hungry,
it sounds like he was hungry a long time ago and isn't anymore. Just keep it simple. Another mistake is forgetting to change the pronoun. If you say ដារ៉ានិយាយថាខ្ញុំរវល់, you are literally saying
Dara said that I (the speaker) am busy.
Dara might be confused why you're taking his excuses! Finally, some learners drop the ថា entirely. While you might be understood, it sounds very blunt and choppy. It’s like eating a sandwich without the bread—messy.

Contrast With Similar Patterns

You might see ឮថា (lue tha) and wonder how it differs from និយាយថា. និយាយថា is for when you definitely heard someone speak. ឮថា is for rumors or things you heard through the grapevine. It's the Khmer version of I heard that... or Rumor has it. Then there is តាមដែលខ្ញុំដឹង (From what I know).
This is more formal and used when you want to cite your own knowledge rather than a specific person's words. Think of ថា as the general-purpose tool in your belt, while these others are for specific jobs. It's like having a Swiss Army knife versus a specialized screwdriver.

Quick FAQ

Q

Is ថា always necessary?

In formal writing, yes. In casual speech, people sometimes skip it, but using it makes you sound much more fluent.

Q

Can I use ថា to report a question?

Yes! You just add the question word like តើ after ថា. For example:

He asked ថា where I am going.

Q

Does ថា mean anything else?

Yes, as a verb on its own, it can mean to say or even to scold in certain contexts, but as a connector, it always means that.

Q

Is it the same as the Thai word wa?

Exactly! If you know Thai, this is a 1:1 match. If not, don't worry, you're learning the better version anyway (just kidding, Thai is cool too)!

Reported Speech Structure

Subject Reporting Verb Connector Reported Clause
គាត់
និយាយ
ថា
គាត់ទៅ
នាង
គិត
ថា
វាល្អ
គេ
ប្រាប់
ថា
គាត់មក
ខ្ញុំ
ជឿ
ថា
វាពិត
គ្រូ
សួរ
ថា
អ្នកសុខសប្បាយទេ
ម៉ាក់
ប្រាប់
ថា
កុំទៅ
គាត់
យល់
ថា
វាពិបាក
គេ
អះអាង
ថា
មិនដឹង

Meanings

The particle 'tha' (ថា) functions as a conjunction that introduces indirect speech, thoughts, or beliefs.

1

Reporting Speech

Used to relay what someone said.

“នាងប្រាប់ខ្ញុំថាគាត់រវល់។”

“គេនិយាយថាវាឆ្ងាញ់។”

2

Reporting Thoughts/Beliefs

Used to express opinions or internal states.

“ខ្ញុំគិតថាវាល្អ។”

“គាត់យល់ថាវាពិបាក។”

Reference Table

Reference table for Reported Speech with 'Tha' (Indirect Discourse)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
S + V + ថា + C
គាត់ថាគាត់មក
Negative
S + មិន + V + ថា + C
គាត់មិនថាគាត់មកទេ
Question
តើ S + V + ថា + C + ដែរឬទេ?
តើគាត់ថាគាត់មកដែរឬទេ?
Thought
S + គិត + ថា + C
ខ្ញុំគិតថាវាល្អ
Belief
S + ជឿ + ថា + C
គេជឿថាវាពិត
Command
S + ប្រាប់ + ថា + ឲ្យ + V
គាត់ប្រាប់ថាឲ្យទៅ

フォーマル度スペクトル

フォーマル
គាត់បានមានប្រសាសន៍ថាគាត់រវល់។

គាត់បានមានប្រសាសន៍ថាគាត់រវល់។ (Reporting status)

ニュートラル
គាត់និយាយថាគាត់រវល់។

គាត់និយាយថាគាត់រវល់។ (Reporting status)

カジュアル
គាត់ថាគាត់រវល់។

គាត់ថាគាត់រវល់។ (Reporting status)

スラング
គាត់ថាគាត់រវល់ហ្នឹង។

គាត់ថាគាត់រវល់ហ្នឹង។ (Reporting status)

The Tha Bridge

ថា (Tha)

Verbs

  • និយាយ speak
  • គិត think
  • ប្រាប់ tell
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レベル別の例文

1

គាត់ថាគាត់ឃ្លាន។

He says he is hungry.

