1.1 Pronoun
Personal pronouns refer to the speaker (first person), the person being spoken to (second person), or the person or item being discussed (third person). So let’s learn how to use I and You.
Example:
- ฉัน เป็น ผู้หญิง (chǎn bpen pûu-yǐng) – I am a woman.
In this case, we use the following construction.
Pronoun + Be verb + Noun → ฉัน + เป็น + ผู้หญิง
The Thai pronoun ฉัน means I in English. However, in Thai, pronouns for the first person are different for men and women. In this case, ฉัน is used by women. The male version of this pronoun is ผม. So let’s see the Thai pronoun I for men.
- ผม เป็น ผู้ชาย (pǒm bpen pûu-chaai) – I am a man.
In this case, we use the following construction.
Pronoun + Be verb + Noun → ผม + เป็น + ผู้ชาย
The Thai pronoun ผม means I in English and is used by men.
Summary
Depending on the speaker’s gender, the way men and women say “I” in Thai changes. And the table below shows common pronouns used in daily conversations.
Pronoun | Thai | Transcript |
I (for female) | ฉัน | chǎn/dì chǎn |
I (for male) | ผม | pǒm |
You | คุณ | kun |
He | เขา | kǎo |
She | เธอ | təə |
It | มัน | man |