This couldn’t be easier, as this one word in Thai allows us to say all of these.
mâi · no, not, do not, does not
The sentence form is subject + mâi + verb. Here’s a comparison between a positive statement and a negative statement. We just add mâi into our sentences in front of the verb.
| positive | subject | + | + | verb | |
| (I go) | phŏm | + | + | bpai | |
| negative | subject | + | mâi | + | verb |
| (I don’t go) | phŏm | + | mâi | + | bpai |
phŏm mâi bpai
I don’t go
khun mâi gin
you don’t eat
khăo mâi châwp chăn
he doesn’t like me
chăn mâi khâo jai
I don’t understand
khun mâi rúu
you don’t know
ther mâi rúu jàk Peter
she doesn’t know Peter
rao mâi nâng thêe nêe
we don’t sit here
phŏm mâi châwp khun
I don’t like you
khăo mâi khâo jai khun
he doesn’t understand you
phûuak rao mâi dern bpai Karon
we don’t walk to Karon
chăn mâi châwp tham ngaan thêe nêe
I don’t like working here
Remember that want to and would like to are verbs, so mâi always comes before them when they appear in a sentence.
phŏm mâi dtâwng gaan bpai
I don’t want to go
khun mâi dtâwng gaan gin
you don’t want to eat
khăo mâi dtâwng gaan nâng thêe nêe
he doesn’t want to sit here
chăn mâi yàak jà bpai thêe nân
I wouldn’t like to go to there
chăn mâi yàak jà tham ngaan thêe nêe
I wouldn’t like to work here
phûuak khăo mâi dtâwng gaan wâai nám thêe nân
they don’t want to swim there
Review the examples in the video, then try the exercise (but be careful, there’s some tricky ones in there!).
Exercise 6
| 1 | I don’t want to go |
| 2 | you don’t want to eat it |
| 3 | you don’t understand me |
| 4 | he doesn’t want to wait for us there |
| 5 | she doesn’t walk to Patong |
| 6 | he wouldn’t like to eat there |
| 7 | I don’t swim here |
| 8 | Peter doesn’t speak |
| 9 | she doesn’t want to sit here |
| 10 | it doesn’t want to work |
| 11 | I don’t want to do it |
| 12 | he doesn’t sleep |
| 13 | you don’t want to read it |
| 14 | I don’t like to swim |
| 15 | you don’t like to eat pizza |
| 16 | Jane doesn’t like to drink beer |
| 17 | he doesn’t love you |
| 18 | she doesn’t like you |
| 19 | you don’t phone her |
| 20 | he doesn’t listen to me |
| 21 | you don’t like to ride a motorcycle |
| 22 | he doesn’t want to drive to Bangkok |
| 23 | they didn’t come to Phuket by train |
| 24 | Jane doesn’t run to Patong |
| 25 | he didn’t fly to Bangkok, he drove there |
| 26 | I don’t like pizza, I like beer |
| 27 | you don’t want to wait, you want to go |
Scroll down for the answers …
| 1 | phŏm/chăn mâi dtâwng gaan bpai |
| 2 | khun mâi dtâwng gaan gin man |
| 3 | khun mâi khâo jai phŏm/chăn |
| 4 | khăo mâi dtâwng gaan raw phûuak rao thêe nân |
| 5 | ther mâi dern bpai Patong |
| 6 | khăo mâi yàak jà gin thêe nân |
| 7 | phŏm/chăn mâi wâai nám thêe nêe |
| 8 | Peter mâi phûud |
| 9 | ther mâi dtâwng gaan nâng thêe nêe |
| 10 | man mâi dtâwng gaan tham ngaan |
| 11 | phŏm/chăn mâi dtâwng gaan tham man |
| 12 | khăo mâi nawn |
| 13 | khun mâi dtâwng gaan àan man |
| 14 | phŏm/chăn mâi châwp wâai nám |
| 15 | khun mâi châwp gin pizza |
| 16 | Jane mâi châwp dèuum beer |
| 17 | khăo mâi rák khun |
| 18 | ther mâi châwp khun |
| 19 | khun mâi thoo-hǎa ther |
| 20 | khăo mâi fang phŏm/chăn |
| 21 | khun mâi châwp khèe maw-dter-sai |
| 22 | khăo mâi dtâwng gaan khàp ród-yon bpai grung-thâep |
| 23 | phûuak khăo mâi nâng ród-fai maa Phuket |
| 24 | Jane mâi wîng bpai Patong |
| 25 | khăo mâi bin bpai grung-thâep, khăo khàp ród bpai thêe nân |
| 26 | phŏm/chăn mâi châwp pizza, phŏm/chăn châwp beer |
| 27 | khun mâi dtâwng gaan raw, khun dtâwng gaan bpai |