USING THE PASSIVE VOICE IN THAI

Passive voice is used when a person or object is the receiver of an

action. Here are a few English examples:

 The car was stolen.

 I was shot.
 My friend was fired (from his job).
To create sentences in the passive voice is simple; just add the
words ถูก /tùuk/ (literally “to touch” or “to contact”) or โดน /doon/
(literally “to strike” or “to hit”) in between the object and the verb.
Now that you understand the passive voice, let’s take a look at the
sentences and translate them into Thai:
รถถูกขโมย
/rót tùuk kà-mooi/
(car “passive voice indicator” to steal)
The car was stolen.
ผมถูกยิง
/pǒm tùuk ying/
(I “male speaker” “passive voice indicator” to shoot)
I was shot.
เพือ
่ นของฉันโดนไล่ออก
/pʉ̂an kɔ̌ɔng chán doon lâi-ɔ̀ɔk/
(friend of me “female speaker” “passive voice indicator” to fire [from a
job])
My friend was fired.
It is probably helpful to note that ถูก is more formal than โดน, so
beginner Thai language learners may want to stay on the safe side and
use ถูก.