A1 Word Order 3 min read Fácil

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In Thai, keep the question word exactly where the answer would be in a normal sentence.
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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

To turn a statement into a question in Thai, simply add the particle 'ไหม' (mai) at the very end of your sentence.

  • Place 'ไหม' at the end of a statement: คุณหิวไหม? (Are you hungry?)
  • Do not change the word order of the original sentence: คุณไปไหม? (Are you going?)
  • Use 'ไหม' for yes/no questions only, not for 'who', 'what', or 'where' questions.
Statement + ไหม = Question?

Overview

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Meanings

The particle 'ไหม' acts as a universal question marker for yes/no inquiries, placed at the end of a declarative sentence.

1

Yes/No Question Marker

Used to solicit a confirmation or denial.

“คุณสบายดีไหม?”

“เขาไปทำงานไหม?”

Question Formation

Statement Particle Question
คุณไป ไหม คุณไปไหม?
เขาหิว ไหม เขาหิวไหม?
ชอบ ไหม ชอบไหม?
จะมา ไหม จะมาไหม?
กินข้าว ไหม กินข้าวไหม?
เข้าใจ ไหม เข้าใจไหม?

Reference Table

Reference table for ...
Question Word Meaning Thai Term
Who khrai ใคร
What arai อะไร
Where thii-nai ที่ไหน
When muea-rai เมื่อไหร่
Why thammai ทำไม
How yang-rai อย่างไร

Espectro de formalidade

Formal
คุณจะไปไหมครับ?

คุณจะไปไหมครับ? (Asking a friend to go out.)

Neutro
คุณไปไหม?

คุณไปไหม? (Asking a friend to go out.)

Informal
ไปไหม?

ไปไหม? (Asking a friend to go out.)

Gíria
ไปป่ะ?

ไปป่ะ? (Asking a friend to go out.)

The Question Slot

Sentence

Fillers

  • arai what

English vs Thai

English
What are you doing? Front shifted
Thai
Khun tham arai? In-situ

Question Logic

1

Is it a Yes/No question?

YES
Add 'mai' at end
NO
Use question word

Question Words

❓

Who/What/Where

  • • khrai
  • • arai
  • • thii-nai
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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

คุณจะไปเที่ยวไหม?

Are you going to travel?

2

เขาไม่กินข้าวไหม?

Doesn't he eat rice?

3

วันนี้อากาศดีไหม?

Is the weather good today?

4

คุณมีเวลาไหม?

Do you have time?

1

คุณอยากจะลองชิมไหมครับ?

Would you like to try tasting it?

2

เรื่องนี้คุณรู้ไหม?

Do you know about this matter?

3

เขาจะมาถึงกี่โมง คุณทราบไหม?

Do you know what time he will arrive?

4

คุณเคยไปที่นั่นไหม?

Have you ever been there?

1

คุณคิดว่าแผนนี้จะสำเร็จไหม?

Do you think this plan will succeed?

2

คุณไม่เห็นด้วยกับเขาไหม?

Don't you agree with him?

3

การตัดสินใจครั้งนี้เหมาะสมไหม?

Is this decision appropriate?

4

คุณพอจะช่วยผมได้ไหม?

Could you possibly help me?

1

คุณตระหนักถึงผลกระทบที่จะตามมาไหม?

Are you aware of the consequences that will follow?

2

คุณไม่คิดว่ามันสายเกินไปไหม?

Don't you think it's too late?

3

คุณพร้อมที่จะเผชิญกับความท้าทายนี้ไหม?

Are you ready to face this challenge?

4

คุณได้พิจารณาทางเลือกอื่นแล้วไหม?

Have you considered other options?

1

คุณไม่เห็นหรือว่าสถานการณ์นี้มันซับซ้อนเกินกว่าจะแก้ไขได้ไหม?

Don't you see that this situation is too complex to solve?

2

คุณมั่นใจไหมว่าข้อมูลนี้ถูกต้องแม่นยำ?

Are you certain that this information is accurate?

3

คุณไม่รู้สึกถึงความเปลี่ยนแปลงที่กำลังเกิดขึ้นไหม?

Don't you feel the changes that are happening?

4

คุณจะยืนหยัดในหลักการของคุณไหมแม้ในยามยากลำบาก?

Will you stand by your principles even in difficult times?

Easily Confused

Thai Question Order (In-situ) vs ไหม vs หรือ

Both are used in questions, but 'ไหม' is for yes/no, 'หรือ' is for choices.

Thai Question Order (In-situ) vs ไหม vs หรือเปล่า

Both are yes/no, but 'หรือเปล่า' is more emphatic.

Thai Question Order (In-situ) vs ไหม vs นะ

Both are particles, but 'นะ' is for emphasis/softening.

Erros comuns

✗

ไหม คุณไป?

✓

คุณไปไหม?

Particle must be at the end.
✗

คุณไปอะไร?

✓

คุณไปไหม?

Wrong particle for yes/no.
✗

คุณไปไหมหรือ?

✓

คุณไปไหม?

Redundant particles.
✗

ไปไหมคุณ?

✓

คุณไปไหม?

Subject should be first.
✗

ใครไปไหม?

✓

ใครไป?

Don't use 'ไหม' with 'who'.
✗

คุณไปไหมครับ/ค่ะ?

✓

คุณไปไหมครับ/ค่ะ?

