The word “ล้วนๆ” [lúan lúan] is hardly ever taught to Thai learners but it’s quite common in the spoken language. While the word could be translated as “all” or “only” depending on the context, it’s a bit tricky to translate the word “all” or “only” to “ล้วนๆ” [lúan lúan]. This is because the situation where the word “ล้วนๆ” [lúan lúan] can be used in is somewhat restricted. We only use “ล้วนๆ” [lúan lúan] in a situation where something that’s supposed to be or is generally comprised of many factors or elements is comprised of only one.

For example, if you want to order Pad Thai, which usually comes with shrimp, dried shrimp, chive, bean sprouts, egg and tofu, but you’re a vegan and you want your dish without shrimp, dried shrimp, egg, and you also happen to dislike chives and bean sprouts as well, you can tell the seller “ขอผัดไทยหนึ่งจาน เอาเต้าหู้ล้วนๆ” [kǎw Pad Thai nèung jaan, ao tâo hûu lúan lúan] meaning “I’d like one order of Pad Thai with only tofu (please leave out all of the other ingredients).”

Another example, if your friend got a job promotion and he says to you that it was for “ความสามารถล้วนๆ” [kwaam sǎmaat lúan lúan], he implies that while most people tend to get a promotion due to many factors combined, such as timing, age, years of experience, abilities etc., in his case, it was purely thanks to his skills/abilities, no other factors involved.

In many cases, such as the two examples above, “ล้วนๆ” [lúan lúan] can be replaced with “อย่างเดียว” [yàang diaw], although the meaning would be slightly less emphasized.

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