- Thai has many words for "I" and "you", and you choose by age, status and how well you know each other.
- Start with three. Men say ผมpǒm for "I", women say ฉันchǎn, and คุณkun is a polite "you".
- Thais often use family words and nicknames instead: พี่ for someone older, น้อง for someone younger.
- When it's clear who you mean, leave the pronoun out. Thais do it all the time.
- กู and มึง are for close friends only. Anywhere else they're rude.
The short answer
English has one word for "I" and one for "you". Thai has a large, open set of them. One linguist called Thai pronouns remarkable for the number and diversity of their forms, and grammars don't even agree on how many there are. Which one you use depends on age, social status, how well you know each other and how formal the situation is.
The good news: you only need a handful, and Thais often skip pronouns altogether or use names and family words instead. Together with the polite particles, they're how Thai shows respect and closeness. Every word below has a real recording you can play.
Saying "I"
- ผม is the default for men, from polite to friendly. It also means "hair". With young children, men usually call themselves by a family word instead.
- ดิฉัน is the formal word for women: interviews, presentations, talking to customers. In everyday conversation it can sound distant, so many women avoid it.
- ฉัน is the everyday word, used mostly by women. It's spelled with a rising tone but usually said high: chán. Men use it too, with a partner, close friends or children, but not usually with other men their age.
- หนู, literally "mouse", is what children, and girls and young women, call themselves when talking to someone older or more senior: a student to a teacher, a young employee to a boss. Adult men almost never use it.
- เรา means "we", but it's also a casual "I" that anyone can use: a handy neutral choice with friends.
- ข้าพเจ้า is for formal writing, speeches and official documents.
- กู is intimate between close friends, especially men, and rude anywhere else. People also use it to show anger. It pairs with มึง.
- เค้า is a cute, intimate "I", used especially by young people and women, and between couples, who pair it with ตัวเอง for "you".
Thais also refer to themselves by name or role. Women and children often use their own nickname as "I", and parents call themselves แม่ (mother) or พ่อ (father) when talking to their children. Men do this less.
Saying "you"
- คุณ is polite and neutral, and the safest choice with strangers. With people you know it can feel distant, and between friends it sounds cold.
- เธอ is intimate, or used by someone senior to a junior, like a teacher to a student. Don't use it with strangers or anyone older.
- นาย is friendly and casual, traditionally between men. แก is for close friends or someone junior, and impolite to anyone else.
- ท่าน is very respectful, for people of much higher status, and common in formal speech and announcements.
- มึง is the crude partner of กู. Between close friends who talk that way it's normal; anywhere else it's offensive.
What do I call us? Try it
Pick who you're talking to and hear the words a Thai speaker would use for themselves and for the other person.
What do I call us?
Add their nickname, as in พี่ตูน. Young women often call themselves หนู or use their own nickname.
Family words for everyone
Thais use family words for people who aren't family. Anyone a bit older is พี่ (older sibling), anyone younger is น้อง (younger sibling), an older man is ลุง (uncle), an older woman is ป้า (aunt), and someone around your parents' age is น้า. That's why Thais often ask your age soon after you meet: it tells them what to call you.
The same words work for "I": an older colleague calls themselves พี่ when talking to a younger one. Add a nickname to be specific, as in พี่ตูน or น้องเมย์. Staff in shops and restaurants often call customers พี่, and customers call young staff น้อง.
Leaving pronouns out
When it's clear who you mean, Thai leaves the pronoun out: ไปไหน, "where are you going?", has no "you" at all, and กินข้าวแล้ว, "I've eaten", has no "I". Leaving it out is also a way to avoid picking the wrong word.
Textbooks rarely show this. One study counted how people refer to each other in Thai TV dramas and novels: names and family words made up 26% of the references to the speaker and 39% of the references to the listener. In four Thai textbooks, the figures were 2% and 11%. If you learned from a textbook, you probably say ผม and คุณ far more often than Thais do.
He, she, they and plurals
- เขา means he, she or they. Like ฉัน, it's spelled with a rising tone but usually said high, káo, which is why informal writing often spells it เค้า. More on that in our guide to Thai tones.
