ฯลฯ

And So Forth

Level 6

ฯลฯ (pai-yaan yai) is the standard Thai symbol for 'etc.' It is used at the end of lists to show there are more items, or in the middle of long texts to show a section has been skipped.

How It Works

1. End A List
ฯลฯ, called ไปยาลใหญ่, indicates omitted material at the end of a list. The fruit example names mangoes, bananas, and oranges, then leaves further items unnamed. At a list ending, the recorded readings include ละ and และอื่น ๆ.

2. Mark A Middle Omission
In พยัญชนะไทยมี 44 ตัว คือ ก ฯลฯ ฮ, the mark stands for the omitted middle of the consonant sequence. For this use, read it as ละถึง. The change in reading follows the omission’s role.

3. Follow The Spacing Guidance
The Royal Society writing guidance places a space before ฯลฯ and another after it when more text follows. If the mark ends the text, there is no following text to separate. This lesson follows that writing guidance.

4. Choose One Clear List Ending
The selected style task asks for one ending. Both ฯลฯ and เป็นต้น indicate continuation, so using just one avoids repeating that job. This is a clarity choice, not a claim that every understandable double closer is ungrammatical.

5. Distinguish The Short Mark
ฯ shortens an established word or expression, as in กรุงเทพฯ. ฯลฯ marks omitted list or text material instead.

Examples (4)

  1. ผลไม้มี มะม่วง กล้วย ส้ม ฯลฯ

    Fruits include mangoes, bananas, oranges, etc.

    Word by Word: Fruit have mango banana orange etc.

    The list is open-ended. Leave a space before the symbol; when reading the list aloud, the symbol can be read as 'la' or expressed as 'lae uen uen'.

  2. คนกินเจควรดื่มน้ำผลไม้สด เช่น น้ำส้ม น้ำมะเขือเทศ ฯลฯ

    Vegetarians should drink fresh fruit juice, such as orange juice, tomato juice, etc.

    Word by Word: Person eat vegetarian should drink water fruit fresh such as water orange water tomato etc.

    Used here with เช่น (such as) to provide a non-exhaustive list of examples.

  3. พยัญชนะไทยมี 44 ตัว คือ ก ฯลฯ ฮ

    There are 44 Thai consonants: Ko Kai ... Ho Nok-huk.

    Word by Word: Consonant Thai have 44 body equals Ko [omission] Ho

    When placed in the middle of a well-known sequence, it indicates an omission and is read as 'la thueng'.

  4. เขาสามารถพูดได้หลายภาษา เช่น ภาษาไทย ภาษาอังกฤษ ฯลฯ

    He can speak many languages, such as Thai, English, etc.

    Word by Word: He can speak get many language such as language Thai language English etc.

    เช่น introduces Thai and English as named examples, and ฯลฯ indicates that the list continues.

Common Mistakes

  • Repeating the list-closing meaning.

    มีผลไม้หลายอย่าง เช่น ส้ม มะม่วง ฯลฯ เป็นต้น
    มีผลไม้หลายอย่าง เช่น ส้ม มะม่วง ฯลฯ

    For a list with one clear ending, use either ฯลฯ or เป็นต้น. Using both repeats the meaning 'and so on'; the original sentence is understandable, but the shorter version avoids that repetition.

  • Follow The Displayed Spacing Around ฯลฯ.

    ส้มฯลฯและกล้วย
    ส้ม ฯลฯ และกล้วย

    This task follows the Royal Society writing guidance: leave a space before ฯลฯ and, when more text follows, after it. The second version makes those boundaries visible.

  • Confusing ฯลฯ with ฯ (Pai-yaan noi).

    กรุงเทพฯลฯ
    กรุงเทพฯ

    ฯ (Pai-yaan noi) is used to shorten a specific long word like 'Bangkok'. ฯลฯ (Pai-yaan yai) is only for lists or omissions.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ฯลฯLevel 6And So Forth

Learn This First

To understand ฯลฯ, you first need to be familiar with the basic Thai abbreviation mark (ฯ). Since ฯลฯ is used to close lists, you should also understand how lists are typically constructed using conjunctions like 'and' (และ) or introductory words like 'such as' (เช่น).