คิดถึง
kít-tʉ̌ng/kʰit̚˦˥.tʰɯŋ˩˩˦/
To miss (someone or something) in Thai is คิดถึง (kít-tʉ̌ng).
The verb คิดถึง is used to express the feeling of missing someone or something. While it is most commonly used for people, you can also use it to express missing a place, a specific period of time or a certain feeling, such as missing your childhood.
Meaning: to feel the absence of someone or something, to feel the want or need of (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The word คิดถึง is composed of คิด (to think) and ถึง (to reach/arrive at), which literally means 'to think of reaching' or 'to have thoughts reach' someone.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike English, the Thai verb คิดถึง does not change its form based on tense. Instead, the time context is provided by particles or auxiliary verbs, such as จะ (will) to indicate the future.
How do you pronounce it?
kít-tʉ̌ng (/kʰit̚˦˥.tʰɯŋ˩˩˦/)
Did you know?
- While คิดถึง means 'to miss', Thai has a separate word for 'to miss' in the sense of failing to hit a target or missing a bus, meaning the two English meanings use completely different words.
- In Thailand, คิดถึง is often used as a greeting when seeing someone after a long time, functioning more like 'I have missed you' than a statement of current longing.
- The phrase คิดถึง is virtually identical to the Lao phrase ຄິດເຖິງ, reflecting the deep linguistic and cultural ties between the two neighbors.
Examples in context
- ฉันคิดถึงคุณI miss you.This sentence shows how to use คิดถึง to say 'I miss you'.Tatoeba #4287160 by Spanger, translation #1308 by brauliobezerra
- ฉันจะคิดถึงทอมI'm going to miss Tom.This sentence demonstrates using the word for the future tense 'will miss'.Tatoeba #7879117 by pastelite, translation #1890990 by CK
- คิดถึงฉันไหมMiss me?This sentence shows how to use คิดถึง to ask a question.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends talking on the phone after a long time.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritไม่ได้เจอกันนาน คิดถึงจังเลยmai dai joe kan nan, khit thueng jang loeiWe haven't seen each other in a long time, I miss you so much.
- พิมล Pimonฉันก็คิดถึงคุณเหมือนกันค่ะchan kor khit thueng khun muean kan khaI miss you too.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritอาทิตย์หน้าเรามาเจอกันไหมathit na rao ma joe kan maiShall we meet up next week?
- พิมล Pimonได้เลยค่ะ ไว้เจอกันนะdai loei kha, wai joe kan naSure, see you then.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “miss” translations and entries คิดถึง, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries คิดถึง, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
