ขืน
if [with negative consequences]
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 if [with negative consequences]、if someone insists on doing
- 2 resist、disobey、oppose
ขืน centers on going against what is expected, natural, or allowed. It is often seen in compounds like ขัดขืน and ขืนใจ, and in the pattern ขืน + verb to warn that doing something will lead to a bad result.
if [with negative consequences]、if someone insists on doing
Used before a verb to warn that if someone does something, especially against better judgment, a negative result will follow.
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ขืนไปตอนนี้ รถติดแน่ khʉ̌ʉn pay tɔɔn níi rót tìt nɛ̂ɛ If you go now, you’ll definitely get stuck in traffic. ขืนไปตอนนี้ รถติดแน่ details
resist、disobey、oppose
Means to resist, disobey, or oppose an order, force, or authority. In everyday use, the compound ขัดขืน is especially common.
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เขาขัดขืนคำสั่ง khǎw khàtkhʉ̌ʉn kham sàŋ He disobeyed the order. เขาขัดขืนคำสั่ง details
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อย่าขืนเลย yàa khʉ̌ʉn ləəy Don’t try to resist it. อย่าขืนเลย details
Learning notes
Explanation
The core idea of ขืน is pushing against what is natural, expected, allowed, or wanted. As a verb, it can mean resisting or forcing, but learners will most often meet it in related forms such as ขัดขืน “to resist,” ขืนใจ “to force oneself against one’s feelings,” and ข่มขืน “to rape,” as well as the sentence pattern ขืน + verb, which warns that doing something will lead to a bad result.
Usage
In everyday conversation, ขืน + verb is common when warning someone not to keep eating, speaking, going, or doing something risky. In written language or news, it may appear with orders, laws, authority, or resistance. In emotional contexts, forms like ขืนใจ describe doing something against one’s own feelings.
Caution
Do not use ขืน as a neutral “if”; use ถ้า for that. Also, ข่มขืน is a very serious word meaning rape or sexual assault, so it should not be used casually or jokingly. For ordinary “force someone to do something,” บังคับ is usually safer.
Differences from similar words
1 if [with negative consequences] synonyms
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ถ้า is the neutral word for “if.” ขืน adds a warning tone, suggesting that the action will probably lead to trouble.