ค่า: the payment hidden in the bill
Every bill in Thai is assembled with one syllable, ค่า — "payment". Glue it to what you pay for and you get the bill. kha chao — the rent; kha nam — water; kha fai fa — electricity. For example: “ค่า เช่า เดือน นี้ แพง” — The rent is expensive this month. A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Every bill in Thai is assembled with one syllable, ค่า (кхаа) — "payment". Glue it to what you pay for and you get the bill. kha chao — the rent; kha nam — water; kha fai fa — electricity.
The same syllable works for people and for trips: kha rian — tuition; kha rot — the fare. The syllable does not change; behind it always stands the thing being paid for.
Living separately from it is ราคา (ракхаа) — the price as the figure on the tag. The price is asked, the payment is paid: raka thao rai — how much does it cost; jai kha chao — pay the rent.
One more kindred syllable — เงิน (нгын): it means money itself in any form. ngoen sot — cash; ngoen kep — savings; ngoen ku — a loan. See kha — expect a bill; see ngoen — expect money.
Table
| Payment for | Word | Reading | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | ค่า เช่า | kha chao | ค่า เช่า แพง — the rent is expensive |
| water | ค่า น้ำ | kha nam | จ่าย ค่า น้ำ — pay for water |
| electricity | ค่า ไฟ ฟ้า | kha fai fa | ค่า ไฟ ฟ้า ถูก — electricity is cheap |
| phone | ค่า โทรศัพท์ | kha thorasap | ค่า โทรศัพท์ เดือน นี้ — this month's phone bill |
| tuition | ค่า เรียน | kha rian | ค่า เรียน เท่า ไหร่ — how much is the tuition |
| the fare | ค่า รถ | kha rot | ค่า รถ ไป ตลาด — the fare to the market |
By example
- ค่า เช่า เดือน นี้ แพงкхаа чау дыан ний пхэнгThe rent is expensive this month
- ค่า โทรศัพท์ ถูก ลงкхаа торасап тхуук лонгThe phone bill got cheaper
- เดือน หน้า จ่าย ค่า ไฟ ฟ้าдыан наа джай кхаа фай фааNext month we pay for electricity
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
the payment hidden in the bill: how does it work in Thai?
Every bill in Thai is assembled with one syllable, ค่า — "payment". Glue it to what you pay for and you get the bill. kha chao — the rent; kha nam — water; kha fai fa — electricity.
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“ค่า เช่า เดือน นี้ แพง” (кхаа чау дыан ний пхэнг) — The rent is expensive this month. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.