Breakdown of ผม ผอม แต่ พี่ชาย อ้วน ครับ
ครับ
polite particle (male)
ผม
I (male)
แต่
but
พี่ชาย
older brother
ผอม
thin
อ้วน
chubby
Questions & Answers about ผม ผอม แต่ พี่ชาย อ้วน ครับ
Why are there no words for "am" or "is" before ผอม and อ้วน?
In Thai, adjectives like ผอม (thin) and อ้วน (fat) act like verbs. You don't need a "to be" word like you do in English. You just literally say "I thin" (ผม ผอม) and "older brother fat" (พี่ชาย อ้วน).
How does แต่ (but) connect the two ideas here?
แต่ works very much like "but" in English. It sits right in the middle to join two contrasting statements: ผม ผอม (I am thin) and พี่ชาย อ้วน (older brother is fat).
The English translation says "my older brother", but there is no word for "my" in the Thai sentence. Why?
In Thai, when it is obvious from the context whose family member you are talking about, you can drop the word for "my". Since you started the sentence talking about yourself (ผม), it is naturally understood that พี่ชาย is your older brother.
Why is the polite particle ครับ placed at the very end instead of after the first part about myself?
Polite particles like ครับ (used by male speakers) go at the absolute end of a complete thought or sentence. Even when the sentence is made up of two smaller parts joined by แต่, you only need one polite particle at the very end.
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