fold one's arms across one's chest
Native recording
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- 1 fold one's arms across one's chest
Describes folding or crossing both arms over the chest.
fold one's arms across one's chest
Means to hold both arms crossed or folded across the chest.
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เด็ก ๆ ยืนกอดอกหนาวสั่น dèk dèk yʉʉn kɔ̀ɔtòk nǎaw sàn The children stand with their arms folded, shivering from the cold. เด็ก ๆ ยืนกอดอกหนาวสั่น details
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เขานั่งกอดอกเงียบ ๆ khǎw nâŋ kɔ̀ɔtòk ŋîap ŋîap He is sitting quietly with his arms folded. เขานั่งกอดอกเงียบ ๆ details
Learning notes
Explanation
กอดอก is formed from กอด “to embrace or hold” and อก “chest.” It describes the physical posture of folding both arms across the chest. The word itself is generally neutral and does not automatically imply anger. Depending on the situation, the posture may suggest displeasure, caution, deep thought, feeling cold, or standing by without helping. It commonly follows a posture verb, as in ยืนกอดอก “stand with one's arms folded” and นั่งกอดอก “sit with one's arms folded.”
Usage
Used in everyday speech and writing to describe someone's standing or sitting posture. It often appears when a person is cold, thinking, watching cautiously, or showing displeasure. In expressions such as ยืนกอดอกดู, it can also criticize someone for merely standing by and watching instead of helping.
Caution
กอดอก refers to one person folding their own arms across their chest. It does not describe two people linking arms; ควงแขน is used for that. Also, folded arms do not necessarily signal anger—the intended attitude depends on context.