- เธอ as a third-person word usually means "she".
- มัน is "it", for things and animals. For a person it's rude, or very familiar.
- ท่าน is a respectful "he" or "she" for someone important, and แก a casual one.
Thai pronouns have no plural form. Add พวก ("group") or a number instead: พวกเรา (we), พวกคุณ (you all), พวกเขา (they), เราสามคน (the three of us). To address a group politely, say ทุกท่าน, "everyone".
Monks and royalty
Monks and the royal family have their own words. You'll rarely need to use them, but you'll hear them at temples and on the news.
- A monk calls himself อาตมา when talking to laypeople, and calls them โยม.
- Laypeople speaking to a senior monk may call themselves เกล้ากระผม, a very respectful "I".
- ข้าพระพุทธเจ้า is the "I" used when addressing the king or senior royals, which you'll hear in ceremonies and royal news.
Pronouns and gender identity
Only two common Thai pronouns are tied to gender: ผม and ดิฉัน. Even ดิฉัน was once used by men too; a historical study traces its shift to a women's word to the reign of King Rama VIII (1935–1946). Most other words, like เรา, คุณ and เขา, work for anyone.
- Pronouns follow the speaker's gender identity. Researchers note that it's identity, not sex at birth, that decides which words a speaker uses.
- Trans women and kathoey use women's pronouns, in one study even more than women did, and ดิฉัน was their usual choice online. Many still use ผม in formal situations.
- Among some gay men, the English word "SHE" has become a playful Thai pronoun in informal talk.
Common mistakes
- Saying "I" and "you" in every sentence. Drop them when it's clear, and use names and family words.
- Calling a friend คุณ. Between friends of the same age, Thais use nicknames; คุณ sounds stiff.
- Using ฉัน with a teacher. It can sound disrespectful. Young women say หนู; men say ผม.
- Men using ฉัน with male friends. Use ผม or เรา instead.
- Copying กู and มึง. You'll hear them in films and between friends, but from a learner they usually sound crude.
- Calling a stranger เธอ. It's for people you're close to, or someone junior.
Learn every word with its real-life use.
ThaiFlip's dictionary notes who uses each word and how polite it is, with recorded example sentences, so you know whether it's ผม, หนู or เรา before you say it.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "I" in Thai?
Men usually say ผม (pǒm). Women say ฉัน (chǎn) in everyday speech and ดิฉัน (dì-chǎn) when it's formal. เรา (rao) is a casual "I" that anyone can use. Thais also often use their nickname instead, or leave "I" out.
How do you say "you" in Thai?
คุณ (kun) is the polite, neutral word, and the safest with strangers. With people they know, Thais usually use a name or a family word instead: พี่ for someone older, น้อง for someone younger, ลุง or ป้า for an older man or woman.
What's the difference between ฉัน and ดิฉัน?
ดิฉัน is formal and polite, for interviews, presentations and talking to customers; in everyday conversation it can sound distant. ฉัน is the everyday word, used mostly by women, and is said with a high tone: chán.
Why do Thais call me พี่ or น้อง?
Thai uses family words for people who aren't family. พี่ (older sibling) is anyone a bit older than the speaker, and น้อง (younger sibling) anyone younger. It's friendly, not over-familiar, and it's why Thais often ask your age.
Can men say ฉัน?
Yes, but mostly with a partner, close friends or children. Men don't usually use ฉัน with other men their age; ผม or เรา is more natural.
Does เขา mean he or she?
Both, and also "they". เขา is the neutral third-person word; context tells you who it is. It's spelled with a rising tone but usually said with a high tone, káo, and informal writing often spells it เค้า.
Are กู and มึง rude?
Usually, yes. Some close friends use them with each other, but anywhere else they're crude or aggressive. As a learner, recognise them and don't use them.
How many pronouns does Thai have?
There's no fixed number. Thai grammars have never agreed on a count, because nicknames, family words and job titles also work as pronouns. Linguists describe Thai as having dozens of ways to say "I" and "you".
Recordings and example sentences come from the ThaiFlip dictionary. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll check it.
