In this article, we are going to learn all the definitions of มี (mee) including there is and there are.

To have

One of the top verbs that you must know when first starting to learn Thai is มี (mee).

มี (mee) means “to have”, as in to possess something. (it’s not ‘to have’ as in have a good time).

Examples:

• I have a dog.
  ผมมีหมา
  pŏm mee măa
  
  
• The dog has fur.
  หมามีขน
  măa mee kŏn

There is, There are

We use there is and there are to say that something exists. In Thai, there is no difference between there is and there are.

Whether it is plural or singular, we just the word มี (mee).

• There are lots of people
  มีคนเยอะมาก
  mee kon yúh mâak
  
  
• Is there an ice-cream with vanilla flavor?
  มีไอติมรสวนิลาไหม
  mee ai-dtim rót wá-ní laa măi
  
  
• Is there something bothering you?
  มีอะไรรบกวนใจคุณหรือเปล่า
  mee à-rai róp guan jai kun rĕu bplào
  
  
• There is a shoe on the ground.
  มีรองเท้าอยู่บนพื้น
  mee rong táo yòo bon péun

Bonus expressions with มี

• What is there? What happened?
  มีอะไร?
  mee à-rai
  
  
• Someone told me that
  มีคนบอกว่า
  mee kon bòk wâa
  
  
• Someone said that
  มีคนพูดว่า
  mee kon pôot wâa
  
  
• One day,…
  มีวันหนึ่ง
  mee wan nèung

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One interesting fact is that a lot of Thai people will use the word ‘have’ for ‘there is’ or ‘there are’.

For example, ‘HAVE one time I was at the hospital’. This means ‘ THERE IS one time that I was at the hospital.

So don’t get confused when Thai people use the word have at the beginning of the sentence to mean there is or there are.