Mine and yours: the word ของ
Thai has no separate "my" and "your": possession is made by the word ของ — "of, from". The owner comes first: ban khong mae — "mom's house", literally "the house of mom". For example: “บ้าน ของ แม่” — Mom's house. A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Thai has no separate "my" and "your": possession is made by the word ของ (кхонг) — "of, from". The owner comes first: ban khong mae — "mom's house", literally "the house of mom".
With pronouns it is the same: "coffee of you" — kafae khong khun, "head of me" — hua khong phom. No agreement of any kind: khong does not change, like everything in Thai.
In live speech khong is often dropped with pronouns: mae phom — "mom mine" sounds warmer and simpler. But "whose?" Thai asks precisely through khong: khong khrai — "whose?", literally "thing of whom".
The table holds four owners — enough for all of daily life.
Table
| Belongs to | Thai | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| me | ของ ผม | khong phom |
| you | ของ คุณ | khong khun |
| her | ของ เธอ | khong thoe |
| mom | ของ แม่ | khong mae |
By example
- บ้าน ของ แม่бан кхонг мэMom's house
- กาแฟ ของ คุณкафэ кхонг кхунYour coffee
- ห้อง ของ เด็กхонг кхонг декThe child's room
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
How to say my in Thai?
Thai has no separate "my" and "your": possession is made by the word ของ — "of, from". The owner comes first: ban khong mae — "mom's house", literally "the house of mom".
How to say your in Thai?
Thai has no separate "my" and "your": possession is made by the word ของ — "of, from". The owner comes first: ban khong mae — "mom's house", literally "the house of mom".
Possession in Thai language?
Thai has no separate "my" and "your": possession is made by the word ของ — "of, from". The owner comes first: ban khong mae — "mom's house", literally "the house of mom".
What does khong mean in Thai?
With pronouns it is the same: "coffee of you" — kafae khong khun, "head of me" — hua khong phom. No agreement of any kind: khong does not change, like everything in Thai.
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“บ้าน ของ แม่” (бан кхонг мэ) — Mom's house. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.