I'm guessing the Thai spelling must be different here :

'touk' = cheap

'touk' = to undergo, experience, suffer ... e.g. touk kamoy = be robbed

Can someone please give examples in Thai script to differentiate? Thanks. Memorising homonyms like this is a great way of learning.

'touk' = to undergo, experience, suffer ... e.g. touk kamoy = be robbed

That TOUK is a passive voice. Someone has done something to you. You were robbed, you were scammed, you are loved, ect.

And another TOUK = cheap I think that meaning and how to use it is quite clear.

Same script ถูก

Edited January 10, 200818 yr by legag

The Thai spelling is the same: ถูก

The spelling is the same ถูก but the meaning completely different.

Note whilst the use of the word is very similar to passive voice constructions in English it is not used as frequently and as far as I know is used much more commonly with negative incidents e.g. He has been shot/robbed/dumped by his wife.

In English for example we might say 'the door has been painted' or 'the car was being repaired'. In both these examples and with the loved example above I don't feel Thai people would naturally use this word.

I have noticed that Thai learners of English find passive voice quite a simple construction to learn and imitate yet difficult to apply in everyday speech where they would not normally use it. I have heard Thai teachers of English translate passive voice using this word in Thai though to make it understood.

Aren't there actually four uses of the word ถูก :

1. expressing passive voice

2. correct, true, right

3. to touch

4. cheap, inexpensive ?

I have never given any thought to WithNail's explanation of usage one being used only in the negative sense. That's very insightful. At first I thought that "ถูกใจ [V] like; be to one's liking; be pleased; be content; be satisfied" was the exception. However, that expressing probably uses meaning 3, not meaning 1.

Thank you all for the responses.

Both of you are correct. Yes, it could be all four meanings, such as DavidHouston said.

The meaning of "ถูกใจ" as stated here is correct as well, but as withnail says, for expressing passive voice it is often used in the negative sense. For positive situations (the action is an honor), the words "ได้รีบ" would be used instead, such as "ได้รับเลือกให้เป็นตัวแทน" = was selected to be a representative

But this is not always the case, and in some cases for a neutral or positive action it's conventional to use "ถูก"

ถูกต้องนะครับ

One positive use of ถูก is to win the lottery.

The use of the passive seems perfect there, instead of the active "to win" - because, let's face it, you didn't really do anything to make it happen...

ถูกต้องนะครับ

One positive use of ถูก is to win the lottery.

The use of the passive seems perfect there, instead of the active "to win" - because, let's face it, you didn't really do anything to make it happen...

ถูกต้องแล้วค่ะ

I was thinking about the lotto sentense but you beat me to it.

Anyway, withnail is right about passive constructions being not nearly as common as in Western languages. Good explanation.

Pehaps because Thai doesn't have all those complex verb tenses that many farangs are accustomed to using (me included), it can be difficult to embrace the infinitive, and learn which time words, particles, etc., are appropriate. I still haven't burned the word หรอก into my brain enough to always know when to use it, for example. Wonder when I will...

Thai language sure can pack a whole lot of meaning into a very few words. (If one considers the English proverb: "'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all" - Thai has the exact same saying, using half the words.)

ศัพท์พอเพียง

Thai language sure can pack a whole lot of meaning into a very few words. (If one considers the English proverb: "'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all" - Thai has the exact same saying, using half the words.)

ศัพท์พอเพียง

Ha. I like that

อกหักดีกว่ารักไม่เป็น