How to use the Thai particle word Ja
The word จ๊ะ /já/ is a particle having the same function as ‘ครับ /kráp/’ and ‘คะ /ká/’ but can be used by both men and women (although women and ladyboys seem to use it more than men). You will hear this particle used a lot in common Thai speech.
The particle is used to soften a sentence and to make more polite. Friends and people who are close to each other can use จ๊ะ /já/ instead of ครับ /kráp/ and คะ /ká/. It can be used when talking to children, inferiors or intimates. Also, จ๊ะ /já/ can be used as a final particle used when asking a question – it turns a statement into a question.
For example;
กินอะไรจ๊ะ /gin à-rai já/ = What do you eat?he
ทำอะไรอยู่จ๊ะ /tam à-rai yùu já/ = What are you doing?
ไปไหมจ๊ะ /bpai mái já/ = Do you want to go?
พลอยจ๊ะ /ploy já/ = Ploy! (Calling Ploy)
หนูชื่ออะไรจ๊ะ /nǔu chûu à-rai já/ = What is your name? (หนู /nǔu/ is for calling a little child)
I hope this will help you Speak Thai more naturally like a native Thai.
Prae
Thai Language Teacher
