ต่อมา

Explanation

ต่อมา carries the basic idea of moving forward in time or sequence from an established reference point. Before a clause, it means “later” or “after that” and helps organize a story, biography, or historical account chronologically. A duration can come before it: สองวันต่อมา means “two days later,” and หลายปีต่อมา means “many years later.” After a noun, it can mean “next” or “subsequent,” as in คนต่อมา, “the next person,” and รุ่นต่อมา, “the next or a later generation.” Although the word is historically transparent as ต่อ plus มา, learners will usually find it more useful to memorize ต่อมา as a single expression of later time or succession.

Usage

It is common when recounting past events in order, including stories, biographies, news reports, and historical explanations. It is also used for the next person in a queue or a later government, generation, or stage in a sequence.

Caution

To say “two days from now,” Thai normally uses อีกสองวัน. สองวันต่อมา means “two days later” relative to a time already established in the narrative. Also, ต่อมา does not necessarily mean immediately afterward; a substantial amount of time may have passed.

1 later synonyms

• ต่อไป

  tɔ̀ɔ pay from now on

  ต่อไป commonly means “from now on,” “onward,” or “next,” looking ahead from the present. ต่อมา usually describes something later than a point already established in the account.

• หลังจากนั้น

  หลังจากนั้น explicitly means “after that” and points back to a particular event or time. ต่อมา more smoothly advances a chronological account to a later event.

2 next synonyms

• ถัดไป

  thàt pay next

  ถัดไป broadly refers to the next item or position, including physical locations and list order. ต่อมา is especially natural for chronological succession, such as the next person, government, or generation.