Sentence Structure, Thai blog
Have you ever…? (คุณเคย…ไหม) in Thai language
คุณเคย…ไหม (khun khəəy…máy) is to say ‘Have you ever…?’ in Thai. The key word is the word เคย (khəəy). Let’s learn the meaning of this word and how to use it in a sentence.
เคย (khəəy)
- เคย (khəəy) is used to show that you have done something or experienced something before at any time in the past. It can also be used as the word used to in English language.
เคย (khəəy) + verb
– chán khəəy pay kɔ̀ samǔy.
– I have been to Samui Island.
– phǒm khəəy hěn nɔ́ɔŋ-sǎaw kháw.
– I have seen her younger sister before.
– kháw khəəy pen fææn phǒm
– She used to be my girlfriend.
คุณเคย…ไหม (khun khəəy…máy) = Have you ever…?
- This question is used when you ask if someone has done something before (at any time in the past).
เคย (khəəy) + verb + ไหม (máy)
– khun khəəy pay kɔ̀ samǔy máy
– Have you ever been to Samui Island?
– khun khəəy hěn nɔ́ɔŋ-sǎaw phǒm máy.
– Have you ever seen my younger sister?
– kháw khəəy pen fææn khun máy.
– Has she ever been your girlfriend?
Answering to Have you ever…? question in Thai
- Below you will see an example in both full sentence and in a casual spoken way to respond to this question in Thai.
Question
คุณ เคย ไป บ้าน เขา ไหม
– khun khəəy pay bâan kháw máy.
– Have you ever been to his house?
Yes answer (full sentence)
ฉัน เคย ไป บ้าน เขา– chán khəəy pay bâan kháw.
– Yes, I have been to his house.
Yes answer (short)
เคย หรือ เคย ไป– khəəy or khəəy pay
– Yes I have. or Yes, I have been.
No answer (full sentence)
ฉัน ไม่เคย ไป บ้าน เขา– chán mây khəəy pay bâan kháw.
– I have never been to his house.
No answer (short)
ไม่ เคย หรือ ไม่ เคย ไป– máy khəəy or mây khəəy pay
– Never or never been
Using เคย (khəəy) with other question words
– khun khəəy pay prathêet ʔaray nay yúròop
– What country in Europe you have visited?
– kháw khəəy pen phɨ̂an sanìt khun chây-máy
– She used to be your close friend right?
– khun khəəy ʔòk-hàk kìi khráŋ
– How many times have you had a heart broken?
Check you understanding of the question ‘Have you ever…?’ and the word เคย (khəəy) in Thai
1.
A: Have you ever been to Thailand?
B: Yes, I have.
A: khun khəəy pay prathêet Thai máy
B: khəəy
2.
A: How many times you have been here?
B: I have been here already 3 times.
A: khun khəəy maa thîi-nîi kìi khráŋ.
B: phǒm khəəy maa thîi-nîi 3 khráŋ lǽæw.
3.
A: Has she ever talked to you?
B: Never.
A: kháw khəəy khuy kàp khun máy
B: mây khəəy
4.
A: Have you ever seen a ghost?
B: Never seen.
A: khun khəəy hěn phǐi máy
B: mây khəəy hěn
5.
A: Has he ever written a fiction?
B: Yes he has.
A: kháw khəəy khǐan níyaay máy
B: khəəy
More practice on the word เคย (khəəy) in Thai
1.I have never wanted to study Thai language.
2.She used to be rich, but now she is poor.
3.I have heard this news long time ago.
4.He used to be a good person.
5.My mother has never taken a plane.
phǒm mây khəəy yàak rian phaasǎa Thai.
kháw khəəy ruay, tæ̀æ tɔɔn-níi kháw con.
chán khəəy dâay-yin khàaw níi naan lǽæw.
kháw khəəy pen khon dii.
mæ̂æ chán mây khəəy nâŋ khrɨ̂aŋ-bin.