Breakdown of โรงเรียน ปิดเทอม เมื่อไร คะ
โรงเรียน
school
คะ
female question particle / polite particle (female)
เมื่อไร
when
ปิดเทอม
the school break
Questions & Answers about โรงเรียน ปิดเทอม เมื่อไร คะ
Why is the word for "when" (เมื่อไร) at the end of the sentence?
Unlike English, which usually puts "when" at the very beginning of a question, Thai uses what we call "in-situ" question words. This means the question word stays in the exact same spot where the answer would go. Because the answer would be something like "School closes the term next month", the question asks "School closes the term when?".
How exactly does ปิดเทอม mean "school break"?
It translates literally to "close term". ปิด means "to close", and เทอม is actually the English word "term" (or semester) borrowed directly into Thai!
Why isn't there a Thai word for "is" in this sentence?
In English, we phrase this as "When is the school break?" using a "to be" verb. However, in this Thai sentence, ปิด (to close) acts as an action verb. The sentence is literally built as "School closes term when?", so no "is" is needed.
Why is the particle คะ used here instead of ค่ะ?
คะ (pronounced with a high tone) is the polite particle female speakers use specifically for questions. You will see ค่ะ (pronounced with a low, falling tone) used by female speakers at the end of statements or answers. Male speakers just use ครับ for both.