เที่ยว
travel for pleasure
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 travel for pleasure、visit (for sightseeing)、go out for fun
- 2 go around doing、do indiscriminately from place to place
- 3 trip、run; service、occasion; round
- 4 trip [classifier]、run; service [classifier]
This word centers on going away from one’s usual place for enjoyment or moving around from place to place. It can also refer to a particular trip, run, or service and can count such journeys.
travel for pleasure、visit (for sightseeing)、go out for fun
To go somewhere for pleasure, ranging from a nearby outing to sightseeing, a vacation, or a night out.
-
เขาชอบเที่ยวกลางคืน khǎw chɔ̂ɔp thîaw klaaŋ khʉʉn He likes going out at night. เขาชอบเที่ยวกลางคืน details
go around doing、do indiscriminately from place to place
Placed before another verb, it shows that an action is done repeatedly in various places or to various people, often with a critical tone.
trip、run; service、occasion; round
A particular trip or scheduled run viewed as one complete occurrence; in some contexts, it can also mean a particular occasion or round.
-
รถเที่ยวเช้าออกกี่โมง rót thîaw cháaw ɔ̀ɔk kìi mooŋ What time does the morning service leave? รถเที่ยวเช้าออกกี่โมง details
trip [classifier]、run; service [classifier]
A classifier for counting trips, journeys, deliveries, or transport runs. One เที่ยว does not necessarily mean a round trip.
Learning notes
Explanation
เที่ยว is built around the image of leaving one’s usual place and moving about. Its most common pattern is ไปเที่ยว. It applies not only to vacations and sightseeing but also to nearby leisure outings with friends. เที่ยวกลางคืน usually suggests going out for nightlife, such as visiting bars or clubs. Before another verb, เที่ยว works adverbially to mean doing something repeatedly in different places or to different people. For example, เที่ยวพูด can imply going around telling everyone, not merely speaking. As a noun or classifier, it refers to one trip or transport run. เที่ยวบิน combines เที่ยว with บิน, “to fly,” and means a flight.
Usage
It is extremely common in everyday conversations about vacations, weekend plans, leisure outings, invitations, and sightseeing. It is also used for nightlife, for actions repeated from place to place, and when discussing scheduled services or the number of transport runs.
Caution
เที่ยว is not normally used for travel whose sole purpose is work, commuting, or an errand. Use a purpose-specific expression such as ไปทำงาน (“go to work”) or ไปธุระ (“go on an errand”). When counting movement, one เที่ยว does not automatically mean a round trip. Depending on context, it may be one one-way trip or one scheduled run.
Differences from similar words
1 travel for pleasure synonyms
-
ท่องเที่ยว explicitly means traveling or tourism and is common in tourism-related or more formal contexts. เที่ยว is more conversational and also covers casual local outings.
-
ไปเที่ยว explicitly presents the activity as going somewhere for pleasure. เที่ยว can stand alone, but may also focus on traveling or sightseeing once there.