When you want to say that’s why something is the way it is or that’s why something happened, in Thai you use the expression “ถึงได้” [teŭng dâi]. For example, “รู้อยู่แล้วว่าเธอต้องเสียใจเราถึงได้ไม่อยากบอก” [rúu yùu léaw wâa ter tông siă jai, rao teŭng dâi mâi yàak bòrk.] “I knew you would get sad, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you”. “เครียดเหรอ ถึงได้นอนไม่หลับ” [krîad rŏr teŭng dâi norn mâi làp] “You’re stressed out that’s why you couldn’t fall asleep?” But when you want to say just “Oh, that’s why!” when something starts to make sense, in Thai you can just say “อ๋อ อย่างนี้นี่เอง” [ŏr, yàng níi nîi eng] which means “I see, so that’s how it was.” or “อ๋อ ก็ว่าทำไม” [ŏr, kôr wâa tammai] which means “I see, I was wondering why”. For example, A: “ทำไมเมื่อวานไม่โทรหา” [Tammai mêu waan mâi to hăa] “How come you didn’t give me a call yesterday?” B: “มือถือแบตหมด” [meu teŭ bàt mòt] “My cellphone ran out of batteries”. A: “อ๋อ ก็ว่าทำไม” [ŏr, kôr wâa tammai] “I see, I was wondering why”.

Find PickupThai's lessons helpful? Feel free to check out our self-developed Thai learning materials "PickupThai Podcast," humor-filled audio lessons based on fun stories that teach you to speak natural-sounding Thai the super fun way unlike any textbook. Learn REAL Thai with us and never sound like a foreigner again. Available for all levels. Try free samples now!