Thai Question Words: What, Who, Where, When, Why and How

Thai question words are easy to use because they don’t move. Unlike English, where “what” and “where” jump to the front of the sentence, Thai leaves the question word in the place where the answer will go, which is usually at the end: คุณชื่ออะไร kun chʉ̂ʉ à-rai, literally “you are called what?”. For yes/no questions, you simply add ไหม mǎi to the end of a statement.

Below are the nine question words you need, the five ways to ask yes/no questions, how to answer them, and a list of ready-made questions for getting around Thailand.

The main Thai question words

You will see some of these written in two ways. เมื่อไร and เมื่อไหร่, เท่าไร and เท่าไหร่ are pronounced the same and both are correct; the ไหร่ spellings are more common in everyday writing. อย่างไร yàang-rai is the written, formal “how”; ยังไง yang-ngai is what people actually say.

Why the question word stays in place

The rule is simple: ask the question exactly as you would say the answer, and replace the unknown part with the question word.

มะลิซื้อมะม่วง má-lí sʉ́ʉ má-mûang: Mali buys mangoes.

มะลิซื้ออะไร má-lí sʉ́ʉ à-rai: What does Mali buy?

ใครซื้อมะม่วง krai sʉ́ʉ má-mûang: Who buys mangoes?

This is why ใคร krai comes first in “who buys?” (the subject) but last in คุณรอใคร kun rɔɔ krai, “who are you waiting for?” (the object). Nothing else in the sentence changes: no “do”, no inversion.

Where: ที่ไหน and ไหน

ที่ไหน tîi-nǎi is “where” as a place (“at which place”), typically after อยู่ yùu: ร้านอยู่ที่ไหน ráan yùu tîi-nǎi, “where is the shop?”. After verbs of movement, Thais just say ไหน nǎi: ไปไหน bpai nǎi, “where are you going?”. That one is also a casual greeting, like ไปไหนมา bpai nǎi maa, “where have you been?”. Nobody expects a detailed answer; ไปตลาด bpai dtà-làat (“to the market”) or even ไปเที่ยว bpai tîao (“just out”) is enough.

When and why: the two words that can open a sentence

เมื่อไร mʉ̂a-rài usually goes at the end. Placed at the beginning, it often adds impatience: เมื่อไรจะมา mʉ̂a-rài jà maa sounds like “when are you finally coming?”.

ทำไม tam-mai is the opposite: it normally opens the question. At the end, as in มาทำไม maa tam-mai (“what did you come for?”), it can sound blunt, so be careful with your tone of voice.

How much and how many: เท่าไร and กี่

เท่าไร tâo-rài asks for an amount: a price, an age, a quantity. อายุเท่าไร aa-yú tâo-rài is “how old are you?”, ราคาเท่าไร raa-kaa tâo-rài “what’s the price?”.

กี่ gìi asks for a number of things, and like any number it needs a classifier after it: กี่คน gìi kon (how many people), กี่วัน gìi wan (how many days), กี่โมง gìi moong (what time, literally “how many o’clock”). The guide to Thai classifiers explains which one to choose.

Which: ไหน after a classifier

To say “which”, put ไหน after the classifier of the noun: อันไหน an nǎi (which one, for objects), คนไหน kon nǎi (which person), ร้านไหน ráan nǎi (which shop). At the market, pointing and saying อันไหน or เอาอันนี้ ao an-níi (“I’ll take this one”) goes a long way.

Yes/no questions: ไหม, ใช่ไหม, หรือเปล่า, หรือยัง

Thai has several ways to ask a yes/no question. They are not interchangeable:

A few details that textbooks often skip:

• ไหม is written with a rising tone, but in speech it is usually said with a high tone, mái. In text messages you will even see it spelled มั้ย. The written and spoken forms are the same word.
• ไหม sounds odd with finished past actions. For “did you…?”, Thais prefer หรือเปล่า, which in fast speech often becomes รึเปล่า rʉ́-bplàao. As an answer, เปล่า bplàao alone means “no, not at all”.
• หรือยัง expects either “already” or “not yet”. กินข้าวหรือยัง is also one of the most common Thai greetings, a way of showing you care rather than an invitation to lunch.
• เหรอ rə̌ə at the end expresses surprise: จริงเหรอ jing rə̌ə, “really?”.

How to answer Thai questions

There is no all-purpose “yes” or “no” in Thai. You answer by repeating the verb or adjective of the question, with ไม่ mâi for no:

ไปไหม bpai mǎi? → ไป bpai (yes) / ไม่ไป mâi bpai (no)

เผ็ดไหม pèt mǎi? → เผ็ดนิดหน่อย pèt nít-nɔ̀i (a little) / ไม่เผ็ด mâi pèt (no)

กินข้าวหรือยัง gin kâao rʉ̌ʉ-yang? → กินแล้ว gin lɛ́ɛo (I have) / ยัง yang (not yet)

ถ่ายรูปได้ไหม tàai-rûup dâai mǎi? → ได้ dâai (yes, you can) / ไม่ได้ mâi dâai (no)

ใช่ châi (“that’s right”) answers ใช่ไหม questions and questions about identity. A polite ครับ kráp or ค่ะ kâ on its own also works as “yes, I’m listening” or “yes, agreed”. And always end your question with the polite particle: เท่าไรครับ tâo-rài kráp for men, เท่าไรคะ tâo-rài ká for women (note the high tone of คะ in questions; see our guide to Thai polite particles).

Useful Thai questions for travelers

Taxi and tuk-tuk drivers often answer ไปไหน bpai nǎi before you’ve said anything; you just give the place. Note that ไป…ไหม asks whether the driver is willing to go there, which is the normal first question before negotiating a price. In the story In a tuk-tuk with Lek, Hugo takes a ride to the temple and Lek names his price; in At the market, the first question at the mango stall is the price.

How to practise Thai questions

• Turn statements into questions. Take any sentence you know and replace one part with อะไร, ใคร or ที่ไหน. Because nothing else changes, this is the fastest way to build fluency.
• Learn the answer with the question. หรือยัง goes with แล้ว and ยัง, ไหม with the repeated verb. Practise them as pairs.
• Hear them in real exchanges. Questions are mostly about rhythm and tone. In the Kru May stories, every line of dialogue can be played at natural and slow speed, and in Lost in Bangkok a map and a wrong road put Hugo in exactly the situation where these questions matter.