Ifs, Ands, and Buts (Beginner)

There are various ways to say ‘if’, ‘and’, and ‘but’.

Let’s start with ‘if’.

ถ้า – tah (falling tone) – The most common way to say ‘if’, to use with friends.

หาก – haak (low tone) – A more formal way to say ‘if’.

ถ้าหาก – tah haak – A very formal way to say ‘if’.

ยังไง – yang ngai (mid tones) – An informal ‘if’ to use with friends.

Now for the ‘ands’.

และ – lae (mid tone) – This is the most common way to say ‘and’.

You can use it just like in English, for example:

I ate pork, fish, and candy – ผมได้กินหมูปลาและขนม

*However* there must be no less than 3 items in the list. If there are two, you must use กับ (gap).

I will go visit my mom and my sister – ผมจะไปเยียมแม่กับน้องสาว

The last word is for ‘but’.

แต่ – dtae (low tone) is a *very* common word in Thai, meaning ‘but’.

I like fish but I don’t like pork – ผมชอบกินปลาแต่ไม่ชอบกินหมู

It’s very common to hear แต่ว่า which means ‘but that…’

I want to go, but I’m not available – อยากไปครับ แต่ว่าไม่ว่าง

But don’t confuse it for the word ‘only’, which is also spelled as แต่.

I only eat pork – ผมกินแต่หมู

For practice, watch this video and see if you can recognize any of the words from this lesson today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciYic2pDeMM