ปั้น
mold
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 mold、shape by hand、knead into shape、sculpt
- 2 develop (a person’s talent)、train and build up、promote into success
- 3 fabricate、make up (a false story)、concoct
The core idea is shaping something into a desired form. It is used literally for molding soft materials such as clay or dough, and figuratively for developing people, fabricating stories, or putting on an expression.
mold、shape by hand、knead into shape、sculpt
To mold or shape a soft, workable material such as clay, dough, wax, or minced meat. It can also refer to sculpting a statue or three-dimensional form.
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ปั้นดินน้ำมัน pân din nám man to mold modeling clay ปั้นดินน้ำมัน details
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ปั้นแป้งเป็นก้อนกลม pân pɛ̂ɛŋ pen kɔ̂ɔn klom to shape dough into a ball ปั้นแป้งเป็นก้อนกลม details
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ศิลปินปั้นรูปคน sǐnlapin pân rûup khon The artist sculpts a human figure. ศิลปินปั้นรูปคน details
develop (a person’s talent)、train and build up、promote into success
Used figuratively for developing someone’s talent, career, popularity, or ability until they become successful.
fabricate、make up (a false story)、concoct
To fabricate or invent something untrue, such as a story, excuse, or evidence. This use is usually negative.
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ปั้นเรื่องโกหก pân rʉ̂aŋ koohòk to make up a lie ปั้นเรื่องโกหก details
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อย่าปั้นน้ำเป็นตัว yàa pân náam pen tua Don’t make something out of nothing. อย่าปั้นน้ำเป็นตัว details
Learning notes
Explanation
ปั้น is an everyday word built around the idea of shaping something into a form. Literally, it is used for clay, dough, minced meat, sticky rice, and other materials that can be molded by hand. From that physical sense, it extends naturally to shaping a person’s career or talent, fabricating a false story, or composing one’s facial expression. Important expressions include รูปปั้น “statue,” ปั้นหน้า “to put on an expression,” and ปั้นน้ำเป็นตัว “to make something up out of nothing.”
Usage
You will hear it in cooking, crafts, pottery, sculpture, and children’s play with clay. It is also common in entertainment, sports, and work contexts when talking about developing talent, as well as in conversations about making up lies or putting on a facial expression in an awkward situation.
Caution
ทำ is a broad verb for “make” or “do,” while ปั้น strongly suggests shaping something into a form. It is not normally used for plain liquids or hard things that cannot be molded, except in idioms such as ปั้นน้ำเป็นตัว, where the impossible image of shaping water means fabricating something false.