Bpen V Kheu In Common Usage

[gawguy]

I'm not sure if these two words, both of which mean "to be" or "is", are roughly equivalent. Last night I was talking to an Issan girl who used kheuh for something, don't remember what. I had thought that "kheuh" is a more formal word because I don't hear it so often. Maybe it isn't or maybe I'm just not hearing it.

 

I always hear "bpen" and usually use it. However it sometimes indicates that something is wrong, "bpen arai?" means "what's wrong?" So if I want to ask "what's that?" I don't say "ahn nii bpen arai" because that means "what's wrong with that thing?"

 

So please correct my mis-impressions. Also tell me if and when you use "kheuh."

 

Thanks,

Gaw Guy

[Flashermac]

My impression is that "keu" is identifying something. I rarely hear it used.

[Boo Radley]

Taken from Learn Thai with Mod:

 

Learn Thai – understand Thai verb ‘to be’

I always say that if you want to speak Thai correctly, one of the first things you should learn is “Thai verb to be†because it is different from English.

Thai uses several different verbs to translate English ‘is/am/are’, ‘was/were’. The most important are เป็น [bpen] , อยู่ [yùu] and คือ [kue]

 

1. เป็น [bpen]

A must know rule for เป็น [bpen] is “it is always followed by a noun or noun phrases; it cannot be followed by an adjective:

The pattern of using เป็น [bpen] is “SUBJECT + เป็น [bpen] + nounâ€

เขาเป็นเพื่อน [káo bpen pûean]

She is a friend.

พวà¸à¹€à¸‚าเป็นคนอเมริà¸à¸² [pûak- káo bpen kon à-may-rí-gaa]

They are American.

ฉันเป็นครู [chán bpen kruu]

I am a teacher.

* Adjectives in Thai doesn’t need a verb to be:

อาหารà¹à¸žà¸‡ [aa-hăan pang]

The food is expensive.

à¸à¸£à¸¸à¸‡à¹€à¸—พฯร้อน [grung-tâpe ráwn]

Bangkok is hot.

 

2. อยู่ [yùu]

 

อยู่ [yùu] (‘to be situated at’) is used to describe the location:

The pattern of using อยู่ [yùu] is “SUBJECT + อยู่ [yùu] + PREPOSITION + locationâ€

à¹à¸¡à¸§à¸­à¸¢à¸¹à¹ˆà¹ƒà¸•à¹‰à¹‚ต๊ะ [meaw yùu dtâi dtó]

A cat is under the table.

นมอยู่ในตู้เย็น [nom yùu nai dtûu-yen]

Milk is in the fridge.

à¹à¸¡à¹ˆà¸­à¸¢à¸¹à¹ˆà¸—ี่โรงพยาบาล [ mâe yùu têe roong pá-yaa-baan]

Mom is at the hospital.

*Tips : for the preposition ‘ที่ têe’ can be dropped out, so you might hear Thai people say mom is hospital à¹à¸¡à¹ˆà¸­à¸¢à¸¹à¹ˆà¹‚รงพยาบาล [mâe yùu roong pá-yaa-baan]

 

3. คือ [kue]

 

คือ [kue] means ‘is equal to’ or ‘namely’ and it is used when giving explanations, clarifications and definitions.

ความรัภคือ ความเข้าใจ [kwaam-rák kue kwaam kâo-jai]

Love is understanding.

In some instances, คือ [kue] is used in introductions and identifying people:

นี่คือน้องชายของฉัน [nêe kue nóng-chaai kÅrng chăn]

This is my little brother.

 

http://www.learnthai...hai-verb-to-be/

[Boo Radley]

Came across the "introductions and identifying people" usage of KHEU คือ in this documentary when THIP ทิพ shows the film crew her house and parents:

 

13:17: นี่คือบ้านเà¸à¸´à¸”ของฉันค่ะ - This is my house.

13:28: นี่คือคุณพ่อ à¹à¸¡à¹ˆà¸‰à¸±à¸™ - This is my mother and father.

13:45 นี่คือห้องนอนฉันà¹à¸•à¹ˆà¸•à¸­à¸™à¸‰à¸±à¸™à¹€à¸à¸´à¸”มา - This is my bedroom when I was a kid.

 

http://youtu.be/fUIbwO05JAA

[Flashermac]

As I said, identifying something ...

[Boo Radley]

Also brings to mind the saying, time is money เวลาคือเงิน.

[Flashermac]

Same same "money is god" ...