รีบ
rîip/riːp̚˥˩/
To hurry in Thai, use รีบ (rîip).
The verb รีบ is used when you want to express the act of rushing or performing actions with urgency. While รีบ focuses on the intent of rushing, often to avoid being late, you can use the phrase เร็วหน่อย informally to ask someone to be a little fast. If you want to tell someone to hurry up in a casual way, you can say รีบๆ นะ. Another common conversational way to say hurry up a bit is by adding หน่อย to the verb, resulting in รีบหน่อย.
Meaning: to do things quickly (verb)
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between รีบ and เร็ว. Use รีบ when the focus is on the urgency or the act of rushing, whereas เร็ว is used to focus on the speed of a movement itself.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the action of hurrying to do a specific task, place รีบ directly before the main verb. For example, รีบไป means hurry (to go).
How do you pronounce it?
The word is romanized as rîip and pronounced /riːp̚˥˩/.
Did you know?
- In Thailand, telling someone รีบๆ นะ (hurry up) can sometimes be perceived as pushy or impolite depending on the social hierarchy, regardless of the grammar used.
- When people are in a rush, they might use the word ด่วน (urgent) as a prefix for services, such as 'express mail' which is ไปรษณีย์ด่วนพิเศษ.
- The word รีบ is a cognate with the word 'hīp' in the Lao language, as well as terms in Northern Thai, Lü and Shan.
Examples in context
- ไม่ต้องรีบร้อนThere's no hurry.This sentence shows how to express that there is no need to use the verb รีบ.Tatoeba #8675874 by pastelite, translation #19657 by CK
- ทอมไปอย่างเร่งรีบTom left in a hurry.This sentence shows how รีบ describes the manner in which someone left.Tatoeba #4558237 by reminiz, translation #3023467 by CK
- คุณไม่จำเป็นต้องรีบYou don't have to hurry.This sentence shows how to tell someone they do not need to use the verb รีบ.Tatoeba #8692155 by pastelite, translation #19655 by Swift
- เร็วหน่อย!Hurry up a little!
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chonlasit and Nicha are preparing to leave for a movie.
- ชลสิทธิ์ Cholasitณิชา รีบหน่อย เดี๋ยวหนังเริ่มแล้วNicha rip noi diao nang roem laeoNicha, hurry up, the movie is about to start.
- ณิชา Nichaรอเดี๋ยวก่อนค่ะ กำลังรีบอยู่ro diao kon kha kam-lang rip yuWait a moment, I am hurrying.
- ชลสิทธิ์ Cholasitถ้าไม่รีบ เราจะไปสายนะtha mai rip rao cha pai sai naIf we don't hurry, we will be late.
- ณิชา Nichaไปค่ะ พร้อมแล้วpai kha phrom laeoLet's go, I'm ready.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hurry” translations and entries รีบ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries รีบ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
