What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of ทำ (to do), อะไร (what) and อยู่ (a particle indicating a continuous action).
Which one should you use?
You may see กำลังทำอะไรอยู่? used in casual, everyday conversation. In very informal settings like text messaging or casual speech, the word อะไร is often shortened to ไร, resulting in ทำไรอยู่.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
A polite and straightforward way to ask the question in most formal situations is คุณทำอะไรอยู่ครับ/ค่ะ. For a higher level of politeness, you can use ขณะนี้คุณกำลังทำอะไรอยู่ครับ/ค่ะ, which translates to "What are you currently doing?" When addressing a teacher or someone in a respected position, use อาจารย์ทำอะไรอยู่ครับ/ค่ะ. For casual use among friends, you can use คุณทำอะไรอยู่เหรอ? or the more direct กำลังทำอะไรอยู่?
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the question polite, add the particle ครับ if you are a male speaker or ค่ะ if you are a female speaker to the end of the phrase, as seen in ทำอะไรอยู่ครับ.
How do you pronounce it?
tham arai yu
Did you know?
- In Thai culture, ทำอะไรอยู่ is often used as a greeting similar to 'hello' or 'how are you', rather than a literal inquiry into your activities.
- While ทำอะไรอยู่ asks about an activity, Thai speakers often respond with the word เปล่า, which means 'nothing', even if they are clearly doing something.
- In digital slang, the shortened ทำไรอยู่ is frequently used as a subtle way to start a conversation with a crush to signal interest without being too direct.
Examples in context
- คุณทำอะไรอยู่คะkhun tham a-rai yu khaWhat are you doing?
- น้องทำอะไรอยู่ครับnong tham a-rai yu khrapWhat are you doing, kid?
Example conversation
Two friends are chatting over a phone call.
- กนกวรรณ Kanokwanธนกฤต ทำอะไรอยู่คะThanakrit tham a-rai yu khaThanakrit, what are you doing?
- ธนกฤต Thanakritผมกำลังอ่านหนังสือครับphom kam-lang an nang-sue khrapI am reading a book.
- กนกวรรณ Kanokwanเหนื่อยไหมคะnueay mai khaAre you tired?
- ธนกฤต Thanakritไม่ค่อยเหนื่อยครับmai khoi nueay khrapI'm not too tired.
