จ่าย
jàai/t͡ɕaːj˨˩/
To say pay in Thai, meaning to give money for goods or services, use จ่าย (jàai).
จ่าย is the general verb for paying. It can stand alone, but it is very common to pair it with เงิน (ngoen), meaning money, to form จ่ายเงิน.
Meaning: to give money in exchange for goods or services (verb)
Which one should you use?
เสีย (sǐia) is often used in specific contexts to mean incurring a cost, such as paying a fine or a fee. ชำระ is used for settling debts, paying bills or making official payments.
How does it change in a sentence?
To show that a payment is already done, add แล้ว (láew) after the verb, giving จ่ายแล้ว, meaning already paid.
How do you pronounce it?
จ่าย is romanized as jàai, with the IPA /tɕaːj˨˩/, a low tone.
Did you know?
- In Thai, the word เสีย used for paying fees literally means 'to lose' or 'to be broken'.
- The Thai word for 'pay', จ่าย, is a linguistic relative of the Khmer word for 'to scatter' or 'to disperse'.
- The verb จ่าย is also used in the term จ่ายตลาด, which means 'to go grocery shopping'.
Examples in context
- ทอมจะจ่ายTom'll pay.จะ before จ่าย marks the future, so this means Tom will pay.Tatoeba #8703183 by pastelite, translation #2123521 by CK
- คุณจ่ายไปเท่าไหร่How much did you pay for that?จ่ายไปเท่าไหร่ asks how much someone paid.Tatoeba #10469485 by Somsak, translation #749788 by sctld
- คุณต้องจ่ายเงินก่อนYou need to pay first.ต้องจ่ายเงิน means need to pay, using the common pair with เงิน.Tatoeba #10624588 by Somsak, translation #8179408 by Eccles17
- ต้องชำระเท่าไหร่How much do I have to pay?
- ขอเช็คบิลหน่อยค่ะ/ครับCan I have the bill, please?
- ชำระเป็นงวดPay in installments.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a coffee shop.
- กนกวรรณ Kanokwanจ่ายเงินที่นี่ได้ไหมคะchai ngoen thi ni dai mai khaCan I pay here?
- วิทวัส Witthawatได้ครับ จ่ายด้วยบัตรได้ครับdai krap, chai duai bat dai krapYes, you can pay by card.
- กนกวรรณ Kanokwanขอบคุณค่ะkhop khun khaThank you.
- วิทวัส Witthawatยินดีครับyin dee krapYou're welcome.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pay” translations and entries จ่าย, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries จ่าย, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
