โดยเฉพาะ

Explanation

The central idea of โดยเฉพาะ is selecting one item from a broader range and directing attention toward it. A very common pattern is “broad category + โดยเฉพาะ + specific item.” For example, อาหารไทย โดยเฉพาะต้มยำกุ้ง means “Thai food, especially tom yum goong.” It can highlight not only people and things but also times, places, conditions, and situations. With เพื่อ (“in order to”) or ให้ followed by a person, it can show that an action was intended for a particular purpose or recipient. In this use, it often corresponds to “specially” or “specifically for.” It does not inherently suggest annoyance or inconvenience. The common expression โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่ง adds emphasis and is similar to “particularly” or “most especially.”

Usage

It is common in conversation, explanatory writing, news, and public information. Speakers use it to give a notable example after mentioning a broad category, draw attention to part of a group, or emphasize a particular time or condition. It is also used when something is prepared for a particular person or an action is performed for a particular purpose.

Caution

Do not confuse it with เฉพาะ. เฉพาะ directly restricts something to “only,” as in เฉพาะสมาชิก (“members only”), whereas โดยเฉพาะ usually highlights something as especially relevant within a broader range. For “specifically” in the sense of explicitly or precisely stated, อย่างเจาะจง may be more appropriate.

1 especially synonyms

• โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่ง

  โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่ง adds stronger emphasis, similar to “most especially.” โดยเฉพาะ has the same basic focusing function but is usually less emphatic.

2 specially synonyms

• เป็นพิเศษ

  เป็นพิเศษ broadly means “specially” or “more than usual.” โดยเฉพาะ more clearly singles out the particular person or purpose for which something is done.