Key takeaways
- To count in Thai, say the noun, then the number, then a classifier: 'five teachers' is khru ha khon, literally 'teacher five person'.
- Wikipedia notes a classifier is almost always used, where English uses one only sometimes, as in 'two bottles of beer'.
- Common classifiers include khon for people, tua for animals, an for small things, lem for books and khan for vehicles.
- Wiktionary warns that tua, the animal classifier, is derogatory and offensive when applied to people.
- Classifiers also appear with 'this', 'which', 'every' and 'how many': maeo tua nai is 'which cat?'.
In English you can usually put a number straight before a noun: two dogs, three books. Thai cannot. A number needs a classifier, a counting word chosen to suit the noun, and the order is different too. This guide covers the pattern, the classifiers a beginner needs first, and the other places classifiers turn up.
The pattern: noun, number, classifier
Wikipedia's article on Thai explains that nouns do not change for plural and that a count is made as noun + number + classifier. Its example:
| Thai | ครู ห้า คน |
|---|---|
| RTGS | khru ha khon |
| Word by word | teacher five person |
| Meaning | five teachers |
Here khon is the classifier for people. Wikipedia compares English, where classifiers are absent ("four chairs") or optional ("two bottles of beer" or "two beers"), while in Thai a classifier is almost always used: "chair four item", "beer two bottle".
The classifiers to learn first
Each noun takes a particular classifier. Wiktionary lists these common ones:
| Classifier | RTGS | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| คน | khon | most people |
| ตัว | tua | animals; also digits, letters and certain objects |
| อัน | an | small things: the general classifier for small objects |
| เล่ม | lem | books, candles and sharp-edged objects such as knives |
| คัน | khan | vehicles, and long objects such as umbrellas, spoons and forks |
| หลัง | lang | houses and tents |
| ลูก | luk | balls, round objects and fruit |
| ใบ | bai | hollow or flat things: plates, glasses, pages |
| แผ่น | phaen | paper, CDs and other thin, flat objects |
Some containers work as classifiers too, as in Wikipedia's "beer two bottle", with ขวด, khuat, "bottle". Wikipedia's article on Thai numerals adds that there is no hierarchy among classifiers, and that variations on the pattern do occur.
One warning. Wiktionary marks tua as derogatory and offensive if applied to humans. People take khon.
A worked example: three counts
- Two books: หนังสือ (nangsue, book) + สอง (song, two) + เล่ม (lem) = หนังสือสองเล่ม.
- Three cars: รถ (rot, vehicle) + สาม (sam) + คัน (khan) = รถสามคัน.
- Two women: Wikipedia's own example, ผู้หญิงสองคน, phuying song khon.
The noun always comes first, and the classifier always follows the number.
One glass or a glass
Nueng, "one", can sit on either side of the classifier, with a difference in meaning. Wikipedia contrasts แก้วหนึ่งใบ, kaeo nueng bai, "one glass", which counts, with แก้วใบหนึ่ง, kaeo bai nueng, "a glass", which works like the English indefinite article.
Every, some and none
Classifiers also follow some quantifiers. Wikipedia's examples use khon: นักเรียนทุกคน, "every student", and ครูบางคน, "some teachers". For "none" there is no classifier: the pattern is ไม่มี (mai mi, "there is no") + noun.
This one and which one
With "this" and "that", the order is noun + classifier + demonstrative. Wikipedia's example is หมาตัวนี้, ma tua ni, "this dog". Questions work the same way with ไหน, nai: แมวตัวไหน, maeo tua nai, "which cat?".
Asking how many
Use กี่, kii, before the classifier. Wiktionary notes that kii is followed by a classifier or a common noun, and gives two set phrases:
- กี่บาท, kii baht: "how much?", literally "how many baht";
- กี่โมง, kii mong: "what time?".
So "how many people?" is กี่คน, kii khon. Thai numbers covers the numbers themselves.
Four classifier slips
- Dropping the classifier: Wikipedia notes a classifier is almost always used in Thai, so "two book" with no lem breaks the pattern.
- Putting the number first: the noun leads.
- Using tua for people, which Wiktionary marks as derogatory and offensive.
- Forgetting the fallback: Wiktionary lists an as the general classifier for small inanimate things.
Classifiers and measure words
Linguists separate two ideas that English blurs. Wikipedia's article on classifiers explains that a classifier goes with the natural unit of a countable noun, like khon for a person, while a measure word names a quantity, like a cupful or a bottle, and can go with mass nouns such as water. English has a few classifier-like words, such as head in "five head of cattle", but the article notes that classifiers are absent or marginal in European languages. In Thai, both kinds sit in the same slot after the number, which is why khuat, "bottle", fits the pattern as easily as khon.
Classifiers across the region
Wikipedia notes that numeral classifiers play an important role in East and Southeast Asian languages, including Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese. Compare Vietnamese classifiers and Cantonese measure words, which follow the same idea with their own word orders.
Learning Thai classifiers
Regal - Learn Thai Language includes classifiers in its grammar lessons, alongside numbers, time, questions and negation, explained by comparing Thai and English. It is one of our language-learning apps.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What are Thai classifiers?
Which classifier is used for animals in Thai?
What classifier is used for books in Thai?
How do you ask how many in Thai?
Sources
- Thai language (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Thai numerals (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Classifier (linguistics) (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Thai classifiers (category) (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- กี่ (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
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