Thai Question Words

Asking questions is one of the first skills you need when learning any language. In Thai, question words work differently from English in one crucial way: they generally stay in the position of the answer rather than moving to the front of the sentence. This guide covers every essential Thai question word, shows you exactly where to place them, and gives you dozens of ready-to-use example sentences.

The Golden Rule: Question Word Placement

In English, question words move to the beginning of the sentence. "You eat what?" becomes "What do you eat?" Thai does not do this. The question word stays right where the answer would go.

English: Where do you live? Thai: คุณอยู่ที่ไหน (kun yùu tîi nǎi) — literally "You live where?"

This means that to form a question, you take a statement and replace the unknown piece with the appropriate question word. The rest of the sentence stays the same.

Statement: เขาไปเชียงใหม่ (kǎo bpai chiang mài) – He goes to Chiang Mai. Question: เขาไปที่ไหน (kǎo bpai tîi nǎi) – He goes where?

Once you internalize this pattern, Thai questions become remarkably easy.

ใคร (krai) – Who

ใคร asks about a person's identity. It can function as a subject or object.

As Subject (Who did something?)

As Object (Verb done to whom?)

Useful Phrases with ใคร

• นี่ของใคร (nîi kǎwng krai) – Whose is this?
• ใครก็ได้ (krai gâw dâi) – Anyone / whoever is fine.

อะไร (à-rai) – What

อะไร is one of the most frequently used question words in Thai. It asks about things, actions, and reasons.

อะไร as "Something" or "Anything"

In non-question contexts, อะไร can mean "something" or "anything":

• อยากกินอะไรไหม (yàak gin à-rai mǎi) – Do you want to eat something?
• ไม่มีอะไร (mâi mii à-rai) – It is nothing. / There is nothing.
• อะไรก็ได้ (à-rai gâw dâi) – Anything is fine.

ที่ไหน (tîi nǎi) – Where

ที่ไหน asks about location. It appears where the location answer would go in a statement.

ไหน (nǎi) Alone – Which

Without ที่, the word ไหน means "which":

• อันไหน (an nǎi) – Which one?
• คนไหน (kon nǎi) – Which person?
• ร้านไหน (ráan nǎi) – Which shop?
• ทางไหน (taang nǎi) – Which way?

เมื่อไหร่ (mûea rài) – When

เมื่อไหร่ asks about time. It is flexible in placement and can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Note: เมื่อไร (mûea rai) is the standard dictionary spelling; เมื่อไหร่ is the informal spelling you will see far more often in practice. They are pronounced identically.

ทำไม (tam-mai) – Why

ทำไม is one of the few Thai question words that typically goes at the beginning of the sentence, similar to English.

ทำไม at the End

ทำไม can also go at the end for a more casual or softer tone:

• ไม่กินทำไม (mâi gin tam-mai) – Why aren't you eating?
• ไม่บอกทำไม (mâi bàwk tam-mai) – Why didn't you tell me?

อย่างไร (yàang rai) / ยังไง (yang ngai) – How

อย่างไร is the formal written form. In everyday conversation, nearly everyone uses ยังไง instead.

The phrase เป็นยังไงบ้าง is one of the most common casual greetings among friends — similar to "How's it going?" in English.

เท่าไหร่ (tâo rài) – How Much

เท่าไหร่ asks about amounts, prices, and quantities of uncountable things.

At markets and shops, เท่าไหร่ครับ/คะ is probably the single most useful phrase you can know.

กี่ (gìi) – How Many

กี่ is used for countable things and always appears before a classifier (the Thai equivalent of a counting word).

กี่ vs. เท่าไหร่

A common question for learners: when do you use กี่ versus เท่าไหร่?

• Use กี่ + classifier for countable nouns (people, days, items, etc.)
• Use เท่าไหร่ for uncountable amounts, prices, and measurements

ไหม (mǎi) – Yes/No Questions

ไหม is the most common particle for turning a statement into a yes/no question. Simply add it to the end.

Statement: คุณชอบอาหารไทย (kun châwp aa-hǎan thai) – You like Thai food. Question: คุณชอบอาหารไทยไหม (kun châwp aa-hǎan thai mǎi) – Do you like Thai food?

Answering Yes/No Questions

To answer yes, repeat the main verb or adjective. To answer no, add ไม่ (mâi) before it.

• ชอบไหม → ชอบ (yes) / ไม่ชอบ (no)
• ร้อนไหม → ร้อน (yes) / ไม่ร้อน (no)
• เข้าใจไหม → เข้าใจ (yes) / ไม่เข้าใจ (no)

There is no single word for "yes" or "no" in Thai. The verb itself serves that function.

ใช่ไหม (châi mǎi) – Tag Questions

ใช่ไหม works like "right?" or "isn't it?" at the end of a sentence to confirm something you believe is true.

• คุณเป็นคนญี่ปุ่นใช่ไหม (kun bpen kon yîi bpùn châi mǎi) – You are Japanese, right?
• วันนี้วันศุกร์ใช่ไหม (wan níi wan sùk châi mǎi) – Today is Friday, right?
• แพงใช่ไหม (paeng châi mǎi) – It is expensive, isn't it?

Answer: ใช่ (châi – yes/correct) or ไม่ใช่ (mâi châi – no/not correct).

หรือ (rǔue) – Or-Questions

หรือ creates choice questions by linking two options.

หรือเปล่า (rǔue bplào) – Another Yes/No Pattern

หรือเปล่า is an alternative to ไหม for yes/no questions, with a slightly different nuance. It implies the speaker somewhat expects the answer to be "no" or is genuinely uncertain.

• คุณเป็นคนไทยหรือเปล่า (kun bpen kon thai rǔue bplào) – Are you Thai (or not)?
• เขามาหรือเปล่า (kǎo maa rǔue bplào) – Did he come (or not)?

Question Word Summary Table

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Putting Question Words at the Beginning

English speakers instinctively want to front question words. Resist this urge for all words except ทำไม.

Wrong: อะไรคุณกิน (à-rai kun gin) Correct: คุณกินอะไร (kun gin à-rai) – What do you eat?

Forgetting Classifiers with กี่

กี่ always needs a classifier. You cannot say กี่ alone.

Wrong: มีกี่ (mii gìi) Correct: มีกี่อัน (mii gìi an) – How many (pieces) are there?

Mixing Up ไหม and ไหม้ and ใหม่

These three words look similar but are completely different:

Getting the tone wrong can turn "Is it delicious?" into "Is it burned?" — a sentence your host definitely does not want to hear.

Practice Patterns

Try forming questions by replacing the bolded answer with the correct question word:

1. เขาไปเชียงใหม่ → เขาไปที่ไหน (Where does he go?)
2. สมชายโทรมา → ใครโทรมา (Who called?)
3. เขากินส้มตำ → เขากินอะไร (What does he eat?)
4. เรามาสามคน → เรามากี่คน (How many people came?)
5. ราคาร้อยบาท → ราคาเท่าไหร่ (How much is the price?)

Once this substitution pattern clicks, you can ask virtually any question in Thai. The question word simply replaces the piece of information you do not know — and everything else stays in place.