What is a Thai classifier? And do I need to learn it? Let’s find out the answers for you.
What is a Thai classifier?
It is a word that is used with a noun. Some nouns can share the same classifier. You use it when you are talking about a specific noun and when counting a number of it.
For example,
To say ‘this friend’ in Thai, you will say คน นี้ (phɨ̂an khon níi).
เพื่อน- เพื่อน (phɨ̂an) is a noun
- คน (khon) is a classifier
- นี้ (níi) means this
To say ‘3 friends’ in Thai, you will say คน (phɨ̂an sǎam khon).
เพื่อน 3- เพื่อน (phɨ̂an) is a noun
- 3 (sǎam) means three
- คน (khon) is a classifier
There is a noun whose classifier is the same as itself. In this case, you can drop the noun to avoid saying it repeatedly.
For example,
The classifier of the word ปี (pii) which means a year is ปี (pii) itself.
To say ‘this year’ in Thai, you will say ปี นี้ (pii níi) instead of ปี ปี นี้ (pii pii níi)
- ปี (pii) is a noun (which is omitted)
- ปี (pii) is a classifier
- นี้ (níi) means this
To say ‘3 years’ in Thai, you will say ปี (sǎam pii) instead of ปี 3 ปี (pii 3 pii)
3- ปี (pii) is a noun (which is omitted)
- 3 (sǎam) means three
- ปี (pii) is a classifier
How many Thai classifiers are there?
There are a lot! But you don’t need to know them all. I don’t! You just learn the classifiers of the nouns that you will use, such as a classifier for a house, a book, a car, a person, an animal, etc.
If you play ขลุ่ย (khlùy) which is a flute, you will need to learn its classifier which is เลา (law). But if you don’t think you will talk about it, then you don’t have to learn it.
Do I need to learn the Thai classifier?
Without using the classifier, many of the Thai people should be able to understand you. But it will just sound strange to us in most cases.
Let’s look at this.
To say ‘this dog’ correctly in Thai, you will say ตัว นี้ (mǎa tua níi)’. If you say, หมา นี้ (mǎa níi), Thai will understand you anyway but it just won’t sound right to us.
‘หมาTo say ‘3 dogs’ correctly in Thai, you will say ตัว (mǎa sǎam tua)’. If you say, หมา 3 (mǎa sǎam) or 3 หมา (sǎam mǎa), we can guess what you mean but this is going to sound pretty strange.
‘หมา 3How strange is it? It’s like I say ‘I have dog three.’ instead of ‘I have three dogs.’ in English. You’ll probably understand what I mean but you know it’s not right.
So, I would suggest you learn and use classifiers when you use the Thai language. I have for you below some basic classifiers and how to use them.
Some useful Thai classifiers
1. Classifier that is different from its noun.
Specific people like family members, friends, workers, employees, teachers, etc.
Things that have body parts (legs, arms) like tables, chairs, clothes, etc.
Things come in pairs like shoes, socks, gloves, etc.
Houses, cottages
Wheeled vehicles like bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, etc.
Books, knifes
Bags, hats, cards, leaves, plates
Small things like rulers, toothbrushes, ashtrays, glasses, etc.
Note: This classifier is normally used when people don’t know the classifier of a thing. It’s normally acceptable when you use it with small things.
Let’s say, if you don’t know the classifier for a pen, you can use อัน (ʔan).
For example,
– phǒm mii pàak-kaa 2 ʔan.
– I have 2 pens.
The right classifier for a pen is
ด้าม (dâam).
Machine, television, radio, computer, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, fan, air-conditioner, etc.
Note: Nowadays, it’s acceptable to use the classifier ตัว (tua) with a computer, air-conditioner, or fan.
2. Classifier that is the same as its noun
The time words
วินาที (wí-naathii) – seconds,
นาที (naathii) – mintues,
ชั่วโมง (chûamooŋ) – hours,
วัน (wan) – days,
อาทิตย์ (ʔaathít) – weeks,
เดือน (dɨan) – months,
ปี (pii) – years
ภาษา (phaasǎa) – language, ประโยค (prayòok) – sentence, คำ (kham) – word
คน (khon) – person, people
ครอบครัว (khrɔ̂ɔp-khrua) – family (as a whole)
สี (sǐi) – colors
ประเทศ (prathêet) – country, เมือง (mɨaŋ) – city, จังหวัด (caŋ-wàt) – province
How to use the Thai classifier?
1. Use a Thai classifier when counting the nouns
This includes when you count something in numbers and also with words like
บาง (baaŋ) – some, ทุก (thúk) – every, หลาย (lǎay) – many, แต่ละ (tæ̀æ-lá) – each, and อีก (ʔìik) – another. You also use it with a question กี่ (kìi) – how many? since the question asks for the number of the noun.Noun with its classifier
Structure(1) : noun + number/amount + classifier
ตัว
– phɨ̂an chán mii mǎa 7 tua.
– My friend has 7 dogs.
คัน
– phɔ̂ɔ chán mii mɔɔtəəsay 1 khan.
– My dad has 1 motorcycle.
