ใคร

Who

Level 1

ใคร (khrai) asks 'who'. In the simple questions here, it occupies the subject, object, or other person slot being asked about.

How It Works

1. Basic Question Usage
ใคร (khrai) is used to identify people. It functions as both a subject and an object.

  • Subject: ใครกินข้าว? (Who is eating rice?)
  • Object: คุณรักใคร? (Who do you love?)

2. Possession
To ask 'whose', you combine ใคร with the possessive marker ของ (khăwng).
Example: นี่คือกระเป๋าของใคร? (Whose bag is this?)

3. Indefinite Pronoun ('Someone' and 'Anyone')
In statements, ใคร can mean 'someone' or 'anyone' depending on the context:

  • Someone: มีใครมา (Someone came).
  • Anyone (Negative): ไม่เห็นใคร (I don't see anyone).
  • Anyone (Subject): In the free-choice construction illustrated here, the particle ก็ helps form an 'anyone is acceptable' reading. This is not a rule that every indefinite subject requires this particle. Example: ใครก็ได้ (Anyone is fine).

4. Reduplication ('Everyone')
In the construction shown here, Thai uses the repetition mark to form ใคร ๆ (khrai khrai). The illustrated 'everyone' construction includes ก็.
Example: ใคร ๆ ก็รู้ (Everyone knows).

5. Negative Indefinite ('No one')
When used with ไม่มี (mâi mii), the complete construction can mean 'no one'.
Example: ไม่มีใครอยู่บ้าน (No one is at home).

6. Pronunciation Note
The written consonant cluster (คร) includes an 'r' sound in the standard full pronunciation. Some conversational pronunciations simplify the cluster; this is variation, not a required learner pronunciation or a claim about most speakers. The word ไข่ (khài - egg) differs in consonants in the full standard forms and in tone: ใคร (who) is a Mid Tone, while ไข่ (egg) is a Low Tone.

Examples (6)

  1. ใครมา?

    Who is coming?

    Word by Word: Who come?

    Here, ใคร acts as the subject of the sentence.

  2. คุณจะไปกับใคร?

    Who will you go with?

    Word by Word: You will go with who?

    Here 'who' is the object of 'with', so it follows that preposition in the simple question. Its position here does not establish a rule that all object question words must be sentence-final.

  3. มีใครโทรมา

    Someone called.

    Word by Word: Have who call come

    In the supplied statement reading, ใคร means 'someone' or 'somebody'. Context distinguishes this from a question about who called.

  4. ไม่รู้จักใคร

    I don't know anyone.

    Word by Word: Not know who

    In this negative construction, ใคร is interpreted as 'anyone'. The omitted subject and time come from context.

  5. ใคร ๆ ก็ชอบเขา

    Everyone likes him.

    Word by Word: Who who also like him

    Here the complete construction with ใคร ๆ and the following particle has an 'everyone' reading. Repetition alone does not mechanically give this meaning in every context.

  6. ไม่มีใครรู้

    No one knows.

    Word by Word: Not have who know

    The complete construction beginning ไม่มีใคร has a 'no one' or 'nobody' reading here.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ใคร as a relative pronoun (e.g., 'The man who...').

    ผู้ชายใครสูง
    ผู้ชายที่สูง

    For the intended noun-modifying meaning 'the man who is tall', ใคร is not the relative marker used in this pair. The second string links the description with ที่. This does not claim that every Thai relative construction requires the same overt marker.

  • Moving ใคร to the front of every sentence.

    ใครคุณรัก?
    คุณรักใคร?

    For the intended simple question, use SVO word order and keep 'who' in the object slot after the verb, as in the second string. This pair does not rule out all context-dependent fronting or other question constructions.

How It Connects

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

ใครLevel 1Who

Learn This First

To use 'ใคร' (who) correctly, you need to understand that Thai questions follow the same Subject-Verb-Object order as statements, with the question word remaining in the position of the information being sought.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ใคร