Actually correct, but watch tone.
✗

คุณไม่ไปไหม?

✓

คุณไม่ไปหรือ?

Contextual nuance.
✗

คุณจะไปไหมหรือเปล่า?

✓

คุณจะไปไหม?

Redundant.
✗

ไปไหม?

✓

คุณไปไหม?

Subject drop is okay but context matters.
✗

คุณไปไหมครับไหม?

✓

คุณไปไหมครับ?

Double particle.
✗

คุณไปไหมล่ะ?

✓

คุณไปไหม?

Nuance of 'la' is different.
✗

คุณไปไหมนะ?

✓

คุณไปไหม?

Self-questioning vs. asking.
✗

คุณไปไหมหรือว่า?

✓

คุณไปไหม?

Conjunction error.

Sentence Patterns

คุณ ___ ไหม?

วันนี้ ___ ไหม?

คุณอยาก ___ ไหม?

คุณคิดว่า ___ ไหม?

Real World Usage

Ordering food constant

เอาเผ็ดไหม?

Texting very common

ถึงยังไหม?

Job interview common

คุณมีคำถามไหมครับ?

Travel common

ไปสนามบินไหม?

Social media common

ใครไปบ้างไหม?

Delivery apps common

รับช้อนไหม?

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💡

Don't Overthink

Just treat the question word like a normal noun.

Smart Tips

Always put 'ไหม' at the end.

ไหมคุณไป? → คุณไปไหม?

Don't use 'ไหม'.

ใครไปไหม? → ใครไป?

Add 'ครับ/ค่ะ'.

ไปไหม? → ไปไหมครับ?

Use 'หรือเปล่า'.

เขามาไหม? → เขามาหรือเปล่า?

Pronúncia

mai (rising)

Rising Tone

The particle 'ไหม' has a rising tone, which naturally lifts the pitch at the end of the sentence.

Question Intonation

Sentence + ไหม (rising pitch)

Signals a request for information.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Mai is the guy who ends the question.

Visual Association

Imagine a giant question mark made of the Thai letter 'ไหม' at the end of every sentence you speak.

Rhyme

To make a question, don't be shy, just put at the end a 'mai'.

Story

A tourist goes to Thailand. He wants to know if the bus is coming. He says 'Bus come'. The local smiles and says 'Add mai!'. He says 'Bus come mai?'. The local nods.

Word Web

ไหมถามตอบใช่ไม่หรือ

Desafio

Ask 5 people today 'สบายดีไหม?' (How are you?)

Notas culturais

Standard usage, very polite when combined with 'ครับ' or 'ค่ะ'.

Often uses 'ก่อ' instead of 'ไหม'.

Uses 'บ่' at the end.

The particle 'ไหม' is a grammaticalized form of the verb 'to be' or 'to exist' in older Thai.

Conversation Starters

“

คุณหิวไหม?

“

คุณสบายดีไหม?

“

คุณชอบดูหนังไหม?

“

คุณเคยไปเชียงใหม่ไหม?

Journal Prompts

Write 5 questions you would ask a new friend.
Describe a day and ask yourself questions about it.
Write a dialogue between a customer and a waiter.
Reflect on a decision and ask if it was right.
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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank

Khun pai ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: thii-nai
You are asking about a location, so use 'where' (thii-nai).
Which sentence is correct? Múltipla escolha

Choose the correct question:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Khun chue arai?
Question words stay at the end or in the answer slot.

Score: /2

Exercicios praticos

8 exercises
Add the correct particle.

คุณหิว___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ไหม
It is a question.
Which is a correct question? Múltipla escolha

Select one:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: คุณไปไหม?
Correct word order.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

ใครไปไหม?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ใครไป?
Don't use 'ไหม' with 'who'.
Make this a question. Sentence Transformation

เขาชอบแมว

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: เขาชอบแมวไหม?
Add 'ไหม' at the end.
Is this true? True False Rule

Can you use 'ไหม' for 'what'?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
Use 'อะไร' for what.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: คุณสบายดีไหม? B: ___

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: สบายดี
Standard answer.
Build the sentence. Sentence Building

คุณ / ไป / ไหม / ตลาด

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: คุณไปตลาดไหม?
Subject-Verb-Object-Particle.
Match the question to the answer. Match Pairs

คุณหิวไหม?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: หิว
Matches the verb.

Score: /8

Practice Bank

1 exercises
Fix the sentence Error Correction

Khrai khun hen?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Khun hen khrai?

Score: /1

Perguntas frequentes (8)

Only for yes/no questions.

Always at the very end.

It is neutral.

Check your word order.

Yes, very similar.

Yes, it is essential.

Yes, 'ไหมครับ' is perfect.

People might not know you are asking a question.

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In Other Languages

Japanese high

ka

Japanese 'ka' is often omitted in casual speech, while 'ไหม' is more persistent.

Chinese high

ma

Thai 'ไหม' has a specific rising tone, while Mandarin 'ma' is neutral.

Spanish low

None

Spanish relies on syntax and punctuation.

French low

est-ce que

Thai is suffix-based, French is prefix-based.

German low

None

German changes word order.

Arabic low

hal

Arabic is prefix-based.

Previous
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Related Grammar Rules

A1

Dominando a ordem das palavras em tailandês (Sujeito-Verbo-Objeto)

(Portuguese translation placeholder)
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