explanation

Kinship terms are used in place of pronous in a home or informal setting. The formal pronouns คุณ [you], ดิฉัน/ฉัน/ผม [I - female/male] are used in formal settings outside the home, such as in school or in a business or social setting. At home a parent would say the equivalent of "Where is child [ลูก] going?" Or a younger sibling would ask an older, "When is Elder [พี่] coming home?" A wife might also refer to herself [I] as น้อง/nawng/ [I/younger sister] and addressing her husband, พี่/phi/ [you/elder brother]. Kin terms are used outside of the home to display courtesy and to reduce social distance. If you see a woman your mother's age, you would address her as ป้า/paa/ [aunt]; if she is your grandmother's age, call her ยาย/yaay/. The classifier for counting people is คน/khon/.

มีพี่น้องกี่คน

How many older and younger kids are there in your
family (including yourself)?

พ่อแม่มีลูกกี่คน

มีลูกชายกี่คน

ลูกสาวกี่คน

How many kids do your parents have?

How many sons?

How many daughters?

หนู/nuu/, which usually means mouse or rat, is also used as a semi-formal pronoun. It is used to express something like "humbleness." A teacher can call her student 'nuu' in place of 'you' and the student can use 'nuu' for 'I' in talking to a teacher and elders. Some women will refer to themselves as 'nuu' in talking to their husbands or a senior person.

Names are also use in place of pronouns. Names are of two types: Nicknames, given at birth; Given names given by a monk or respected elder. The given name is used at school. Nicknames will be used throughout life by family and friends.

The kin term + nickname is commonly used as well. For example: พี่แดง/phi daeng/ - elder sibling Red. Nicknames include colors (แดง/daeng/ - Red, ดำ /dam/ - Black), a physical feature (อ้วน/?uan/ - Fat), an animal (ไก่/kay/ - chicken), or a meaningless sound (อี๊ด/Ete/,แอ๊ด/Aet/). In the 1980s and 90s, English names (Johnny, Billy) became increasinly popular with urban Thai parents.

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