Breakdown of ใช้ เวลา กี่ ชั่วโมง กี่ นาที คะ
คะ
female question particle / polite particle (female)
กี่
how many
ใช้
to use
เวลา
time
ชั่วโมง
hour
นาที
minute
Questions & Answers about ใช้ เวลา กี่ ชั่วโมง กี่ นาที คะ
Why does the Thai sentence say "use time" (ใช้เวลา) instead of "take"?
In Thai, the verb ใช้ means "to use". When talking about how long an activity takes, Thai speakers literally say "use time" (ใช้เวลา). You will hear this phrase very often when asking about durations.
The lesson says to use กี่ + Classifier, but where are the classifiers for hours and minutes here?
Time words like ชั่วโมง (hour) and นาที (minute) act as their own classifiers! So you just say กี่ followed directly by the time word, which perfectly follows the "how many + classifier" rule without needing an extra word.
Why is กี่ used twice in this sentence? Can't I just say "how many hours and minutes"?
In Thai, you must repeat the question word กี่ for each separate unit of measurement you are asking about. You cannot group them together with a single "how many" like we do in English.
Why is there no word for "and" connecting hours and minutes?
When asking about or stating time duration, Thai often strings the units directly together without a connecting word like "and" (และ). Saying กี่ชั่วโมงกี่นาที right in a row is the most natural, conversational way to ask.
As a quick refresher, why are we using คะ instead of ค่ะ at the end?
คะ (with a high tone) is the polite particle used by female speakers specifically for asking questions. If a female speaker were answering the question, she would use ค่ะ (with a falling tone) instead. Male speakers would just use ครับ for both.
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