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Time

A while in Thai

“A while” in Thai is สักพักsàk-pák.

สักพัก sàk-pák

a while, a little while adverb

  • sàk low
  • pák high
  • Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
  • High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
Parts: สักsàk just, about (softens an amount) พักpák a rest, a break

How to use it

สักพักsàk-pák is a short, vague stretch of time, anything from a few minutes to an hour. สักsàk softens any amount: สักครู่sàk krûu is a moment (a polite word you'll hear from staff), and สักห้านาทีsàk hâa naa-tii about five minutes. A long time is นานnaan.

Other spellings you'll see

There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:

  • sak phak
  • suk puk

More time in Thai

All time
  • วันนี้ wan-níi Today
  • พรุ่งนี้ prûng-níi Tomorrow
  • เมื่อวาน mûea-waan Yesterday
  • คืนนี้ kuuen-níi Tonight
  • ตอนนี้ dtawn-níi Now

    now, right now

  • ทีหลัง tii-lǎng Later

    later, afterwards

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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones