ชั่ว

Explanation

ชั่ว has two important uses in modern Thai. In its moral sense, it strongly condemns a person’s character or actions as evil. คนชั่ว means “an evil person,” while ทำชั่ว means “to commit evil or wrongdoing.” Although the English grammar differs in these expressions, both uses share the same idea of moral evil. In its time-related sense, ชั่ว comes before an expression of time and marks the duration. The following word determines the length: ชั่วชีวิต means “for a lifetime,” while ชั่วครู่ means “for a short while.”

Usage

The moral sense appears when condemning evil people or wrongdoing, as well as in news reports, stories, and moral instruction. The time-related sense appears in duration expressions. Common everyday forms include ชั่วครู่ “for a moment,” ชั่วคราว “temporarily,” and ชั่วชีวิต “for a lifetime.”

Caution

Do not normally use ชั่ว for ordinary bad quality, bad weather, or poor health; ไม่ดี is generally appropriate in those cases. Calling someone คนชั่ว is a severe moral judgment and can be highly insulting. In its temporal sense, ชั่ว is not freely used like a general-purpose word for “time.” It is best learned in established expressions such as ชั่วชีวิต and ชั่วครู่.

1 evil synonyms

• เลว

  leew morally bad

  เลว has a broader range and can describe bad people, behavior, quality, or conditions. ชั่ว more specifically and forcefully condemns moral evil.

• ไม่ดี

  mây dii not good

  ไม่ดี is the general expression for “not good” and can describe quality, health, and many other things. ชั่ว is much stronger and specifically suggests moral wrongdoing.

2 during synonyms

• ตลอด

  talɔ̀ɔt throughout

  ตลอด emphasizes continuous duration throughout a period and combines freely with many time expressions. Temporal ชั่ว is more commonly found in established combinations such as ชั่วชีวิต and ชั่วครู่.