If, because, when: ถ้า, เพราะ, เมื่อ
Two short phrases are stitched together by a conjunction — a word between them. ถ้า — if: thaa fon tok yuu ban — if it rains, (I stay) home. เพราะ — because: yuu ban phro fon tok — home, because it is raining. For example: “ถ้า ฝน ตก อยู่ บ้าน” — If it rains — home. A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Two short phrases are stitched together by a conjunction — a word between them. ถ้า (тхаа) — if: thaa fon tok yuu ban — if it rains, (I stay) home. เพราะ (пхро) — because: yuu ban phro fon tok — home, because it is raining.
เมื่อ (мыа) — when: muea thetsakan ma — when the festival comes. And there is เลย (лёй) — so, therefore; it stands after the cause: fon tok loey yuu ban — it is raining, so (I am) home.
The verb inside the second half changes in none of these cases: Thai does not sequence its tenses. Thai writing needs no comma here: the conjunction holds the two thoughts together. The word order stays as in two separate phrases.
Table
| Conjunction | Word | Reading | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| if | ถ้า | thaa | ถ้า ฝน ตก — if it rains |
| because | เพราะ | phro | อยู่ บ้าน เพราะ ฝน ตก — home because of the rain |
| when | เมื่อ | muea | เมื่อ เทศกาล มา — when the festival comes |
| so | เลย | loey | ฝน ตก เลย อยู่ บ้าน — raining, so home |
| but | แต่ | tae | ดี แต่ แพง — good but expensive |
By example
- ถ้า ฝน ตก อยู่ บ้านтхаа фон ток ю банIf it rains — home
- อยู่ บ้าน เพราะ ฝน ตกю бан пхро фон токHome, because it is raining
- เมื่อ เทศกาล มา มี พลุмыа тхетсакан ма ми пхлуWhen the festival comes, there will be fireworks
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
If, because, when: how does it work in Thai?
Two short phrases are stitched together by a conjunction — a word between them. ถ้า — if: thaa fon tok yuu ban — if it rains, (I stay) home. เพราะ — because: yuu ban phro fon tok — home, because it is raining.
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“ถ้า ฝน ตก อยู่ บ้าน” (тхаа фон ток ю бан) — If it rains — home. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.