ไม่เคย
mâi-kəəi/maj˥˩.kʰɤːj˧/
The Thai word for "never" is ไม่เคย (mâi-kəəi).
ไม่เคย is used to express both a lack of past experience, such as "I have never done X" and a habitual state, such as "I never do X".
Meaning: at no time (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of ไม่ (not) and เคย (to have ever/to have experienced), which literally translates to "not ever".
Which one should you use?
While ไม่เคย is the standard form, you can add เลย to the end to create ไม่เคยเลย, which means "never at all" or "never ever" to provide emphasis.
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding เลย at the end of the phrase provides emphasis, similar to saying "never at all" in English.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is mâi-kəəi.
Did you know?
- To express a strong 'never' regarding a future promise or a refusal to do something, Thais often switch from ไม่เคย to ไม่มีวัน, which literally means 'there is no day'.
- When someone says ไม่เคยเลย with a high, trailing tone, it can be used as a polite way to express modesty or denial of a compliment.
- While ไม่เคย means 'never', the word เคย on its own is used as a conversational shortcut to mean 'Yes, I have experienced that' without needing to repeat the entire sentence.
Examples in context
- ฉันไม่เคยดื่มI never drink.This sentence shows how to use ไม่เคย.Tatoeba #8692052 by pastelite, translation #1355398 by CK
- ฉันไม่เคยพบเขาI've never met him.Tatoeba #8709495 by pastelite, translation #403383 by CK
- ผมไม่เคยยิงปืนI've never shot a gun.Tatoeba #10543024 by Somsak, translation #5262878 by CK
- 19 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Pimol and Witthat are talking about traveling abroad.
- พิมล Pimonวิทวัสเคยไปต่างประเทศไหมwit-tha-wat khoei pai tang pra-thet maiWitthat, have you ever been abroad?
- วิทวัส Witthawatผมไม่เคยไปเลยครับphom mai khoei pai loei krapI have never been at all.
- พิมล Pimonจริงเหรอคะ พิมลก็ไม่เคยเหมือนกันjing ror kha, pi-mon kor mai khoei muean kanReally? Pimol has never been either.
- วิทวัส Witthawatงั้นเราไปเที่ยวด้วยกันไหมครับngan rao pai thiao duay kan mai krapThen, shall we go traveling together?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “never” translations and entries ไม่เคย, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
