As soon as in Thai

“As soon as” in Thai is พอpaw.

พอ paw

as soon as, when (+ a clause); enough conjunction

paw mid

Mid: level, in your normal speaking voice.

How to use it

พอpaw, the word for "enough", also starts a time clause: as soon as, once, when. The second half usually takes ก็gâw, then: พอถึงก็โทรมาpaw tǔeng gâw too maa, call when you arrive. The news and formal Thai say ทันทีที่tan-tii tîi, the moment that, or เมื่อmûea, when.

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:

phaw

Song Ghost (ซ่อน (ไม่) หา) One of Jeff Satur's biggest hits: a quiet, heartbroken goodbye built on the game of hide-and-seek. She can hide as long as she likes, because this time he won't come looking. The lines are B1 gold: there's no need to, no matter where, as soon as, I hope that, the particle rawk that softens a 'no', and mai pen rai, 'it's OK', used to hide how much it hurts.

More small words in Thai

All small words

ผม pǒm I
I, me (male speaker)
คุณ kun You
เขา kǎo He, she
เรา rao We
we, us
พวกเขา pûak-kǎo They
they, them
ทุกคน túk kon Everyone
everyone, everybody

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

How to use it

Other spellings you'll see

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More small words in Thai

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