A number never stands without a classifier
"Two coffees" in Thai is "coffee two glass": the noun, then the number, then a classifier. That is a measure word that knows the shape of the thing. Thai never leaves a bare number in front of an object. For example: “เรา สอง คน ไป ตลาด” — The two of us are going to the market. A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
"Two coffees" in Thai is "coffee two glass": the noun, then the number, then a classifier. That is a measure word that knows the shape of the thing. Thai never leaves a bare number in front of an object.
There are many measures, and each holds to its kind of thing: คน (кхон) — people, แก้ว (гэо) — whatever is in a glass, ขวด (кхуат) — bottles, ตัว (туа) — animals, ลูก (лук) — fruit. English does the same more quietly: "five head of cattle" and "two sheets of paper" are the same machine.
And the main thing: the number changes nothing in the verb. "I go" and "they go" use one and the same word. The number alone carries the amount.
Table
| Number | people — คน | in a glass — แก้ว | in a bottle — ขวด |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | หนึ่ง คน | หนึ่ง แก้ว | หนึ่ง ขวด |
| two | สอง คน | สอง แก้ว | สอง ขวด |
| three | สาม คน | สาม แก้ว | สาม ขวด |
| five | ห้า คน | ห้า แก้ว | ห้า ขวด |
By example
- เรา สอง คน ไป ตลาดрао сонг кхон пай талатThe two of us are going to the market
- ขอ เบียร์ สอง ขวดкхо бия сонг кхуатTwo bottles of beer
- แอปเปิ้ล หนึ่ง ลูกэппён нынг лукOne apple (one fruit)
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Why does Thai need classifiers?
"Two coffees" in Thai is "coffee two glass": the noun, then the number, then a classifier. That is a measure word that knows the shape of the thing. Thai never leaves a bare number in front of an object.
What does khon mean after a number?
There are many measures, and each holds to its kind of thing: คน — people, แก้ว — whatever is in a glass, ขวด — bottles, ตัว — animals, ลูก — fruit. English does the same more quietly: "five head of cattle" and "two sheets of paper" are the same machine.
How to say two people in Thai?
There are many measures, and each holds to its kind of thing: คน — people, แก้ว — whatever is in a glass, ขวด — bottles, ตัว — animals, ลูก — fruit. English does the same more quietly: "five head of cattle" and "two sheets of paper" are the same machine.
Thai classifier word order?
"Two coffees" in Thai is "coffee two glass": the noun, then the number, then a classifier. That is a measure word that knows the shape of the thing. Thai never leaves a bare number in front of an object.
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“เรา สอง คน ไป ตลาด” (рао сонг кхон пай талат) — The two of us are going to the market. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.