โดน
hit
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 hit、bump into、touch、come into contact with
- 2 be subjected to、get hit with、suffer、be ...ed [spoken passive, often negative]
- 3 hit home、really appeal to someone、be exactly someone’s taste
โดน centers on something coming from outside and hitting or affecting someone or something. It can mean physical contact, being subjected to something unpleasant, and in casual speech, something really landing with you emotionally or fitting your taste.
hit、bump into、touch、come into contact with
This is the basic sense of something physically hitting, touching, or coming into contact with a person or thing.
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ลูกบอลโดนหัว lûuk bɔɔn doon hǔa The ball hit the head. ลูกบอลโดนหัว details
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อย่าให้มือโดนน้ำ yàa hây mʉʉ doon náam Don’t let your hand touch the water. อย่าให้มือโดนน้ำ details
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เหล็กโดนน้ำนาน ๆ จะเป็นสนิม lèk doon náam naan naan cà pen sanǐm Iron rusts if it stays in contact with water for a long time. เหล็กโดนน้ำนาน ๆ จะเป็นสนิม details
be subjected to、get hit with、suffer、be ...ed [spoken passive, often negative]
This sense means to be subjected to something, often something unwanted. With another verb after it, โดน commonly forms a spoken passive construction.
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เขาโดนปรับ khǎw doon pràp He was fined. เขาโดนปรับ details
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ฉันโดนหลอก chǎn doon lɔ̀ɔk I got tricked. ฉันโดนหลอก details
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กระเป๋าโดนขโมย krapǎw doon khamooy The bag was stolen. กระเป๋าโดนขโมย details
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เขาโดนหัวหน้าดุ khǎw doon hǔanâa dù He was scolded by his boss. เขาโดนหัวหน้าดุ details
hit home、really appeal to someone、be exactly someone’s taste
In casual speech, this means that something lands with you emotionally, hits your taste, or feels exactly right.
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เพลงนี้โดนมาก phleeŋ níi doon mâak This song really hits. เพลงนี้โดนมาก details
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คำพูดนั้นโดนใจฉัน kham phûut nán doon cay chǎn Those words really struck a chord with me. คำพูดนั้นโดนใจฉัน details
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ชุดนี้โดนใจมาก chút níi doon cay mâak This outfit is exactly my style. ชุดนี้โดนใจมาก details
Learning notes
Explanation
The core image of โดน is that something comes from outside and hits or affects the subject. From that, it covers physical contact, unwanted experiences such as fines, scolding, theft, or being tricked, and casual positive expressions like โดนใจ, where something hits your feelings or taste. The pattern โดน + verb is very common in speech as a passive construction, usually with a negative or inconvenient result for the subject.
Usage
It is very common in everyday conversation. You hear it when something hits someone, when someone gets wet or exposed to sunlight, or when someone is fined, scolded, tricked, robbed, or otherwise affected. In casual conversation and social media, it is also used when music, words, fashion, or a vibe really hits someone’s taste.
Caution
For positive passive meanings, โดน + verb can sound unnatural because it often implies an unwanted effect. For things like being awarded or formally praised, ได้รับ or ถูก is usually more appropriate. Positive uses are common in fixed or casual evaluative expressions such as โดนใจ and โดนมาก.
Differences from similar words
1 hit synonyms
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กระทบ can mean to touch, collide with, or affect something in a broader and somewhat more formal way. โดน is more everyday and focuses on the thing or person that gets hit or touched.
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สัมผัส is a neutral word for touching or making contact. โดน often suggests that the contact happened to the subject from the outside, sometimes accidentally.
2 be subjected to synonyms
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ถูก is also used to form the passive and works well in neutral or written contexts. โดน is more conversational and often carries a sense that the subject was negatively affected.
3 hit home synonyms
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ชอบ simply means to like. โดน suggests a stronger immediate impact, as if something really landed with you.