2

នាងថាអត់ទេ។

She says no.

1

ខ្ញុំគិតថាវាស្អាត។

I think it is beautiful.

2

គេប្រាប់ថាគាត់មក។

They told me he is coming.

1

គាត់និយាយថាគាត់នឹងទៅផ្សារ។

He said that he will go to the market.

2

គ្រូថាថ្ងៃនេះយើងរៀនមេរៀនថ្មី។

The teacher said we are learning a new lesson today.

1

មិត្តភក្តិខ្ញុំជឿថាគម្រោងនេះនឹងជោគជ័យ។

My friend believes that this project will be successful.

2

គេបានប្រកាសថាការប្រជុំត្រូវបានពន្យារពេល។

They announced that the meeting has been postponed.

1

គាត់បានអះអាងថាគាត់មិនបានដឹងរឿងនេះទេ។

He claimed that he did not know about this.

2

អ្នកជំនាញយល់ឃើញថាបញ្ហានេះត្រូវការដំណោះស្រាយជាបន្ទាន់។

Experts perceive that this issue requires an urgent solution.

1

សេចក្តីរាយការណ៍បានបញ្ជាក់ថាស្ថានភាពកំពុងតែប្រសើរឡើង។

The report confirmed that the situation is improving.

2

គេសន្និដ្ឋានថាការផ្លាស់ប្តូរនេះនឹងមានផលប៉ះពាល់រយៈពេលវែង។

They concluded that this change will have long-term effects.

間違えやすい

Reported Speech with 'Tha' (Indirect Discourse) 対 Tha vs. Pi

Learners mix up reporting speech (tha) with talking about a topic (pi).

Reported Speech with 'Tha' (Indirect Discourse) 対 Tha vs. Doy

Confusing the connector 'tha' with the preposition 'doy'.

Reported Speech with 'Tha' (Indirect Discourse) 対 Tha vs. Te

Confusing the connector with the negative marker.

よくある間違い

✗

គាត់និយាយគាត់ទៅ

✓

គាត់និយាយថាគាត់ទៅ

Missing the connector 'tha'.
✗

គាត់ថាទៅ

✓

គាត់និយាយថាគាត់ទៅ

Missing subject in clause.
✗

គាត់និយាយថាគាត់បានទៅ

✓

គាត់និយាយថាគាត់ទៅ

Unnecessary tense change.
✗

ខ្ញុំគិតវាល្អ

✓

ខ្ញុំគិតថាវាល្អ

Missing 'tha' after 'think'.
✗

គាត់ប្រាប់ថាទៅផ្ទះ

✓

គាត់ប្រាប់ថាគាត់ទៅផ្ទះ

Ambiguous subject.
✗

តើគាត់និយាយថាគាត់ទៅទេ?

✓

តើគាត់និយាយថាគាត់ទៅដែរឬទេ?

Incorrect question structure.
✗

គាត់និយាយថាវាគឺជាល្អ

✓

គាត់និយាយថាវាល្អ

Over-translating 'is'.
✗

គេជឿថាវាគឺពិត

✓

គេជឿថាវាពិត

Redundant 'is'.
✗

គាត់សួរថាគាត់ទៅឬអត់

✓

គាត់សួរថាគាត់ទៅឬអត់?

Missing question mark.
✗

គាត់អះអាងថាគាត់មិនបានដឹង

✓

គាត់អះអាងថាគាត់មិនដឹង

Over-using past tense markers.
✗

គេសន្និដ្ឋានថាវាត្រូវតែជាការល្អ

✓

គេសន្និដ្ឋានថាវាល្អ

Wordy translation.
✗

អ្នកជំនាញយល់ឃើញថាវាគួរតែមានដំណោះស្រាយ

✓

អ្នកជំនាញយល់ឃើញថាវាមានដំណោះស្រាយ

Unnecessary modal verbs.

