A1 문제 3 min read 쉬움

태국어 의문 조사 (ไหม)

Simply place mai at the end of your sentence to turn any statement into a yes/no question.
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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Add 'mai' (ไหม) to the end of any statement to turn it into a yes/no question.

  • Place 'mai' at the very end of a sentence: 'Khun sabai dee mai?' (Are you well?)
  • Do not change the word order of the original statement: 'You eat rice' becomes 'You eat rice mai?'
  • Use a rising intonation at the end of the sentence when speaking.
Statement + ไหม (mai) = Question?

Overview

개요
넷플릭스에서 들리는 태국어 질문들이 왜 항상 정중한 소리로 끝나는지 궁금한 적 있나요? 그것이 바로 mai (ไหม) 입니다...

Meanings

The particle 'mai' (ไหม) is used to transform a declarative sentence into a yes/no question.

1

Yes/No Question

Used to ask for confirmation or information.

“ไปไหม (Pai mai?) - Are you going?”

“ชอบไหม (Chob mai?) - Do you like it?”

Basic Question Formation

Statement Add Particle Question Meaning
Khun pai mai Khun pai mai? Are you going?
Khun chob mai Khun chob mai? Do you like it?
Ahan aroi mai Ahan aroi mai? Is the food good?
Khao ma mai Khao ma mai? Is he coming?
Khun sabai mai Khun sabai mai? Are you well?
Khun khao jai mai Khun khao jai mai? Do you understand?

Common Conversational Shortening

Full Form Shortened Form Context
Khun pai mai? Pai mai? Very casual
Khun chob mai? Chob mai? Very casual

Reference Table

Reference table for 태국어 의문 조사 (ไหม)
Type Thai English
Question Particle ไหม mai (yes/no)
Negation ไม่ mai (no/not)
Statement กินข้าว Eat rice
Question กินข้าวไหม Eat rice?

격식 수준 스펙트럼

격식체
คุณจะไปไหมครับ/คะ

คุณจะไปไหมครับ/คะ (Asking about travel)

중립
คุณไปไหม

คุณไปไหม (Asking about travel)

비격식체
ไปไหม

ไปไหม (Asking about travel)

속어
ไปป่ะ

ไปป่ะ (Asking about travel)

The Question Particle

Question Particle

Usage

  • Yes/No Binary choice

Mai vs Mai

Question (High Tone)
ไหม Question?
Negative (Low Tone)
ไม่ No/Not

How to ask

1

Have a statement?

YES
Add 'mai' at the end
NO
Create statement first
2

Is it a yes/no question?

YES
Use 'mai'
NO ↓

When to use

💬

Social

  • • Asking friends
  • • Confirming plans
  • • Ordering food
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Examples by Level

1

คุณหิวไหม

Are you hungry?

2

ไปไหม

Are you going?

3

ชอบไหม

Do you like it?

4

เข้าใจไหม

Do you understand?

1

คุณจะไปที่นั่นไหม

Are you going there?

2

อาหารอร่อยไหม

Is the food delicious?

3

เขามาไหม

Is he coming?

4

คุณมีเวลาไหม

Do you have time?

1

คุณคิดว่าเขาจะมาไหม

Do you think he will come?

2

งานนี้สนุกไหม

Is this event fun?

3

คุณเคยไปที่นั่นไหม

Have you ever been there?

4

เรื่องนี้สำคัญไหม

Is this matter important?

1

คุณแน่ใจไหมว่าเขาพูดจริง

Are you sure he is telling the truth?

2

การตัดสินใจนี้ส่งผลกระทบไหม

Does this decision have an impact?

3

คุณเห็นด้วยกับแผนนี้ไหม

Do you agree with this plan?

4

เราควรจะเริ่มกันเลยไหม

Should we start right now?

1

คุณตระหนักถึงความเสี่ยงไหม

Are you aware of the risks?

2

สถานการณ์นี้เอื้ออำนวยไหม

Is this situation favorable?

3

คุณมีข้อโต้แย้งไหม

Do you have any counterarguments?

4

การเปลี่ยนแปลงนี้มีนัยสำคัญไหม

Is this change significant?

1

คุณพิจารณาถึงผลกระทบในระยะยาวไหม

Have you considered the long-term implications?

2

ข้อเสนอนี้สอดคล้องกับนโยบายไหม

Is this proposal consistent with the policy?

3

คุณเห็นพ้องกับแนวทางนี้ไหม

Do you concur with this approach?

4

บริบทนี้สะท้อนถึงวัฒนธรรมไหม

Does this context reflect the culture?

Easily Confused

The Thai Question Particle (ไหม) 대 Mai (Question) vs Mai (Negative)

They sound similar to beginners.

The Thai Question Particle (ไหม) 대 Mai vs Rue Plao

Both ask yes/no questions.

The Thai Question Particle (ไหม) 대 Mai vs Rue

Both are question particles.

자주 하는 실수

✗

Do you go?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Don't translate English 'do' into Thai.
✗

Khun mai pai?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Confusing negative 'mai' with question 'mai'.
✗

Pai?

✓

Pai mai?

Forgetting the particle.
✗

Khun pai mai khrap?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Over-complicating with polite particles (though polite, focus on the grammar first).
✗

Khun pai rue?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Using 'rue' incorrectly for yes/no.
✗

Khun pai mai plao?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Redundant particles.
✗

Khun pai mai mai?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Doubling up.
✗

Khun pai mai rue plao?

✓

Khun pai rue plao?

