Breakdown of สังคม คือ ครอบครัว ใหญ่ ครับ
ครับ
polite particle (male)
ใหญ่
big
ครอบครัว
family
คือ
is / namely / that is
Questions & Answers about สังคม คือ ครอบครัว ใหญ่ ครับ
Why do we use คือ here instead of เป็น for the word "is"?
In Thai, คือ is used when defining a concept, explaining what something means, or stating that one thing equals another. Because the speaker is providing a metaphor or definition for what สังคม (society) means, คือ is the correct choice. The other "to be" verb, เป็น, is mostly used for categories, states, or occupations.
Where is the word for "a" in "a big family"?
Thai does not use articles like "a", "an", or "the". To say "a big family", you simply say the words for "family big" (ครอบครัว ใหญ่). You would only add a number and a classifier if you were specifically counting families, such as emphasizing "one big family".
Why is the word order ครอบครัว ใหญ่ and not ใหญ่ ครอบครัว?
In Thai, describing words always come directly after the noun they modify. So instead of putting the adjective first like in English, you state the noun ครอบครัว (family) first, followed by the describing word ใหญ่ (big).
Would a female speaker use this exact same sentence?
Almost! The grammar and vocabulary stay the same, but the polite particle at the very end changes based on the gender of the speaker. A female speaker would replace the male polite particle ครับ with the female polite particle ค่ะ.