เก่ง
skilled
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 skilled、talented、good at (something)、capable
- 2 often、a lot、be prone to (doing something)
Describes someone as capable or good at doing something. After certain action verbs, it can instead mean doing that action often or a lot.
skilled、talented、good at (something)、capable
Describes a person as capable, talented, or good at a particular activity.
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เขาเก่งมาก khǎw kèŋ mâak He is very capable. เขาเก่งมาก details
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เธอเก่งภาษาไทย thəə kèŋ phaasǎa thay She is good at Thai. เธอเก่งภาษาไทย details
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น้องร้องเพลงเก่ง nɔ́ɔŋ rɔ́ɔŋ phleeŋ kèŋ My younger sibling sings well. น้องร้องเพลงเก่ง details
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เก่งมาก! kèŋ mâak Great job! เก่งมาก! details
often、a lot、be prone to (doing something)
After certain action verbs, describes someone as doing the action frequently or in large amounts rather than skillfully.
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เด็กคนนี้กินเก่ง dèk khon níi kin kèŋ This child eats a lot. เด็กคนนี้กินเก่ง details
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เขาคุยเก่ง khǎw khuy kèŋ He talks a lot. เขาคุยเก่ง details
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ช่วงนี้ร้องไห้เก่งนะ chûaŋ níi rɔ́ɔŋ hây kèŋ ná You've been crying a lot lately. ช่วงนี้ร้องไห้เก่งนะ details
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คนไทยยิ้มเก่ง khon thay yím kèŋ Thai people smile a lot. คนไทยยิ้มเก่ง details
Learning notes
Explanation
เก่ง is a very common, everyday word of praise. Used by itself about a person, it means capable or talented. It can be followed by a field to mean good at that field, while an activity often comes before it, as in ร้องเพลงเก่ง, “sing well.” เก่งมาก and เก่งจัง are common ways to say “Great job!” or praise someone's ability. ไม่เก่ง means not good at something, and เก่งขึ้น means to improve or get better. With certain actions, however, เก่ง refers to frequency, quantity, or tendency rather than skill.
Usage
Commonly used to praise academic ability, language skills, work performance, sports, cooking, singing, and many other abilities. It is also used when describing habitual behavior, especially how often or how much children or animals eat, cry, talk, or perform another action.
Caution
Do not automatically interpret every verb followed by เก่ง as “do skillfully.” พูดเก่ง can mean either “speak well” or “talk a lot,” depending on context, while กินเก่ง normally means “eat a lot.” Also, use ดี rather than เก่ง for the general quality of an object or situation.
Differences from similar words
1 skilled synonyms
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ฉลาด means intelligent or quick to understand. เก่ง is broader and focuses on being capable or good at a skill, such as languages, work, or sports.
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ชำนาญ emphasizes proficiency gained through experience in a particular task or field. เก่ง is more everyday and can praise anyone from a child to a professional.
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ดี is a general word for good and can describe people, things, or situations. เก่ง focuses mainly on someone's ability to do something well.
2 often synonyms
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บ่อย directly means frequently. A verb followed by เก่ง often presents the frequent action as a characteristic tendency of that person.