“What are you doing?” in Thai is ทำอะไรอยู่ (tham à-rai yùu). When you want a polite question, say ทำอะไรอยู่ครับ (tham à-rai yùu khráp) or ทำอะไรอยู่คะ (tham à-rai yùu khá).
Everyday and polite forms
| Thai | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ทำอะไรอยู่ | tham à-rai yùu | What are you doing? The subject is clear from context. |
| ทำอะไรอยู่ครับ | tham à-rai yùu khráp | What are you doing? Polite question with ครับ. |
| ทำอะไรอยู่คะ | tham à-rai yùu khá | What are you doing? Polite question with คะ. |
| คุณกำลังทำอะไรครับ | khun kam-lang tham à-rai khráp | What are you doing right now? A fuller polite question. |
ทำ (tham) means “do” and อะไร (à-rai) means “what.” In this pattern, อยู่ (yùu) follows the action to show it is continuing. You can also put กำลัง (kam-lang) before the verb. In conversation, the subject often drops out when it is already clear. See Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep’s Thai lesson for a fuller question and ThaiPod101’s spoken examples.
How to reply
- ทำงานอยู่ครับ (tham-ngaan yùu khráp) means “I’m working.”
- กำลังอ่านหนังสืออยู่ค่ะ (kam-lang àan nang-sue yùu khâ) means “I’m reading.”
- กำลังกินข้าว (kam-lang kin khao) means “I’m eating.”
In the second example, the polite ending is ค่ะ (khâ) because it is a statement. The question uses คะ (khá). A speaker who uses ครับ can use it in both the question and the reply.
Asking about someone’s job
Use ทำงานอะไร (tham-ngaan à-rai) when asking what kind of work someone does. ทำอะไรอยู่ asks about what is happening in the conversation. With a friend you might hear the shorter ทำไรอยู่ in casual speech or messages. Use the full form ทำอะไรอยู่ while you are learning.
A quick conversation drill
A asks ทำอะไรอยู่คะ. B replies ทำงานอยู่ครับ. Now change the reply to “I’m eating,” and say both lines aloud. Use the question ending for the question and the statement ending for the answer.
Continue practising with how to say “but” in Thai or how to say “I love you” in Thai. To practise these exchanges with a teacher, ask Thai Explorer about the S$45 two-hour Beginner 1 trial and confirm the next date before booking.