To Be in the Thai Language

Like in English, the verb 'to be' in Thai is more complicated than others, following its own unique set of rules. Thus, it's important for new learners to memorise the different forms so that you can then use this word in the proper manner. Luckily, there are only three situations you need to remember so that you can speak as naturally as possible.

Subject Plus Adjective

Here, we have sentences such as 'I am fat' or 'The dog is hungry'. In this case, Thai doesn't include a verb at all. Thus, the previous examples are said like ผมอ้วน (pom uuan) and หมาหิว (maa hiu). This is literally 'I fat' and 'dog hungry'. If the adjective follows the subject, omit the verb before it. Here are some more examples to further your understanding:

1. The coffee is expensive = กาแฟแพง (gaa-faae paaeng)
2. You are beautiful = คุณสวย (kun suuay)
3. My father is smart = พ่อฉลาด (paw cha-laat)
4. The shirt is blue = เสื้อสีน้ำเงิน (seeua sii-nam-ngeern)

Subject Plus Noun

If the subject is followed by any sort of noun, the word เป็น (bpen) means 'to be'. Here, the subject has to be an actual object and NOT the words นี่ (nii), นั่น (nan), or โน่น (noon). Some example sentences are 'My mother is a nurse' or 'Bangkok is a capital city'. In Thai, these sentences are said as แม่เป็นนางพยาบาล (maae bpen naang-pa-yaa-baan) and กรุงเทพเป็นเมืองหลวง (grung-teep bpen meeuang-luuang) respectively. As you can see, these sentences follow the English structure of subject + to be + object. In this case, the word เป็น doesn't change form depending on the subject though. The sole exception to this is found below. If you're interested, here are some further examples:

1. My house is a condo = บ้านของผมเป็นคอนโด (baan kawng pom bpen kawn-doo)
2. I am a student = ผมเป็นนักศึกษา (pom bpen nak-seuk-saa)
3. This dish is pizza = จานนี้เป็นพิซซ่า (jaan nii bpen pis-saa)
4. That person is Japanese = คนนั้นเป็นคนญี่ปุ่น (kon nan bpen kon yee-bpun)

This/That Plus Noun

Occasionally, you'll need to say something like 'This is a pen' or 'That is a snake'. When using the words, this and that, i.e. นี่ (nii), นั่น (nan), and โน่น (noon) in Thai, the word คือ (keeu) means 'to be'. Therefore, we say the above examples as นี่คือปากกา (nii keeu bpaa-gaa) and นั้นคืองู (nan keeu nguu) respectively. This follows the same structure as above, except that we MUST use คือ and not เป็น in this scenario. Again, here are some more examples for you:

1. That is your book = โน่นคือหนังสือของคุณ (nan keeu nang-seeu kawng kun)
2. This is a fridge = นี่คือตู้เย็น (nii keeu duu-yen)
3. That is my sister = นั่นคือน้องสาว (nan keeu nawng-saao)
4. This is a glass = นี่คือแก้ว (nii keeu gaaew)

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to leave them in the comment box below. I hope this has been informative and I look forward to seeing you in my next blog!