เล่ม
– chán ca sɨ́ɨ nǎŋsɨ̌ɨ 2 lêm
– I will buy 2 books.
อัน
– chán mii prææŋ-sǐi-fan 2 ʔan.
– I have 2 toothbrushes.
คน
– phǒm sanìt kàp phɨ̂an baaŋ khon.
– I’m close to some friends.
คู่ ของ ผม เป็น สีขาว
– rɔɔŋ-tháaw thúk khûu khɔ̌ɔŋ phǒm pen sǐi khǎaw.
– Every pair of my shoes is white.
อัน
– phɔ̂ɔ chán mii wæ̂n-taa lǎay ʔan.
– My dad has many pairs of glasses.
หลัง ราคา ต่างกัน
– bâan tæ̀æ-lá lǎŋ raakhaa tàaŋ-kan.
– Each house cost differently.
เครื่อง
– kháw yàak dâay khɔmphíwtə̂ə ʔìik khrɨ̂aŋ.
– She wants another computer.
ใบ
– khun mii bàt-khreedìt kìi bay.
– How many credit cards you have?
Noun that its classifier is the same
Structure(2) : noun + number/amount + classifier
นาที
– phǒm mii 3 naathii.
– I have 3 minutes.
สี
– mǎa kháw mii 2 sǐi.
– His dog has 2 colors.
ห้อง
– rooŋ-rææm níi mii 50 hɔ̂ŋ.
– This hotel has 50 rooms.
ภาษา
– phǒm phûut dâay 5 phaasǎa.
– I can speak 5 languages.
คน ที่นี่
– phǒm rúu càk baaŋ khon thîi-nîi.
– I know some people here.
นาที มี ค่า
– thúk naathii mii khâa.
– Every minute counts.
ประเทศ
– kháw khəəy pay lǎay prathêet.
– He has been to many countries.
ครอบครัว มี วัฒนธรรม ต่างกัน
– tæ̀æ-lá khrɔ̂ɔp-khrua mii wátthanátham tàaŋ-kan.
– Each family has a different culture.
อาทิตย์
– phǒm ca yùu Thai ʔìik ʔaathíit.
– I will stay in Thailand for another week.
คำ
– khun cam dâay kìi kham.
– How many words do you remember?
2. Use the Thai classifier with the determiners
The determiners include นี้ (níi) – this, นั้น (nán) – that, ไหน (nǎy) – which, and อื่น (ʔɨ̀ɨn) – other.
Noun with its classifier
Structure(3) : noun + classifier + determiners
ตัว นี้
– kháw ca khǎay kâawʔîi tua níi.
– He will sell this chair.
ใบ นั้น แตก
– phǒm tham caan bay nán tæ̀æk.
– I broke that plate.
ตัว อื่น
– kháw ca duu sɨ̂a tua ʔɨ̀ɨn.
– She likes other shirt(s).
เครื่อง ไหน เสีย
– ʔææ khrɨ̂aŋ nǎy sǐa.
– Which air-conditioner is broken?
Noun that its classifier is the same
Structure(4) : noun + classifier + determiners
ประโยค นี้
– kháw mây khâw-cay prayòok níi.
– She doesn’t understand this sentence.
เมือง นั้น
– kháw yùu mɨaŋ nán.
– She lives in that city.
ลูกสาว ผม จะ มา เดือน อื่น
– lûuk-sǎaw phǒm ca maa dɨan ʔìin.
– My daughter will come other months (not this month).
วัน ไหน
– khun ca wâaŋ wan nǎy.
– Which day will you be free?
3. Some classifiers are used as containers
You use the classifier to describe the container of something. It happens frequently in a restaurant.
For example,
จาน (caan) which means a plate, is used as a classifier for dishes.
จาน ค่ะ
– ʔaw phàt-kaphraw-mǔu-sàp 1 caan khâ.
– Can I have 1 Pat Kaphrao Muu Sap please?
แก้ว (kæ̂æw) which means a glass is used as a classifier for drinks.
แก้ว ครับ
– ʔaw kaafææ rɔ̀ɔn 2 kæ̂æw khráp.
– Can I have 2 cups of hot coffee?
ขวด (khùat) which means a bottle is used as a classifier for drinks that come in a bottle.
ขวด นี้ เย็น ไหม
– bia khùat níi yen máy.
– Is this bottle of beer cold?
ถุง (thǔŋ) which means a bag is used as a classifier for food or things that are packed or put in a bag.
ถุง ค่ะ
– khɔ̌ɔ tôm-yam-kûŋ 1 thǔŋ khâ.
– May I have 1 Tom Yum Kung please?
(Note: This is for when ordering for taking home.)
To wrap up
I encourage you to learn and use the Thai classifiers when they should be used. The good news is you don’t need to print the whole list (which I don’t even know how many) of the Thai classifiers and memorize them.
Just learn the ones you will use in your real-life situation. If you have someone you are talking Thai with, you will pick up new classifiers from them as well. But if you still don’t have a chance to talk with a Thai person yet, you can learn the basic classifiers from this lesson.