In English we use the suffix “er” to convert a verb into a noun indicating a person who does something, as “Walker”, “Singer”, “Teacher” etc.

In Thai we achieve the same thing by adding another word in front of the verb.

Several prefixes are used in this way to personify nouns and verbs and though there is some overlapping in their use, each word is in general applied to some particular form of activity.

A summary of the more commonly used prefixes is given below.

1. KON c (คน) “a person” is generally used as a prefix to denote a person engaged in a more or less unskilled and menial activity.

   	KON KROO-A	คนครัว	A cook.
   	KON SOO-AN	คนสวน	A gardener.
   	KON SUK PAH	คนซักผ้า	A laundress.
   	KON RUP NGERN	คนรับเงิน	A cashier.
   	KON KAI KORNG	คนขายของ	A salesman.

2. POO d (ผู้) “a person who” refers to people who are engaged on some particular activity but on a more or less temporary basis.

   	POO WING	ผู้วิ่ง	A runner.
   	POO FUNG	ผู้ฟัง	A listener.
   	POO SONG	ผู้ส่ง	The sender.
   	POO CHOO-AY	ผู้ช่วย	A helper, an assistant.

3. CHAHNG d (ช่าง) “a skilled worker” refers to artisans and people engaged in skilled trades.

   	CHAHNG MY	ช่างไม้	A carpenter.
   	CHAHNG FIT	ช่างฟิต	A fitter.
   	CHAHNG DTUT SEU-A	ช่างตัดเสื้อ	A tailor.
   	CHAHNG DTUT POM	ช่างตัดผม	A barber.

4. NUK h (นัก) “one skilled in” is used for people engaged in the more professional occupations and cultural activities.

   	NUK BIN	นักบิน	An aviator.
   	NUK REE-AN	นักเรียน	A student.
   	NUK KEE-AN (NUNGSEU)	นักเขียน (หนังสือ)	A writer.
   	NUK DONDTREE	นักดนตรี	A musician.
   	NUK TORNG TEE-O	นักท่องเที่ยว	A tourist.

Generated by Lyndon Hill on Thu Jul 20 18:40:33 BST 2006.

Copyright remains with the original authors.