Breakdown of เคส อัน นี้ ถูก มาก แต่ ทนทาน ซะอีก ค่ะ
ค่ะ
polite particle (female)
มาก
very / much, more
ถูก
cheap
แต่
but
Questions & Answers about เคส อัน นี้ ถูก มาก แต่ ทนทาน ซะอีก ค่ะ
How does the particle ซะอีก function at the end of this sentence?
It shows that the outcome is contrary to expectations, adding a sense of pleasant surprise. Because the case is very cheap (ถูกมาก), you would normally expect it to be flimsy. Adding ซะอีก emphasizes that it is unexpectedly durable.
Could I use just ทน instead of ทนทาน for durable?
Yes, ทน is the everyday, colloquial word for durable or enduring. ทนทาน is a compound word that means the exact same thing but sounds slightly more descriptive or polished. Both fit perfectly here.
ถูก has several different functions in Thai. How do we know it means 'cheap' here instead of 'correct' or a passive voice marker?
Context and the modifier are your main clues. It is followed by the degree word มาก (very). While an object cannot logically be 'very correct' or 'very passive', it can definitely be 'very cheap'.
Why is there no word for 'it' after แต่ (but)?
Thai frequently drops pronouns when the topic is already obvious. Since เคสอันนี้ (this case) is set up as the topic in the first clause, adding a pronoun like มัน (it) in the second clause is unnecessary and dropping it makes the sentence flow more naturally.