Criminal in Thai

“Criminal” in Thai is คนร้ายkon-ráai; you'll also hear อาชญากรàat-chá-yaa-gawn (formal).

คนร้าย kon-ráai

culprit, criminal (in the news) noun

kon mid
ráai high

High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.

อาชญากร àat-chá-yaa-gawn

criminal (formal) noun

àat low
chá high
yaa mid
gawn mid

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.

How to use it

News reports call whoever did it the คนร้ายkon-ráai, "the bad person"; once charged, they become the ผู้ต้องหาpûu-dtâwng-hǎa, the accused. อาชญากรàat-chá-yaa-gawn is the formal word for a criminal. In everyday talk, a thief is a ขโมยkà-mooi, a robber or bandit a โจรjoon, and a scammer a มิจฉาชีพmít-chǎa-chîip.

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:

khon rai
konrai

More news and society in Thai

All news and society

กลุ่ม glùm Group
สังคม sǎng-kom Society
ผล pǒn Result
result, outcome
ระบบ rá-bòp System
มาตรา mâat-dtraa Section (of a law)
section, article (of a law)
ระดับ rá-dàp Level
level, grade

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