Small wordsหรอก (rok) in Thai: what it means and how to use it
หรอกràwk softens a “no”: “not really”, “not at all”, “don't worry”.
softener after a negative: not really, not at all particle
- ràwk low
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
How to use it
หรอกràwk goes after a negative and makes it gentle, like "not really" or "don't worry". Without it, ไม่แพงmâi paeng can sound like a flat correction; ไม่แพงหรอกmâi paeng ràwk is a friendly reassurance. It also softens a contradiction: ไม่ใช่หรอกmâi châi ràwk, no, that's not it. Don't mix it up with เหรอrǒe, really?, which asks a question.
Don't mix it up
-
เหรอrǒe
really?; oh, is it? (surprised question)
Rising tone and no final k: the surprised question "really?".
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:
- rok
- hrok
- lok
- rork
More small words in Thai
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones