Do (formal) in Thai

“Do (formal)” in Thai is กระทำgrà-tam.

กระทำ grà-tam

to do, to commit (an act) (formal) verb

grà low
tam mid

Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.

How to use it

กระทำgrà-tam is the formal "do", used for deeds and acts, especially wrong ones: กระทำผิดgrà-tam pìt, to commit an offence. With การgaan in front it becomes การกระทำgaan grà-tam, an action or a deed.

Everyday Thai uses ทำtam for all of this: ทำผิดtam pìt, to do wrong, to make a mistake.

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:

kratham
kra tam
kra-tham

More formal words in Thai

All formal words

ความ kwaam Kwaam (prefix)
-ness (turns a verb or adjective into a noun)
ผู้ pûu Phu (prefix)
person (who …): makes words for people, like -er
นัก nák Nak (prefix)
-er, -ist: someone who does it (as a job or a passion)
ซึ่ง sûeng Who, which (formal)
which, who (adds information; formal, written)
เมื่อ mûea When (formal)
when, once (formal)
จึง jueng Therefore
so, therefore (before the verb of the result)

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