หรือเปล่า

Or Not

Level 1

หรือเปล่า (rǔue-bplào) means 'or not?' in a yes/no question. It follows the clause being questioned. A polite ending can come after it, and the whole question can also be embedded in a longer statement.

How It Works

In the displayed questions, หรือเปล่า forms an 'or not?' question about an action, state, or relationship.

1. Usage and Placement
In this pattern it follows the clause being questioned, rather than requiring a change to the statement's word order. A polite ending can follow it.

  • Statement: เขาไป (He goes)
  • Question: เขาไปหรือเปล่า? (Is he going or not?)

2. Register and Variations
Read the displayed หรือเปล่า forms in their full questions.

  • หรือเปล่า (rǔue-bplào): The full form shown in the questions and embedded question in this lesson.
  • รึเปล่า (rúe-bplào): A spoken variant shown in the final example.
  • หรือไม่ (rǔue-mâi): A form suitable for the requested formal-report wording below.
  • ปะ (bpà): An informal clipped question form; do not substitute it automatically into a formal report or embedded question.

3. Direct And Embedded Questions
Like ไหม, หรือเปล่า can ask a yes/no question. Its force depends on context, not a fixed rule that it is more probing. In the third example, the question is embedded after 'I don't know': the speaker reports uncertainty about whether he will come or not, rather than directly questioning the listener.

4. Politeness
The ownership example has ครับ after the question. For the question-ending style conventionally associated with female speakers, use คะ; ค่ะ is the contrasting form used in statements and replies. Choosing an ending depends on the speaker and setting; this lesson does not require one in every question.

Examples (5)

  1. คุณหิวหรือเปล่า?

    Are you hungry (or not)?

    Word by Word: You hungry or not?

    Here, หรือเปล่า follows the adjective 'hungry' to check the person's state.

  2. เขาบอกอะไรหรือเปล่า?

    Did he say anything?

    Word by Word: He say anything or not?

    The question asks whether any telling occurred. The English past tense and 'he' are selected for this example; the Thai verb itself does not change form for tense.

  3. ไม่รู้ว่าเขาจะมาหรือเปล่า

    I don't know whether he will come or not.

    Word by Word: Not know that he will come or not.

    The หรือเปล่า 'or not' alternative belongs to an embedded question after 'don't know'. The English subject 'I' is supplied from context; the Thai sentence leaves that main subject unstated.

  4. นี่ของเธอหรือเปล่าครับ?

    Is this yours?

    Word by Word: This thing of you or not [polite]?

    The หรือเปล่า question asks whether the thing belongs to the listener. ครับ follows the question as a polite ending in the displayed example.

  5. จริงรึเปล่า?

    Is it true?

    Word by Word: True or not?

    The question uses the spoken variant 'รึเปล่า' to ask whether something is true.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving only 'ไม่' (mâi) when this exercise asks for 'เปล่า' or a complete negative predicate.

    Q: ไปหรือเปล่า? A: ไม่
    Q: ไปหรือเปล่า? A: เปล่า (or ไม่ไป)

    For the displayed หรือเปล่า question, the supplied answers are 'เปล่า' (bplào) or the negated predicate 'ไม่ไป'. Use one of those complete answers in this exercise; the isolated negative word does not state the requested answer as clearly.

  • Keeping the conversational 'หรือเปล่า' form when this exercise requests formal-report wording.

    เขาจะมาหรือเปล่า (in a formal report)
    เขาจะมาหรือไม่

    For this requested formal-report version, replace 'หรือเปล่า' with 'หรือไม่' (rǔue-mâi), as the supplied correction shows.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

หรือเปล่าLevel 1Or Not

Learn This First

To understand หรือเปล่า, you first need to know how to form a basic sentence in Thai and how the standard yes-no question particle 'ไหม' works. Since หรือเปล่า literally asks 'or not', familiarity with negation is also beneficial.

Words in This Pattern

หรือเปล่า