แก

You — Very Familiar

Level 5

แก can address a familiar person as “you” or refer to another person as “he,” “she,” or “they.” The dictionary distinguishes these second- and third-person uses. Read who is being addressed or discussed, rather than assuming every use signals equal social status. Compare คุณ in its own examples.

How It Works

1. Identify Who แก Refers To
The Royal Society dictionary lists แก as a second-person pronoun for a familiar person or a junior listener, and as a colloquial third-person pronoun. The NIU dictionary includes “you,” “he,” “she,” and “they,” with an example referring to an older man.

2. Read The Displayed Context
แกจะไปไหน? addresses the listener. เห็นแกบอกว่าจะเข้าออฟฟิศบ่ายนี้ is read here as referring to another person. The pronoun alone does not identify that person or establish how often such a reference occurs.

3. Notice The Group
In พวกแกกินข้าวหรือยัง?, พวก marks the addressed group. Read the question and relationship together. Familiarity, social roles, and the surrounding speech affect how an address is received; แก is not an automatic signal that every listener is a close friend.

Examples (5)

  1. แกจะไปไหน?

    Where are you going?

    Word by Word: You will go where?

    Read แก as “you” in this question to a familiar listener. The sentence asks where that person is going.

  2. เห็นแกบอกว่าจะเข้าออฟฟิศบ่ายนี้

    I heard him/her say they'd be in the office this afternoon.

    Word by Word: See him/her say that will enter office afternoon this

    In this example, แก is read as a third-person reference. In a different conversation it could address you directly. Who it refers to and how familiar it sounds depend on the people and context.

  3. พวกแกกินข้าวหรือยัง?

    Have you guys eaten yet?

    Word by Word: Group you eat rice or not yet?

    Using 'phuak' to make the pronoun plural when addressing a group of friends.

  4. แกเป็นใคร!

    Who are you?!

    Word by Word: You be who!

    This example is presented as a confrontational “Who are you?!” Read that tone from the full exchange and punctuation, rather than treating every use of แก with a stranger as automatically aggressive.

  5. แกชอบอันนี้ไหม?

    Do you like this one?

    Word by Word: You like this-one question-particle?

    A friendly, informal question to a peer.

Common Mistakes

  • For this polite question to a teacher, using familiar แก instead of the requested ท่าน.

    อาจารย์ครับ แกจะไปไหนครับ?
    อาจารย์ครับ ท่านจะไปไหนครับ?

    This exercise requests อาจารย์ครับ ท่านจะไปไหนครับ? with ท่าน. The dictionary associates second-person แก with familiarity or a junior listener. Adding ครับ does not by itself select the intended form of address. This is a task about this polite question, not a rule that every teacher, boss, or familiar relationship must use the same pronoun.

How It Connects

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

แกLevel 5You — Very Familiar

Learn This First

To use 'แก' correctly, you need to understand the Thai concept of social register. Unlike English, Thai pronouns are highly dependent on the age and intimacy level between the speaker and the listener. 'แก' is a specific pronoun used among close friends or by an older person to a younger person, and it can sound disrespectful if used in the wrong context.

Words in This Pattern

แก