The word ‘Gaw3’ ก็ is one of the top 100 Thai words you should learn, given how common it is. I’ve already written a detailed article on the uses of gaw3 here:
https://blogs.transparent.com/thai/the-word-gaw/
The word has another case which I didn’t mention before. In this case, it’s as if you are determining the answer to a question half-way through your answer. By saying it this way, you are implying you hadn’t thought about the answer before being asked about it.
For example, let’s say in English I ask,
”Are you hungry?”
If you hadn’t thought through the answer before speaking, you’d say something like,
”Well . . . uh . . . yea I guess so.”
In Thai, it’ll be:
หิวไหม?
Hew5 maai5
หิว…ก็หิว
Hew5 gaw3 hew5
You simply take the word from the question, repeat it once to acknowledge the question, follow it with ‘gaw’, and then finally give your answer.
If you weren’t hungry, then you’d say:
หิว…ก็ไม่หิว
More examples . . . words in brackets are understood through context:
[Is she] beautiful?
สวยไหม?
Suay5 mai5
[Is she] beautiful? Ummm, sure!
สวยก็สวย
Suay5 gaw3 suay5
[Do you] want to go?
อยากไปไหม?
Yaak2 bpai1 mai5
Yea, [I will] go.
ไปก็ไป
Bpai1 gaw3 bpai1
[Do you] love [me / her / him]?
รักไหม?
Rak4 mai5
[Ummmm, yea, I] love [you / her / him].
รักก็รัก
Rak4 gaw3 rak4
Sometimes you can even cut out the first word – why repeat the question anyway?
[You] really love him?
รักเขาเหรอ?
Rak4 kow5 laaw5
Um, yes!
ก็รัก
Gaw3 rak4
Isn’t [that] correct?
ใช่ไหม?
Chai3 maai5
Well, yes.
ก็ใช่
Gaw3 chai3
[You] really aren’t going?
ไม่ไปเหรอ?
Mai3 bpai1 laaw5
Well, no.
ก็ไม่
Gaw3 mai3
One last thing before I finish this article . . . I have no idea why ก็ is spelled as it is. It totally violates Thai spelling rules. If I were to invent the Thai language, I would have spelled it as ก้อ. My guess is, like most words that violate the rules, that it was transliterated from Sanskrit/Bali and something was lost in the transliteration process . . .
