ก็: also, then and a softener
See ก็ in different sentences and work out its meaning from context.
ก็ turns up in almost every conversation, but it has no single English equivalent. Sometimes it means also, sometimes then, and sometimes it adds no meaning and only softens a reply. You recognise it by where it stands, and there are three common positions. The spelling doesn't follow the usual rules: there's no written vowel, and ก็ is pronounced as if written ก้อ, with a falling tone. In quick speech the vowel is often short.
The first position is before the verb, right after the person or thing you're talking about. There it means also or too: ผมก็ไป means I'm going too. English too can sit at the end of the sentence, but this ก็ stays directly before the verb.
In this meaning ก็ doesn't move in front of the subject.
The second position is at the start of the second half of a sentence, where English might say then. First you state a condition or a topic, and ก็ picks it up and carries the sentence on: ถ้าแพงก็ไม่ซื้อ means if it's expensive, I won't buy it. The topic “If and so” covers the linking words themselves. For now, notice that Thai speakers often put ก็ in the second half even where English would leave the place empty.
I'm going too.
ด้วย at the end of a sentence means something similar: ผมไปด้วย, I'm coming with you. ก็ links back to something already said, while ด้วย adds you to the group.
I like Thai food too.
The sentence opens with its topic, Thai food. Then comes the speaker, and only then ก็ and the verb.
If it's expensive, I won't buy it.
Nobody is named again in the second half: ก็ picks up the condition and leads straight to the verb.
The third position is at the start of a reply. ก็ได้ means OK, that'll do, and ก็ดี is roughly sounds good. There's little to translate here: ก็ just makes the agreement sound less abrupt, a bit like starting with well. The same ก็ได้ turns a question word into any: อะไร, what, gives อะไรก็ได้, anything, and ที่ไหน, where, gives ที่ไหนก็ได้, anywhere.
Common expressions with ก็
- ใครก็ได้krai-gɔ̂ɔ-dâi
anyone
- ที่ไหนก็ได้tîi-nǎi-gɔ̂ɔ-dâi
anywhere
- เมื่อไหร่ก็ได้mʉ̂a-rài-gɔ̂ɔ-dâi
any time
I'll eat anything.
A typical reply when you don't mind and are happy for someone else to choose.
Going together sounds good.
Here ก็ดี isn't about quality: it's a way of agreeing to a suggestion.
Common mistake
A common mistake is to put ก็ at the very start, as in ก็ผมไป instead of ผมก็ไป. When it means also, ก็ comes after the subject and before the verb. Only short replies such as ก็ได้ and ก็ไม่รู้ begin with ก็, and there it softens the reply rather than meaning also.
Practise
Kai says
The same Thai letter can look different in a book and on a sign. Looped and loopless fonts use different shapes, and the app's font setting lets you practise both.