Any rules regarding mai / chai mai ?

[xrayspecs]

I'm just starting to learn Thai using Pimsleur and quite enjoying it. However one thing that confuses me is the some questions end in mai but some end in chai mai. As a result negative answers to these questions begin in either mai or mai chai.

 

Are there any rules which govern which types of questions use chai?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[joltme1313]

ok simple.. with a lot of thai questions part of the answer is a just repeating part of the question..

 

you like her right? khun chawp koa chai mai?

 

yeah she is ok. khrap.. chawp khrap...

 

no i dont.. mai chawp...

 

mai chai come in when you dont agree or it isnt correct...

 

you are a doctor? kuhn ben mor chai mai?

 

yes, i am a doctor..... khrap, puhm ben mor..

 

no, im a driver.... mai chai puhm ben khon kop rot...

 

or for simple negative answers you use mai with the adverb... is it expensive? pang mai? no it isnt expensive.. mai pang...

[El Cata]

'Mai' at the end of a sentence simply equates to '?'. For example, 'kow jai mai?' = 'do you understand?'

 

'Chai mai' at the end of a sentence means 'am I right?' or 'is this correct?'

 

'Mai Chai' or 'chai' are usually only used in response to 'chai mai'.

 

There is also '...dai mai' which roughly translates to 'can you do...for me?'

 

The correct responses are then 'dai' & 'mai dai'.

 

Confusingly, there are also separate ways of asking what, where, why & which?

 

For example,

 

'chue alai?' = 'what is your name?'

 

'wat tee nai?' = 'where is the temple?'

 

'rot nai?' = 'which bus?'

 

Hope this helps.

 

Peace.

[xrayspecs]

Er, this is making sense but I don't think I'm being clear as to what I want to know.

OK, what I don't understand is that some questions simply end in mai while others end in chai mai. Such as the two questions below...

 

Khun cowjai par sar angrit mai khrap? only has 'mai'

Khun pen khon Thai chai mai khrap? has 'chai mai'

 

So when I ask a question how do I know whether to end it in chai mai or simply mai?

 

Hope I'm being clear and thanks for the advice.

[El Cata]

So when I ask a question how do I know whether to end it in chai mai or simply mai?

You don't, you just have to learn from experience!

 

Peace.

[Slacker]

The way I understood it is, if the question ends in mai chai it forces a response of either chai or mai chai, followed by a qualifying phrase if necessary. A sentence ending in only mai can just be a statement and does not necessarily require a response.

[xrayspecs]

A sentence ending in only mai can just be a statement and does not necessarily require a response.

 

But 'Khun cowjai par sar angrit mai khrap?' (Do you understand English?) is a question and requires a response yet it does not use chai.

 

I guess there is no obvious hard and fast rule but I'll keep looking for one...

[slick67]

You use Mai if it's a question to which you don't know the answer yet.

You use Chai Mai if you already sort of know the answer but you're just looking for an extra confirmation.

 

In your 1st example you have no idea if the other person can speak English or not, then you use Mai.

 

In your 2nd example you can already see he's probably Thai, and you're just asking to make sure, then you use Chai Mai.

Like someone already posted above, in this case you would ask in English: You're Thai, right? so you could remember it as Chai Mai? = Right?

[El Cata]

But 'Khun cowjai par sar angrit mai khrap?' (Do you understand English?) is a question and requires a response yet it does not use chai.

 

I guess there is no obvious hard and fast rule but I'll keep looking for one...

There isn't one / aren't any.

 

For example you could say 'kun poot pasa angrit dai mai?' = 'could you speak English for me?'

 

I've explained the two different ways of asking questions / responding, namely who / what / where & mai / dai mai / chai mai etc.

 

If someone asks you a question ending in mai, then you would generally respond with the verb.

 

Khun cowjai par sar angrit mai khrap?

 

cowjai, or mai cowjai.

 

ow bee-a mai? = want beer?

 

ow, or mai ow.

 

...but questions asked with 'chai mai' & dai mai' have set responses, as explained above.

 

You ask some good questions!

 

Peace.

Edited December 17, 2010 by El Cata

[xrayspecs]

Thanks for the info - it's making a bit more sense now

[El Cata]

Shouting in a funny accent also works; really, according to recent research it does.

 

PEACE.

[LaughingBoy]

I'm just starting to learn Thai using Pimsleur and quite enjoying it. However one thing that confuses me is the some questions end in mai but some end in chai mai. As a result negative answers to these questions begin in either mai or mai chai.

 

Are there any rules which govern which types of questions use chai?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

When formulating questions adding chai mai at the end of a sentence means 'is that so'

Mai chai means as a response means 'that is not so'

Edited March 11, 2011 by LaughingBoy

[Crem73]

You use Mai if it's a question to which you don't know the answer yet.

You use Chai Mai if you already sort of know the answer but you're just looking for an extra confirmation.

 

In your 1st example you have no idea if the other person can speak English or not, then you use Mai.

 

In your 2nd example you can already see he's probably Thai, and you're just asking to make sure, then you use Chai Mai.

Like someone already posted above, in this case you would ask in English: You're Thai, right? so you could remember it as Chai Mai? = Right?

spot on. Think of 'mai' = '?' and chai mai = 'to be so ?'

Edited June 21, 2011 by Crem73

[Slacker]

I've re-read my previous response on this thread and can only assume I was drunk at the time...slick67's answer is spot on.