Breakdown of เขา ยังไม่ ปอก มังคุด ห้า ลูก นี้
เขา
he, she, they
ห้า
five
นี้
this (modifier)
ยังไม่
not yet (used before verbs)
ลูก
classifier for fruits and round objects
ปอก
to peel (fruit, remove the skin)
มังคุด
mangosteen
Questions & Answers about เขา ยังไม่ ปอก มังคุด ห้า ลูก นี้
Why is the word order มังคุด ห้า ลูก นี้ for "these five mangosteens"?
In Thai, the structure for pointing out a specific number of items is Noun + Number + Classifier + Demonstrative. So we say "mangosteen" (มังคุด), then the number "five" (ห้า), then the classifier for fruits (ลูก), and finally "these" (นี้).
Doesn't the word ลูก usually mean "child"? Why is it used with mangosteens?
You're right that ลูก means "child" or "offspring" when used as a normal noun. However, it is also used as a classifier for fruits, balls, and other small round objects. Since a mangosteen is a round fruit, we use ลูก to count them.
How does ยังไม่ translate to "hasn't ... yet"?
The word ยัง means "still" and ไม่ means "not". When placed together directly before an action verb like ปอก (to peel), ยังไม่ means "still not" or "not yet doing [action]".
The translation says "these", but is the word นี้ used for both "this" and "these"?
Exactly! Thai doesn't change demonstrative words like "this" and "that" into plural forms. นี้ can mean "this" or "these" depending on the context. Here, we know it means "these" because the sentence specifies there are five (ห้า) mangosteens.
Learn เขา ยังไม่ ปอก มังคุด ห้า ลูก นี้ and more in Thai
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free