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Verbs

Improve in Thai

“Improve” in Thai is ดีขึ้นdii kûen; you'll also hear พัฒนาpát-tá-naa (develop (formal)).

ดีขึ้น dii kûen

to get better, to improve verb

  • dii mid
  • kûen falling
  • Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
Parts: ดีdii good ขึ้นkûen to go up

Literally 'good-up'. Also what you say when you're over a cold: ดีขึ้นแล้วdii kûen láew.

พัฒนา pát-tá-naa

to develop, to improve (formal) verb

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

Taught in Unit 13 · Lesson 2: Skills and hobbies of the free course.

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How to use it

ดีขึ้นdii kûen, "good, up", is how Thais say something has got better: your Thai, the weather, a cold. Any describing word works the same way with ขึ้นkûen: เก่งขึ้นgèng kûen, to get better at something. Getting worse is แย่ลงyâe long. พัฒนาpát-tá-naa is the formal "develop", for skills, a business or a country.

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:

  • di khuen
  • dee keun
  • dee khuen
  • patthana
  • pattana

More verbs in Thai

All verbs
  • เป็น bpen Be

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

  • 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

Learn this word in Unit 13, free

Unit 13 · Can you speak Thai? · Skills and hobbies. Short lessons with audio for every word, speaking practice and spaced review. No sign-up needed.

Practise it free (2 min) See Unit 13

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