Questions & Answers about คุณ กิน อาหารกลางวัน กี่ โมง ครับ
Why is กี่ โมง (what time) at the end of the sentence instead of the beginning?
In Thai, question words usually go at the end of the sentence, in the exact spot where the answer will be. While English moves "What time" to the front, Thai keeps the standard "Subject + Verb + Object + Time" structure. You are literally asking "You eat lunch how many hours?".
I thought the word for "what" was อะไร. Why do we use กี่ here?
กี่ actually means "how many" and is used when you expect a number as the answer. In Thai, you ask for the time by asking "how many hours" (กี่ โมง). You can't use อะไร (what) because you are specifically asking for a numerical time, not a general "what".
Is อาหารกลางวัน the only way to say "lunch" in Thai?
อาหารกลางวัน (literally "middle of the day food") is correct and very clear, but slightly formal. In casual, everyday conversation, you will very often hear people say ข้าวเที่ยง (literally "noon rice") instead. You can easily swap ข้าวเที่ยง into this exact sentence.
Will the answer to this question also use the word โมง?
Not necessarily! Even though the question uses กี่ โมง (the standard way to ask "what time" for any time of day), the answer might use a different time-of-day word. For example, if they eat at 1:00 PM, they will answer using บ่าย โมง (1 PM), which adds the afternoon time word บ่าย.