Funny in Thai

“Funny” in Thai is ตลกdtà-lòk; you'll also hear ขำkǎm (find it funny).

ตลก dtà-lòk

funny; comedian adjective

dtà low
lòk low

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

ขำ kǎm

to find something funny; amused verb find it funny

kǎm rising

Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”

How to use it

ตลกdtà-lòk describes the joke or the person: a funny story, a funny friend, a TV comedian. ขำkǎm is your reaction, finding it funny: ขำมากkǎm mâak is "lol", and ไม่ขำmâi kǎm, "not funny", stops a joke cold. ตลกdtà-lòk can also mean ridiculous: ตลกแล้วdtà-lòk láew, now that's absurd. In chats, laughter is 555, because five is ห้าhâa.

Don't mix it up

คำkam

word

Mid tone: a word. ขำkǎm rises.

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:

talok
ta lok
ta lohk
kham
kum

Culture 555 in Thai: Why Thais Type 555 (and Other Chat Slang) Why 555 means 'hahaha' in Thai, how Thai humour works, and the cute spellings and slang you'll see in Thai chats and comments.

More describing things in Thai

All describing things

ดี dii Good
ไม่ดี mâi dii Bad
bad, not good
ดีกว่า dii gwàa Better
ดีที่สุด dii tîi-sùt Best
the best
ชอบที่สุด châwp tîi-sùt Favourite
favourite (literally 'like the most')
สุดยอด sùt-yâwt Awesome
awesome, amazing, the best

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