ที

Explanation

The central idea of ที is a single, bounded occasion or action. This extends to a person’s turn, as in ถึงทีฉันแล้ว, “It’s my turn,” and to counting an action, as in กดหนึ่งที, “press it once.” The pattern ทีละ + quantity means “at a time” or “each”: ทีละคน means “one person at a time,” and ทีละนิด means “little by little.” ที also occurs in many expressions best learned as units, including อีกที “again,” ทีแรก “at first,” ทีนี้ “now/this time,” ทีเดียว “all at once/quite,” and เสียที “finally.” At the end of a request, ที is conversational. It asks or urges someone to act, but it is not inherently a polite honorific.

Usage

ที is common in everyday conversation when discussing turns in a game or task, counting actions such as presses or hits, or asking for something to be done again. It is also frequent in sequencing expressions such as ทีละคน, “one person at a time.” It can end requests for help or information, as in ช่วย…ที, “please help…,” and บอก…ที, “please tell….”

Caution

Do not confuse ที with ที่. ที mainly relates to turns, occasions, and repetitions, while ที่ commonly marks a place, location, ordinal number, or grammatical relationship. ครั้ง is the more general counter for events and experiences; ที is particularly natural in conversation for short, concrete actions. Request-final ที is not automatically polite, so use ครับ/ค่ะ or a more courteous pattern such as ช่วย…หน่อย or กรุณา… when speaking formally or to someone senior.

1 turn synonyms

• คราว

  khraaw occasion

  คราว refers to an occasion or point in time, as in คราวหน้า, “next time.” ที can also specifically refer to someone’s turn.

• โอกาส

  ookàat occasion

  โอกาส specifically means a favorable chance or opportunity to do something. ที is broader and can refer to an occasion or a person’s turn.

2 time [counting actions] synonyms

• ครั้ง

  khráŋ time [counter for actions or events]

  ครั้ง is the general counter for events, visits, experiences, and other occurrences. ที is especially common in conversation for repetitions of short actions such as pressing, hitting, or looking.

• หน

  hǒn time [counter of occurrences]

  หน also means “time” or “occasion” but is especially common in certain expressions such as อีกหน, “once more.” ที is a natural conversational choice for counting concrete actions.

3 please do... synonyms

• หน่อย

  nɔ̀ɔy please [softening a request]

  หน่อย is a very common way to make a request sound lighter and less imposing. ที also marks a request, but it can sound more urging and may convey impatience or urgency depending on context.