How to use the
Thai Grammar
Preposition of
Location
“ข้าง kâang”
Hello everyone
Today we shall learn some basic Thai Grammar. You will need this preposition to help you describe where things or yourself are located. Let’s start:
Thai Grammar ข้าง /kâang/ + Preposition
The following prepositions can all be prefixed by ข้าง /kâang. In English we often use the word ‘side’ to describe a location ie inside, outside etc – think of kâang like this as follows:
- ใน /nai/ = in (side)
- นอก /nͻ̂ͻk/ = out (side of)
- บน /bon/ = on, (on top of; upstairs)
- ล่าง /lâang/ = below (underneath; downstairs)
- หน้า /nâa/ = in front (of)
- หลัง /lǎng/ = behind
- ข้าง /kâang/ = by the side of
However, when a noun or noun phrase follows the preposition, ข้าง /kâang/ is usually dropped:
- มันอยู่ในรถ /man yùu nai rót/ = It is in the car.
- เขาอยู่หลังบ้าน /káo yùu lǎng bâan/ = She is behind the house.
But if no noun follows the preposition, ข้าง /kâang/ cannot be dropped:
- ผมอยู่ข้างนอก /pǒm yùu kâang nͻ̂ͻk/ = I am outside.
- เขาอยู่ข้างบน /káo yùu kâang bon/ = He is upstairs.
I hope this helps 🙂
Go and practice.
We teach English and Thai privately online, at our school and at a location of your choice in Bangkok. We can even build you a flexible program including all these options. Give us a try with a free trial lesson :-).
Look forward to seeing you in my next lesson.
By Prae
Thai Language Teacher