Mixing particles.
✗

Khun pai mai chai mai?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Adding 'chai' (is it) unnecessarily.
✗

Khun pai mai ka?

✓

Khun pai mai khrap/ka?

Tone mismatch.
✗

Khun pai mai rue yang?

✓

Khun pai rue yang?

Using 'mai' when 'yang' (yet) is needed.
✗

Khun pai mai ha?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Using wrong particles for register.
✗

Khun pai mai na?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Adding 'na' (softener) to a question.
✗

Khun pai mai rue?

✓

Khun pai mai?

Using 'rue' as a question marker.

Sentence Patterns

Khun ___ mai?

Ahan ___ mai?

Khun mee ___ mai?

Khun chob ___ mai?

Real World Usage

Ordering food constant

Aroi mai?

Texting friends very common

Pai mai?

Job interview common

Khun mee kam tham mai?

Travel very common

Pai [place] mai?

Social media common

Chob mai?

Food delivery apps occasional

Phed mai?

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💡

Tone matters

High tone for ไหม (question), low tone for ไม่ (no).
⚠️

Don't overcomplicate

You don't need 'Do' or 'Does'. Just keep it simple!
💬

Politeness

Add ครับ (male) or ค่ะ (female) after ไหม to be extra polite.

Smart Tips

Use a rising intonation at the end.

Khun pai mai (flat) → Khun pai mai? (rising)

Listen to the context; if it's a question, it's the high-tone 'mai'.

Khun mai pai (negative) → Khun pai mai? (question)

Always add 'khrap' or 'ka' after 'mai'.

Khun pai mai? → Khun pai mai khrap?

Use 'rue plao' if you think the answer might be 'no'.

Khun pai mai? → Khun pai rue plao?

발음

mai (high) vs mài (falling)

Tone of 'mai'

The question 'mai' has a high tone. The negative 'mai' has a falling tone.

Rising

Khun pai mai↑

Signals a question and expectation of an answer.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Think of 'mai' as a 'My' question—'My' question needs an answer!

Visual Association

Imagine a giant question mark (?) made of the Thai word 'ไหม' floating at the end of every sentence you speak.

Rhyme

When you want to know if it's true or not, add 'mai' to the end of the spot.

Story

You are at a market. You point at a mango and say 'Aroi' (delicious). You add 'mai' to make it 'Aroi mai?'. The vendor smiles and says 'Aroi!'. You just learned how to ask a question!

Word Web

ไหมคำถามใช่ไม่หรือถาม

챌린지

Ask 5 people today 'Sabai dee mai?' (Are you well?) and listen for their responses.

문화 노트

Standard usage, very polite when combined with 'khrap/ka'.

Often uses different particles like 'ka' or 'ko' for questions.

Uses 'bo' instead of 'mai'.

The particle 'mai' evolved from an ancient interrogative marker in Tai languages.

Conversation Starters

“

Khun sabai dee mai?

“

Ahan aroi mai?

“

Khun mee wela mai?

“

Khun khao jai rueang nee mai?

Journal Prompts

Write 3 questions you would ask a new friend.
Describe your day and ask if your friend had a good day.
Ask 3 questions about a movie you watched.
Write a dialogue where you ask about travel plans.
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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank

คุณชอบดูหนัง___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ไหม
Use ไหม to create a yes/no question.
Which sentence is correct? 객관식

Choose the correct question:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ไปเที่ยวไหม
The particle ไหม indicates a question.

Score: /2

연습 문제

8 exercises
Add the correct particle.

Khun pai ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: mai
Mai is the question particle.
Which is the correct question? 객관식

A) Do you go? B) Khun pai mai?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: B
Thai doesn't use 'do'.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Do khun chob mai?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Khun chob mai?
Remove 'do'.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

mai / Khun / pai

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Khun pai mai
Subject + Verb + Particle.
Translate to Thai. 번역

Are you hungry?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Khun hiw mai?
Khun (you) hiw (hungry) mai (particle).
Match the question to the meaning. Match Pairs

1. Sabai dee mai? 2. Aroi mai?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: 1. Are you well? 2. Is it tasty?
Sabai dee = well, Aroi = tasty.
Build a question from 'Khun' and 'chob'. Sentence Building

Build it.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Khun chob mai?
Subject + Verb + Particle.
Which particle is for questions? 객관식

Choose one.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ไหม
ไหม is the question particle.

Score: /8

Practice Bank

2 exercises
Add the correct particle 빈칸 채우기

วันนี้เหนื่อย___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ไหม
Fix the sentence Error Correction

คุณไปโรงเรียนไม่?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: คุณไปโรงเรียนไหม?

Score: /2

자주 묻는 질문 (8)

Yes, it is a sentence-final particle.

Yes, it works for 'I', 'you', 'he', 'she', etc.

Your sentence will sound like a statement, not a question.

It is neutral and used in all settings.

Repeat the verb or use 'chai' (yes) / 'mai chai' (no).

No, the verb stays the same.

No, those use their own question words.

No, they have different tones.

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In Other Languages

Chinese high

ma (吗)

Chinese 'ma' is neutral tone; Thai 'mai' is high tone.

Japanese moderate

ka (か)

Japanese 'ka' is more formal; Thai 'mai' is used everywhere.

English low

Do/Does

Thai does not change word order.

Spanish low

Intonation

Thai requires a particle for clarity.

French partial

Est-ce que

Position of the marker.

German none

Verb inversion

Thai structure remains fixed.

Next
태국어 의문사

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A1

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