Questions & Answers about เอา ครับ
Why does this translate to 'Yes, I want it' when there is no word for 'yes'?
Thai does not have a single universal word for 'yes'. Instead, to answer a Yes/No question affirmatively, you simply repeat the main verb from the question. Because the verb here is เอา (to want/take), saying it alone means 'Yes, I want it.'
What Yes/No question is this sentence answering?
This is the answer to a question like เอาไหม (Do you want it?). The person asking used the verb เอา along with the question word ไหม, so you drop the ไหม and echo the verb back to say yes.
How would I answer 'no' instead?
Can I use เอา to say I want to do an activity, like wanting to sleep?
No, เอา is only used when you want or want to take a noun (a physical thing or object, like a menu or a drink). If you want to perform an action, you have to use a completely different word for 'want'.
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