The Many Usages of 'ที่' — Thai Grammar

(tîithîthî) is one of the most versatile words in the language. Depending on the context, it can function as a preposition indicating location, a relative pronoun connecting clauses, or a particle used to form ordinal numbers.

As a Preposition of Place ("At")

The most basic usage of (tîithîthî) is to indicate a location, similar to the English word "at". It is placed directly before the noun representing the place.

ฉันอยู่ที่บ้าน
chǎn yùu tîi bâanchǎn yù thî bânčǎn yù thî bân
I am at home.
เขาทำงานที่โรงพยาบาล
kǎo tam·ngaan tîi roong·pá·yaa·baankhǎo tham·ngan thî rong·phá·ya·bankhǎo tham·ngan thî rong·phá·ya·ban
He works at the hospital.
เจอกันที่ร้านอาหาร
jəə gan tîi ráan·aa·hǎanchoe kan thî rán·a·hǎnčơ kan thî rán·a·hǎn
See you at the restaurant.

As a Relative Pronoun ("Who", "Which", "That")

(tîithîthî) acts as a relative pronoun to connect a noun with a phrase that describes it. In this context, it translates to "who", "which", or "that". It allows you to add more specific details about a person or object.

คนที่พูดภาษาไทย
kon tîi pûut paa·sǎa taikhon thî phût pha·sǎ thaikhon thî phût pha·sǎ thai
The person who speaks Thai.
อาหารที่แม่ทำ
aa·hǎan tîi mɛ̂ɛ tama·hǎn thî mâe thama·hǎn thî mê̩ tham
The food that Mom cooks.
นี่คือหนังสือที่ฉันชอบ
nîi kʉʉ nǎng·sʉ̌ʉ tîi chǎn chɔ̂ɔpnî khue nǎng·sǔe thî chǎn chôpnî khư nǎng·sư̌ thî čǎn čô̦p
This is the book which I like.

Linking Nouns to Adjectives

While adjectives usually follow nouns directly (e.g., (rót dɛɛngrót daengrót de̩ng) - red car), adding (tîithîthî) between the noun and the adjective places specific emphasis on the quality. It changes the meaning slightly from a general description to "the one that is...".

ผู้หญิงที่สวย
pûu·yǐng tîi sǔaiphû·yǐng thî sǔaiphû·yǐng thî sǔai
The woman who is beautiful (The beautiful woman).
ผมชอบรถที่เร็ว
pǒm chɔ̂ɔp rót tîi reophǒm chôp rót thî reophǒm čô̦p rót thî reo
I like cars that are fast.

Forming Ordinal Numbers

To change a cardinal number (one, two, three) into an ordinal number (first, second, third), place (tîithîthî) before the number.

บทที่หนึ่ง
bòt tîi nʉ̀ngbòt thî nùengbòt thî nừng
Chapter one (The first chapter).
เขาเป็นคนที่สอง
kǎo bpen kon tîi sɔ̌ɔngkhǎo pen khon thî sǒngkhǎo pen khon thî sǒ̦ng
He is the second person.
ชั้นที่ห้า
chán tîi hâachán thî hâčán thî hâ
The fifth floor.

With Emotions and Abstract Concepts

(tîithîthî) is also used after verbs expressing feelings to introduce the reason for that feeling, functioning like "that" or "to" in English.

ดีใจที่ได้เจอคุณ
dii·jai tîi dâai jəə kundi·chai thî dâi choe khundi·čai thî dâi čơ khun
Glad to meet you (Glad that I met you).
ขอโทษที่มาสาย
kɔ̌ɔ·tôot tîi maa sǎaikhǒ·thôt thî ma sǎikhǒ̦·thôt thî ma sǎi
Sorry for coming late (Sorry that I came late).

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Thai course

73 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 4. A few of them, with the words “The Many Usages of 'ที่'” is about in bold:

เธอมีรถที่ช้าและราคาถูก
təə mii rót tîi cháa lɛ́ raa·kaa tùukthoe mi rót thî chá láe ra·kha thùkthơ mi rót thî čá lé̩ ra·kha thùk
She has a slow, cheap car.
Lesson 110
ลูกสาวของเราอยู่ไหน? - เธออยู่ที่โรงเรียน
lûuk·sǎao kɔ̌ɔng rao yùu nǎi? - təə yùu tîi roong·rianlûk·sǎo khǒng rao yù nǎi? - thoe yù thî rong·rianlûk·sǎo khǒ̦ng rao yù nǎi? - thơ yù thî rong·rian
Where is our daughter? - She's at school.
Lesson 242
นายมีลูกสองคนที่น่ารักมาก พวกเขาอายุเท่าไหร่กันแล้วล่ะ?
naai mii lûuk sɔ̌ɔng kon tîi nâa·rák mâak pûak kǎo aa·yú tâo·rài gan lɛ́ɛo lâ?nai mi lûk sǒng khon thî nâ·rák mâk phûak khǎo a·yú thâo·rài kan láeo lâ?nai mi lûk sǒ̦ng khon thî nâ·rák mâk phûak khǎo a·yú thâo·rài kan lé̩o lâ?
You have two very beautiful children. How old are they?
Lesson 264

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