Step 4 of 7
Questions & Negatives
How to ask “…?”, “where?”, and “how much?”, and how to say “not”.
Yes/no questions: end with ไหม
Add ไหม (mǎi) to the end of an ordinary sentence to make a yes/no question. The word order does not change. In conversation it is nearly always pronounced with a high tone, mái (also written มั้ย).
- สบายดีไหมhow are you? → Answer: สบายดีI'm fine
- มีไหมDo you have it?
- ไกลไหมIs it far?
- ลดได้ไหมCan you lower the price?
To answer, it is natural to repeat the verb or adjective from the question. For “can you?”, say ได้can; okay or ไม่ได้can't; not allowed.
Question words
Question words usually go at the end of the sentence.
| Thai | Reading | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| อะไร | a-rai | what | ชื่ออะไรwhat's your name? |
| ที่ไหนwhere | thîi-nǎi | where | ห้องน้ำอยู่ที่ไหนWhere is the bathroom? |
| เท่าไหร่How much is it? | thâo-rài | how much | เท่าไหร่How much is it? |
| กี่ | gìi | how many (+ counting unit) | กี่โมงแล้วwhat time is it? |
| ใคร | khrai | who | |
| เมื่อไหร่ | mʉ̂a-rài | when | |
| ทำไม | tham-mai | why |
“Not”: put ไม่ in front
Place ไม่ (mâi) before a verb or adjective to make it negative.
- เผ็ดspicy (spicy) → ไม่เผ็ดNot spicy, please.
- เข้าใจto understand (to understand) → ไม่เข้าใจI don't understand
- สบายดีI'm fine (fine) → ไม่สบายI'm not feeling well. (unwell)
To say that something is “not” a given noun, use ไม่ใช่ (ใช่yes; that's right → ไม่ใช่no; that's not right).
Quick quiz
Check this page with 5 questions. Choose an answer to see the result and explanation right away.
Q1Which means “is it far?”
Adding ไหม to the end of an ordinary sentence makes a yes/no question. ไม่ไกล means “not far.”
Q2Which means “where is the toilet?”
ที่ไหน (“where”) goes at the end of the sentence. เท่าไหร่ means “how much.”
Q3Which means “not spicy”?
Put ไม่ before a verb or adjective to negate it. ไม่ใช่ is used to negate nouns. เผ็ดไหม means “is it spicy?”
Q4How do you answer “yes, I can” to ลดได้ไหม (“can you give a discount?”)
It is natural to repeat the verb from the question. If you can't, say ไม่ได้.
Q5Which question word means “who”?
ใคร (khrai) means “who.” อะไร is “what,” เมื่อไหร่ is “when,” and ทำไม is “why.”