แก

Explanation

แก is a casual pronoun for referring to someone socially close or contextually familiar. As “you,” it is used among close friends, siblings, family members, or toward someone seen as equal or lower in status, but it is not polite. Tone matters a lot: it can sound affectionate in one relationship and openly disrespectful in another. As a third-person pronoun, it refers to a known person in the conversation without marking gender.

Usage

You will hear it in casual talk among friends or family, in drama dialogue, teasing, arguments, and emotionally direct speech. Learners should generally use it only with people who already use this style of speech with them.

Caution

Avoid using แก with strangers, seniors, teachers, bosses, customers, or in professional settings. Use คุณ, a name, or kinship-style terms such as พี่ or น้อง when you need a safer form of address. Do not confuse it with แก่ “old; to/for” or แก้ “to fix.”

1 you [casual, intimate or blunt] synonyms

• คุณ

  khun you

  คุณ is the standard polite “you.” แก is much more casual and should be limited to close relationships or quoted speech.

• มึง

  mʉŋ you [rude]

  มึง is a very rough or intimate “you.” แก is also informal and risky, but it is generally less harsh than มึง in many contexts.

• เธอ

  thəə you [informal or intimate]

  เธอ is also used as an informal “you,” often softer than แก. แก feels more blunt and can easily sound confrontational.

2 he [casual] synonyms

• คนนั้น

  คนนั้น means “that person” and points someone out. แก works as a pronoun within an ongoing conversation.

• เขา

  khǎw he

  เขา is the standard “he/she/they.” แก is more casual and usually refers to someone both speakers can identify from context.