ขยำ

Explanation

The central image of ขยำ is repeatedly gripping and working something in the hand. With paper or fabric, it means crushing the material out of shape and making it wrinkled. In cooking, it describes squeezing and turning ingredients by hand to combine them or work in seasonings. It is an everyday verb typically used with things that can be manipulated by hand, such as paper, cloth, and food. It can also be used figuratively for crushing someone's feelings or thoroughly defeating an opponent, but the physical uses are more important for learners.

Usage

It is commonly used when crumpling paper for disposal, scrunching up clothes or fabric, or squeezing and mixing food with seasonings by hand.

Caution

For massaging a person's body, นวด is normally used. Applying ขยำ to a person can suggest rough gripping or squeezing. Likewise, ขยำ is not the usual choice for simply stirring food with a spoon; verbs such as ผสม, คน, or คลุก are used depending on the type of mixing.

1 crumple synonyms

• บีบ

  bìip squeeze

  บีบ focuses on applying pressure or squeezing something, often to extract liquid. ขยำ emphasizes gripping and working an object in the hand until it loses its shape.

• พับ

  pháp fold

  พับ means to fold paper or fabric in a controlled way. ขยำ means to crush it irregularly in the hand, leaving it crumpled.

2 knead by hand synonyms

• คลุก

  khlúk toss (food with seasoning)

  คลุก is a general verb for tossing or mixing ingredients so they become coated, and it does not require using the hands. ขยำ specifically suggests gripping and squeezing the ingredients by hand.

• นวด

  nûat knead

  นวด commonly means to knead dough or massage the body. ขยำ focuses on repeatedly gripping and squeezing ingredients to combine them.