Useful Thai Pronouns

We have discussed some Thai pronouns in our Thai language study. There are other Thai pronouns that are very useful in learning how to speak Thai in the Thai language study. These Thai pronouns are shown below.

He, She, They

GAA (แก) “You”, “He”, “She”, “They”

This is a 2nd. or 3rd. person pronoun. When GAA is used as meaning 'you' it is extremely impolite. If anyone is calling you GAA, fee free to be offensive and throw a punch (if you can get away with it). GAA, meaning 'you' in the Thai language, is only ever heard when people are swearing at each other.

GAA can also be used to mean 'he', 'she', or 'they' as a third person pronoun. When GAA is used as a third person pronoun, it is not offensive but it is used only when referring to people of inferior status. Parents can refer to their children using the word GAA when talking to another parent and still make it feel affectionate.

KOW (เขา) “He”, “She”, “They”

This is the 3rd. person Thai pronoun singular or plural and may be used by either sex referring to anyone. KOW is a neutral word, not impolite and not polite either.

It

MUN (มัน) “It”

This is sometimes used for animals and things and for the impersonal “it” in such sentences as “if you like this, it will be a good thing”. You should not try to use the word MUN until you get more familiar with the Thai language.

MUN can also mean "he" or "she" but in a very impolite way. Usually very close friends can refer to each other as MUN. The word MUN in the Thai language actually means 'Fat'.

We

ROW (เรา) “We”

As in using ROW to mean 'I', ROW 's real meaning is 'we'. ROW is a neutral term. ROW is neither polite nor impolite.

POO-AK ROW (พวกเรา) “We”

POO-AK ROW is a variation of the work ROW which you may come across in reading and means “Our group” or “Our sort of people”. When you want to emphasize that you are in a group and you are the voice of your group, using the word POO-AK ROW is more appropriate than just ROW in the Thai language.