A question is made by a particle at the end
English flips the word order and builds an intonation. Thai does something simpler: it takes a statement and glues the particle ไหม (mai, rising tone) to the end — "or not?" สบายดี is "fine"; สบายดี ไหม is "fine or not?", that is, "how are you?" For example: “สบายดี ไหม?” — How are you? A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English flips the word order and builds an intonation. Thai does something simpler: it takes a statement and glues the particle ไหม (mai, rising tone) to the end — "or not?". สบายดี (сабайди) is "fine"; สบายดี ไหม (сабайди май) is "fine or not?", that is, "how are you?".
The second way is "or not" with a concrete word: ได้ ไหม (дай май) — "can or can't", and this is the politest frame for a request.
The question words are อะไร (арай) "what", ที่ไหน (тинай) "where", เท่า ไหร่ (тао рай) "how much". They stand where the answer would go, usually at the end. The rest of the word order stays put: คุณ มา จาก ไหน (кхун ма джак най) — literally "you come from where".
By example
- สบายดี ไหม?сабайди май?How are you?
- กาแฟ เท่า ไหร่?кафэ тао рай?How much is the coffee?
- ขอ น้ำ ได้ ไหม?кхо нам дай май?May I have water?
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 form a question in Thai?
English flips the word order and builds an intonation. Thai does something simpler: it takes a statement and glues the particle ไหม (mai, rising tone) to the end — "or not?" สบายดี is "fine"; สบายดี ไหม is "fine or not?", that is, "how are you?"
What does mai at the end of a sentence mean?
The question words are อะไร "what", ที่ไหน "where", เท่า ไหร่ "how much". They stand where the answer would go, usually at the end. The rest of the word order stays put: คุณ มา จาก ไหน — literally "you come from where".
Thai question words list?
The question words are อะไร "what", ที่ไหน "where", เท่า ไหร่ "how much". They stand where the answer would go, usually at the end. The rest of the word order stays put: คุณ มา จาก ไหน — literally "you come from where".
How to ask may I in Thai?
English flips the word order and builds an intonation. Thai does something simpler: it takes a statement and glues the particle ไหม (mai, rising tone) to the end — "or not?" สบายดี is "fine"; สบายดี ไหม is "fine or not?", that is, "how are you?"
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“สบายดี ไหม?” (сабайди май?) — How are you? A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.