Thai · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 4
ผมชื่อ…My name is…
Introducing yourself: give your name with ชื่อ (no เป็น) — ผมชื่อ… — and learn the verb "เป็น" (for jobs/roles) and "คือ" (for definitions). English has a single "be", so it's a trap. On the reading side: the low consonant class, the largest one. James confuses เป็น/คือ for us to fix.
Dialogue
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ผมชื่อสมชาย— I'm Somchai
- Somchaiสวัสดีครับ!ผมชื่อสมชายครับ.Hello! My name is Somchai.
- Maleeสวัสดีค่ะ!ดิฉันชื่อมาลีค่ะ.Hello! My name is Malee.
- Somchaiผมเป็นนักศึกษาครับ.I'm a university student.
- Maleeดิฉันเป็นนักศึกษาค่ะ.ยินดีค่ะ!I'm a student too. Nice to meet you!
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เป็น ไม่ใช่ คือ— เป็น, not คือ
- Maleeเจมส์คุณเป็นนักศึกษาใช่ไหมคะ?James, you're a student, right?
- Jamesใช่ครับ!ผมคือนักศึกษาครับ.(wrong) James uses คือ for a job, but it should be เป็น.
- Maleeไม่ใช่"คือ"!"เป็น"ค่ะ.Not "คือ"! Use "เป็น" — เป็น is for jobs and roles.
- Jamesอ๋อ!ผมเป็นนักศึกษาครับ.Ah! I'm a student.
Vocabulary
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- ชื่อ
nounname
- เป็น
verbto be (role/state)
- คือ
verbto be (equation)
- เพื่อน
nounfriend
- นักเรียน
noun(school) pupil
- นักศึกษา
noun(university) student
- ครู
nounteacher
- หมอ
noundoctor
- อาชีพ
nounoccupation
- ทำ
verbto do, make
Grammar
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เป็น and คือ — two kinds of "to be"
Explanation
Thai has two "to be" verbs that English merges into one "be". เป็น (pen) links a subject to a role/job/status: ผมเป็นนักเรียน (I am a student). คือ (khʉʉ) means "defines / equals", one thing IS another: อาชีพคือครู (the occupation is teacher) (often used to point: นี่คือ… — taught fully in chapter 8). Simple rule: job/role → always เป็น.
Examples
- ผมเป็นนักเรียน.I am a pupil.
- เขาเป็นหมอ.He/she is a doctor.
- คุณเป็นครูใช่ไหม?You are a teacher, right?
- อาชีพคือครู.The occupation is: teacher. (คือ = equation)
Grammar
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ผมชื่อ… — giving your name
Explanation
To give your name, put ชื่อ ("name") directly after the subject — no เป็น or คือ: ผมชื่อสมชาย (literally "I name Somchai" = my name is Somchai). ชื่อ works like "am named". Don't say "ผมเป็นสมชาย" (wrong — เป็น is for roles, not names). Summary: ชื่อ → a person's name, เป็น → job/role, คือ → a definition.
Examples
- ผมชื่อสมชาย.My name is Somchai. (male)
- ดิฉันชื่อมาลี.My name is Malee. (female)
- เขาชื่อเจมส์.His name is James.
- เพื่อนผมชื่อนก.My friend's name is Nok.
Script
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อักษรต่ำ — หมู่ที่ใหญ่ที่สุด— Low Consonants — the Largest Class
Common low consonants — many are the voiced/aspirated partners of mid and high letters:
- คkhaspirated "k" — low-class pair of ข; in ครู (teacher)
- ชchaspirated "ch" — in ชื่อ (name)
- ทthaspirated "t" — in ทำ (to do)
- นnlike "n" — in นักเรียน (pupil)
- พphaspirated "p" — in เพื่อน (friend)
- รra tapped/rolled "r" — in ครู (teacher)
Read this chapter's words — each starts with a low consonant and is a live syllable = mid tone:
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