Krup and Ka

[PeteC]

The male polite particle, and the female polite particle. We hear them constantly and if you listen to a Thai radio broadcast or Thai tv report, you very well may hear them after every 5-6 words. To me it gets a bit excessive at times and seems like a huge waste of energy and communication efficiency. Perhaps it all came about as part of class structure with lower having to speak to upper in that manner?

What say ye?

1) A charming part of Thai culture.

2) Excessive and a bit over the top in terms of politeness.

3) Historical and you could have lost your head if not used, and it has just filtered down to what it is in this modern age.

Pete

[Bamboo Grove]

For me it would be no. 1. I find it much more pleasant than some features in my own language or the "well" (although, mainly used in the beginning of the sentence) in English.

[sateeb]

I prefer it to hearing the often inane "yeah","know what I mean" or "innit" after every sentence.

[PET]

I prefer it to hearing the often inane "yeah","know what I mean" or "innit" after every sentence.

Here here Sateeb !

[Roel]

Definitely 1.
An intriguing phenomenon of the Thai language. Especially to observe who and when somebody is NOT using it. Like for instance taxi drivers talking to Thai speaking farangs in a manner they would never get away with had it been to a Thai person.

[Nereus]

Definitely 1.
An intriguing phenomenon of the Thai language. Especially to observe who and when somebody is NOT using it. Like for instance taxi drivers talking to Thai speaking farangs in a manner they would never get away with had it been to a Thai person.

And doesn't that tell you something? A bit like the the plastic smiles that get handed out.
I have found the the more "lower" for want of a better word, that the giver is, the more likely it is to be sincere. Such as car park attendants and the like.

[Roel]

An explanation for that observation could be that the people at the bottom of the Thai hierarchical society are accustomed (and one might say "forced") to using it almost all the time. So is it sincerity or acquiescence?
Whereas higher up in the hierarchy it varies with the situation which gives room to context dependent decision making. This sometimes offers the opportunity to "rebel" against the system, a nitwit Thai speaking farang being an easy target.

[Dr Mike]

I have noticed that in written communications in English, Thai women will usually end witha Ka, but men never add the polite ending.

And I hate 'you know" added to every phrase in English, you know.

[deepee]

Pete,
I'm in on the first choice.
Must admit you can get so used to it after a while that you hardly know you are saying it also.
I do have a bit of a giggle when what I would presume is a female slips up with a " krup" end of sentence.

[Noz]

I think there are occasions when a woman can use "krup" although not 100% sure on that. Not exactly the same, but a man (not ladyboy), can sometimes use "chan/di chan" instead of "pom" so I might be right.

Personally I'm not a fan of the "krup" and "ka" niceties. But I think it's just another cultural thing I'll never get my head around. In the western world we can tell when someone is being polite in far more subtle ways than adding a word to a sentence. Of course the wording of something says a lot but also mannerisms and the way people act will denote sincerity or otherwise.

I just don't buy that adding a word onto the end of a sentence automatically indicates politeness, although it might, just sometimes insincere politeness! Probably all down to the class and status stuff that many Thais seem fixated on.

I always wonder if saying "f*ck you krup" would be considered polite?

But I also agree with other posters that the English language is bastardised in some very annoying ways and also has plenty nonsensical grammatical rules, so who are we to judge. Know what I mean?

[traveller2]

I go with number 1.

In many cases I do believe its used in politeness, both towards myself and others.

It is used a lot, every couple of words sometimes, but is that such a bad thing?

I just view it as being overly polite which, I have to admit, I quite like.

t2

[TingTongJohn]

#1 for me..But lets not forget there seems to be two forms of Ka one short and one long when ending their sentence or so it seems to me..Is there a real diffference?

[dtaai-maai]

I think it's just a question of context and intonation, John. The longer one may be a bit more polite, and is emphasising agreement as well as other things. It can also be a bit more "put on".

Krup/ka is more than a polite irrelevance - it is often used on it's own where we in English would be saying "yes" or "okay".

Her: "Don't forget to buy some milk"
Me: "Khaaap" (longer than usual because its meaning is "You really do think I'm a senile old fart, don't you?")

My Thai is fairly basic and self-taught, so I'd be interested to hear from the experts if my assumptions are correct.

[Dr Mike]

Also Thai people will drag out the last syllabul in English to emphasise thanks

Thank you very muuuuuuuuch

[Terry]

All of it is better than the 'lah' experienced after almost everything in Malaysia or Singapore lah