กับ

Saying 'With' and Joining Nouns

Level 1

กับ (kap) is the standard way to say 'with' someone or to link two nouns together like 'and'. It implies a relationship or accompaniment between the items.

How It Works

กับ: 'With' and Joining Nouns
กับ (kap) has a low tone. It can introduce a companion or another participant in an action, and it can join two nouns or noun phrases.

1. Accompaniment ('With')
Place กับ before the companion: [Subject] + [Verb] + กับ + [Person]. In ผมไปกับเพื่อน, the friend accompanies the speaker: 'I go with a friend'. Verbs of interaction also use กับ, as in คุยกับ ('talk with').

2. Joining Nouns ('And')
Use [Noun 1] + กับ + [Noun 2] to join nouns. In พ่อกับแม่ไปตลาด, พ่อกับแม่ is the subject: 'Dad and Mom go to the market'. With food, ข้าวกับไก่ can describe rice and chicken, or rice with chicken as the accompanying dish. กับข้าว names dishes eaten with rice.

Compare และ
และ also joins words or ideas with the meaning 'and'. It is used in both speech and writing; it is not automatically wrong or unnatural in conversation. Choose the connector for the relationship you mean. กับ introduces the companion in ผมไปกับเพื่อน; replacing it with และ would not express that same accompaniment structure.

Recipients and Instruments
กับ can mark the recipient in ให้ของขวัญกับแม่ ('give a gift to Mother'). Another recipient marker is แก่ (kae); ให้ (hai) is the verb 'give'. Do not reject กับ simply because a person receives something.
For the intended meaning 'eat rice using a spoon', use กินข้าวด้วยช้อน with ด้วย (duai). In that example, the spoon is an instrument, rather than a companion or an accompanying food. กับ and ด้วย do not express the same relationship there.

Examples (4)

  1. ผมไปเที่ยวกับเพื่อน

    I am going on a trip with a friend.

    Word by Word: I go travel with friend

    Here, กับ indicates accompaniment, showing who the subject is traveling with.

  2. เขาชอบกินข้าวกับไข่เจียว

    He likes to eat rice and/with an omelet.

    Word by Word: He like eat rice with egg fry

    In food contexts, กับ links the main staple (rice) with the accompanying dish.

  3. คุณครูคุยกับนักเรียน

    The teacher is talking with the student.

    Word by Word: Teacher talk with student

    กับ is used here to show the person the teacher is interacting with.

  4. พ่อกับแม่ไปตลาด

    Dad and Mom go to the market.

    Word by Word: Dad with Mom go market

    กับ acts as 'and' to join two people who are performing the action together.

Common Mistakes

  • Using กับ for the intended instrument reading.

    กินข้าวกับช้อน
    กินข้าวด้วยช้อน

    For the intended meaning 'eat rice using a spoon', use กินข้าวด้วยช้อน. ด้วย (duai) marks the spoon as the instrument. กินข้าวกับช้อน does not express that same intended use of the spoon.

How It Connects

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กับLevel 1Saying 'With' and Joining Nouns

Learn This First

To use 'กับ' (with/and), you should first be comfortable with basic Thai sentence structure and how nouns function without plurals or articles. This allows you to correctly place 'กับ' between nouns or after a verb to indicate accompaniment.

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