คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหม
khun phut phasa ang-krit dai mai
In Thai, "can you speak English?" is said as คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหม (khun phut phasa ang-krit dai mai).
This phrase is used to ask if someone has the ability to communicate in the English language.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of คุณ (you), พูด (speak), ภาษาอังกฤษ (English language), ได้ (can/be able to) and ไหม (question particle).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For an informal version, you can use เธอพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหม?
How does it change in a sentence?
In casual conversation, the subject คุณ (you) is often omitted, leaving just พูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหม.
How do you pronounce it?
khun phut phasa ang-krit dai mai
When do people say it?
If someone asks you this, a common way to answer "yes, I can" is to say ได้ (dai), while a common way to answer "no, I cannot" is to say ไม่ได้ (mai dai).
Did you know?
- Thais may smile or nod while saying ไม่ได้ ('cannot') to soften the blow of a negative answer, as direct refusals can be seen as too harsh.
- In Thailand, instead of using คุณ (you), it is often much more polite and natural to use a person's nickname or a kinship term like พี่ (older sibling) when asking if they can speak English.
- If you want to sound very polite while asking this, you should add the particle ครับ (khrap) for men or คะ (kha) for women at the very end of the phrase.
Examples in context
- ได้นิดหน่อยครับYes, a little
- ไม่ค่ะNo
- คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหมครับkhun phut phasa ang-grit dai mai khrapCan you speak English?
Example conversation
A tourist asks a hotel staff member for help.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritขอโทษครับ คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษได้ไหมkho thot khrap, khun phut phasa ang-grit dai maiExcuse me, can you speak English?
- พิมล Pimonพูดได้นิดหน่อยค่ะphut dai nit noi khaI can speak a little.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritขอบคุณครับkhop khun khrapThank you.
- พิมล Pimonยินดีค่ะyin di khaYou're welcome.
