Shangri Lingua

Have you eaten yet?

กินข้าวหรือยัง

gin kâao rǔe yang

In Thai, asking whether someone has eaten is a way of asking how they are. Here’s what it means, how to answer, and the food words that come next.

Culture note: it’s closer to “how are you?”

Thais ask gin kâao rǔe yang? the way English speakers ask “how are you?”. Friends, family and coworkers use it to say hello and to show they care. It usually isn’t an invitation to a meal, and nobody is expecting a report on what you had for lunch.

So a short answer is all it needs, usually gin láew (“I’ve eaten”). If you say yang (“not yet”), though, don’t be surprised if someone offers to feed you. It’s a friendly question for people you know. With a stranger or in a formal setting, stick to sà-wàt-dii.

The phrase, word by word

Literally it’s “eat rice, or not yet?”. Rice stands in for food in general, so gin kâao just means to have a meal. In casual speech the rǔe often drops out, leaving กินข้าวยัง gin kâao yang?

Reading the romanization: the mark over a vowel shows its tone. bp and dt are a p and a t with no puff of air, while plain p, t and k have the puff. The IPA shows the exact sounds, and Learn the IPA explains how to read it.

How to answer

  • กินแล้ว

    gin láew/kin lɛ́ːw/

    I’ve eaten (literally “ate already”)

  • ยัง

    yang/jaŋ/

    Not yet

  • ยังไม่ได้กิน

    yang mâi dâi gin/jaŋ mâj dâːj kin/

    I haven’t eaten yet

  • อิ่มแล้ว

    ìm láew/ʔìm lɛ́ːw/

    I’m already full

To sound polite, end any of these with kráp if you’re a man or kâ if you’re a woman. A woman asking the question ends it with ká instead.

Verbs

Adjectives

Thai adjectives work on their own, with no word for “is”: pèt can mean “it’s spicy”. Put mâi in front to negate one, and mâak after it for “very”.

Meats

Watch out: spicy and duck differ only by that puff of air. pèt /pʰèt/ is spicy and bpèt /pèt/ is duck, both in the same low tone.

Putting it together

Thai usually leaves out “I” and “you” when they’re obvious, so these short sentences are complete as they stand.

  • หิวไหม

    hǐu mái?/hǐw máj/

    Are you hungry?

  • หิวแล้ว

    hǐu láew/hǐw lɛ́ːw/

    I’m hungry now.

  • กินเผ็ดได้ไหม

    gin pèt dâi mái?/kin pʰèt dâːj máj/

    Can you eat spicy food?

  • ไม่เผ็ด

    mâi pèt/mâj pʰèt/

    Not spicy.

  • ชอบกินหมู

    chôp gin mǒo/t͡ɕʰɔ̂ːp kin mǔː/

    I like eating pork.

  • ไม่กินเนื้อ

    mâi gin néua/mâj kin nɯ́a/

    I don’t eat beef.

  • เอาไก่

    ao gài/ʔaw kàj/

    I’ll have chicken.

  • เปรี้ยวมาก

    bprîao mâak/prîaw mâːk/

    Very sour.

  • อร่อยมาก

    à-ròi mâak/ʔà.rɔ̀ːj mâːk/

    Really delicious.

Tap any word above for more examples, or browse all Thai vocabulary.