ต้อง, ได้ ไหม and ไม่ ได้: must, may and must not
"Must" is the familiar ต้อง plus a verb: tong booking hong — "you must book a room". The verb takes no form at all: tong is the only word carrying the obligation. For example: “ต้อง จอง ห้อง” — You must book a room. A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
"Must" is the familiar ต้อง (тонг) plus a verb: tong booking hong — "you must book a room". The verb takes no form at all: tong is the only word carrying the obligation.
"May I?" — verb plus ได้ ไหม (дай май): chim dai mai — "may I taste?". Dai means "it works, it came off" — permission in Thai is described as possibility. The answer "you may" is simply dai.
"May not" is ไม่ ได้ (май дай): khao mai dai — "no entry". Thai does not separate "not allowed because forbidden" from "it does not work": one mai dai closes both. And "no need" is ไม่ ต้อง (май тонг): mai tong ro — "no need to wait". Mixing up mai dai and mai tong means saying "I am forbidden" instead of "it is optional".
The strict "forbidden" is a separate word, ham: it is written on signs. In live speech it is almost never heard — mai dai is enough.
Table
| Meaning | Formula | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| must | ต้อง + verb | ต้อง ไป | have to go |
| may I? | verb + ได้ ไหม | ชิม ได้ ไหม | may I taste? |
| may not | ไม่ ได้ | เข้า ไม่ ได้ | no entry |
| no need | ไม่ ต้อง | ไม่ ต้อง รอ | no need to wait |
| forbidden | ห้าม | ห้าม เข้า | entry forbidden |
By example
- ต้อง จอง ห้องтонг джонг хонгYou must book a room
- ชิม ได้ ไหมчим дай майMay I have a taste?
- ไม่ ต้อง รอмай тонг роThere is no need to wait
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
must, may and must not: how does it work in Thai?
"Must" is the familiar ต้อง plus a verb: tong booking hong — "you must book a room". The verb takes no form at all: tong is the only word carrying the obligation.
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“ต้อง จอง ห้อง” (тонг джонг хонг) — You must book a room. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.