Become in Thai

“Become” in Thai is กลายเป็นglaai-bpen; you'll also hear เป็นbpen (be, become (a job, a role)).

กลายเป็น glaai-bpen

to become, to turn into verb

glaai mid
bpen mid

Mid: level, in your normal speaking voice.

เป็น bpen

to be (a nationality, a job, a role) verb be, become (a job, a role)

bpen mid

Mid: level, in your normal speaking voice.

Only for what someone is, never before adjectives: 'I'm fine' is just สบายดีsà-baai dii.

เป็นbpen is taught in Unit 2 · Lesson 2: Where are you from? of the free course.

Practise it free

How to use it

กลายเป็นglaai-bpen is changing from one thing into another: a stranger into a friend, a small problem into a big one. For a job or a role you're aiming at, Thais just use เป็นbpen: อยากเป็นหมอyàak bpen mǎw, I want to be a doctor.

"Get" or "become" with a describing word is ขึ้นkûen, up, or ลงlong, down, after it: อ้วนขึ้นûan kûen, to put on weight, ถูกลงtùuk long, to get cheaper, and ดีขึ้นdii kûen, to get better.

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:

glai pen
klai pen
klaipen

More verbs in Thai

All verbs

มี mii Have
to have
ไป bpai Go
to go
มา maa Come
to come
กิน gin Eat
to eat
ดื่ม dùuem Drink
to drink
อยาก yàak Want
to want to (+ verb)

Learn this word in Unit 2, free

Unit 2 · Nice to meet you · Where are you from? Short lessons with audio for every word, speaking practice and spaced review. No sign-up needed.

Practise it free (2 min) See Unit 2

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