文型パターン

ខ្ញុំគិតថា ___ ។

គាត់និយាយថា ___ ។

គេជឿថា ___ ។

Real World Usage

Texting very common

គេថាគេមកដល់ហើយ។

Workplace common

អ្នកគ្រប់គ្រងថាខ្ញុំធ្វើបានល្អ។

Travel common

គេថាផ្លូវនេះបិទ។

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💡

Keep it simple

Don't worry about changing tenses. Just report the facts as they were said.
⚠️

Don't skip it

Omitting 'tha' makes your sentence sound broken or incomplete.
🎯

Use with 'think'

Using 'kit tha' is the best way to express your opinion clearly.

Smart Tips

Always include the subject in the clause.

គាត់និយាយថាទៅ → គាត់និយាយថាគាត់ទៅ

Use 'kit tha' for clear opinions.

ខ្ញុំគិតវាល្អ → ខ្ញុំគិតថាវាល្អ

Use 'tha' to report what was told.

គាត់ប្រាប់ទៅ → គាត់ប្រាប់ថាឲ្យទៅ

発音

/tʰaː/

Tha

Pronounced as a short, aspirated 't' followed by a flat 'a'.

Reporting

Subject + Verb + ថា ↗

Rising intonation on 'tha' indicates more info follows.

暗記しよう

記憶術

Think of 'Tha' as a 'That' bridge. It connects the speaker to the message.

視覚的連想

Imagine a bridge labeled 'THA' connecting two islands: the speaker and the message.

Rhyme

When you want to say what they said, just add 'tha' to get ahead.

Story

Sok says something. He uses 'tha' to pass the message to me. I hear the 'tha' and know it's his words, not mine.

Word Web

និយាយថាគិតថាប្រាប់ថាជឿថាយល់ថាសួរថា

チャレンジ

Write 5 sentences today reporting what your friends or family said using 'tha'.

文化メモ

Using 'tha' is very common in polite speech to attribute opinions to others, avoiding direct confrontation.

The particle 'tha' is derived from ancient Khmer roots meaning 'to say'.

会話のきっかけ

“

តើអ្នកគិតថាថ្ងៃនេះអាកាសធាតុយ៉ាងម៉េចដែរ?

“

តើគ្រូនិយាយថាអ្វីខ្លះ?

“

តើគេជឿថាអ្វីនឹងកើតឡើង?

日記のテーマ

Write about what your friend told you today.
Write about your opinion on a recent news event.
Summarize a meeting or class you attended.

よくある間違い

Incorrect

正解

Incorrect

正解

Incorrect

正解

Incorrect

正解

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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank with 'tha'.

គាត់និយាយ ___ គាត់ទៅ។

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ថា
Tha is the correct connector.
Choose the correct sentence. 選択問題

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: គាត់ថាគាត់ទៅ
Includes subject in clause.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

Arrange the words in the correct order:

All words placed

Click words above to build the sentence

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: គាត់និយាយថាគាត់ទៅ
Correct SVO structure.
Translate to Khmer. 翻訳

He thinks that it is good.

Answer starts with: គាត...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: គាត់គិតថាវាល្អ
Correct verb and connector.

Score: /4

練習問題

4 exercises
Fill in the blank with 'tha'.

គាត់និយាយ ___ គាត់ទៅ។

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ថា
Tha is the correct connector.
Choose the correct sentence. 選択問題

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: គាត់ថាគាត់ទៅ
Includes subject in clause.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

ថា / គាត់ / និយាយ / គាត់ / ទៅ

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: គាត់និយាយថាគាត់ទៅ
Correct SVO structure.
Translate to Khmer. 翻訳

He thinks that it is good.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: គាត់គិតថាវាល្អ
Correct verb and connector.

Score: /4

よくある質問 (6)

No, Khmer does not require tense shifts like English.

Yes, you can use it to report questions.

It is neutral and used in all registers.

You likely missed the subject in the reported clause.

'Tha' reports content, 'pi' introduces a topic.

Yes, it is very common in informal texting.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish high

que

Spanish requires verb conjugation changes; Khmer does not.

French high

que

French has complex tense agreement rules.

German moderate

dass

German changes sentence structure (verb to end).

Japanese high

to

Japanese 'to' is a particle; Khmer 'tha' is a conjunction.

Arabic moderate

anna

Arabic 'anna' requires specific case endings.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Formal Passive with 'Trauv Ban' (Neutral/Formal Passive)
Next
Concessive Connectors with 'Toubi Chea' (Even though/If)

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