Personal pronouns : basics

Hi everyone,

Thai has many more personal pronouns than English; age, social status, gender, the relationship between the speakers, the formality of the situation and individual personality all play a part in helping a Thai to decide the most appropriate way to refer to him/herself and address and refer to others in any situation.

Kin terms such as dad, aunt, child status/occupation such as teacher, doctor and personal names or nicknames are also commonly used as personal pronouns.

As a starting point for learners, the personal pronoun system can be simplified to the following;

I (male speaker)           =        Pǒm                       ผม

I (female speaker)        =        Chán                       ฉัน

You                                    =        Kun                         คุณ

He, She                             =        Káo                       เขา

We                                      =        Pûak-Rao, Rao    พวกเรา

They                                  =        Pûak- Káo              พวกเขา

It                                         =        Man                             มัน

Pronouns have a single form for subject and objects:

pǒm chôrp káo

ผมชอบเขา

= I like her/him

káo chôrp pǒm

เขาชอบผม

= She/He likes me.

I prefer to call myself by my nickname, Mod  when I speak to everyone except freinds.

 

Click here to learn more about pronouns here

Click here to learn more about pronouns “I”.

Click here to learn more about pronouns “you”.