ต้อง
“ต้อง” (тонг) — must; to have to in Thai. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. Literally "it is required": after it the verb goes unchanged, as in "one must go". No person shows on it either — "must" is one word for everybody. In a live sentence: “ต้อง ไป ทำ งาน” — One must go to work. Written with the characters ต, ้, อ, ง. One of 115 words in the set “verbs” in the Thai course.
In short
| Written in Thai | ต้อง |
| Read in Latin letters | тонг |
| Translation | must; to have to |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "it is required": after it the verb goes unchanged, as in "one must go". No person shows on it either — "must" is one word for everybody
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- ต้อง ไป ทำ งานтонг пай тхам нганOne must go to work
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. The verb holds a sentence together: a few of the most frequent ones cover more everyday talk than a long list of nouns.
- ขอкхоI want; I will takeThe main word of ordering: literally "I ask". "I want coffee" in Thai is kho kafae khrap, and that is politer than a flat "I want". It does not conjugate: I and you say the same kho
- ชอบчопto like; to love"Love" in the sense of "like" — about food, music and people. Love for a person Thai says with another word (rak), and the two cannot be mixed up
- ไปпайto goOne verb for on foot, by bus and by plane. At the end of a phrase it also means "to be off": pai kon — "I am off". It changes for neither person nor time
- กินкинto eatThe neutral "eat". Politer is than; about animals kin is used without embarrassment. The Thai greeting formula is "let's go eat rice": pai kin khao
- ดื่มдыымto drinkA long syllable with a dead end — the p is not released. About alcohol Thai speaks with the same word: duem bia — "drink beer"
- อ่านанto readThe tone falls. The book is nangsue, and "read a book" is a pair that always lives together
- พูดпхуытto speakA low-class ph with a puff of air. "To speak Thai" is assembled through "language": phut phasaa thai — literally "speak language Thai"
- ทำ งานтхам нганto workLiterally "do work": the two words always go as a pair, and the verb here is exactly "do". The same turn answers "what do you do for a living?"
- อยู่юto live; to be located"Live", "be located" and "stay put": one word for everything where "to be somewhere" is needed. Yu thinai? is "where do you live?" and "where are you?" at once
- มีмиto haveLiterally "there is, there are": "I have time" in Thai is mi wela. The negation is mai mi — "there is not" — and it knows no person either
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “must; to have to” in Thai?
Literally "it is required": after it the verb goes unchanged, as in "one must go". No person shows on it either — "must" is one word for everybody
- How do you say “to speak” in Thai?
A low-class ph with a puff of air. "To speak Thai" is assembled through "language": phut phasaa thai — literally "speak language Thai"
- How do you say “to go” in Thai?
One verb for on foot, by bus and by plane. At the end of a phrase it also means "to be off": pai kon — "I am off". It changes for neither person nor time
- How do you say “to have” in Thai?
Literally "there is, there are": "I have time" in Thai is mi wela. The negation is mai mi — "there is not" — and it knows no person either
- How do you say “to read” in Thai?
The tone falls. The book is nangsue, and "read a book" is a pair that always lives together
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “must; to have to” in Thai?
«ต้อง», read “тонг”. In a live sentence: “ต้อง ไป ทำ งาน” — One must go to work. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters ต, ้, อ, ง.
How is “ต้อง” written in Latin letters?
тонг. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally "it is required": after it the verb goes unchanged, as in "one must go". No person shows on it either — "must" is one word for everybody. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.