ตราบใด

As Long as

Level 5

The examples use ตราบใดที่ for as long as. Read the condition and the following statement together; do not infer what must happen after the condition ends.

How It Works

1. Read the Complete Condition
The displayed examples use ตราบใดที่ followed by a condition, then a statement applying while that condition holds. In ตราบใดที่ยังมีชีวิตอยู่, no separate subject is written in the first clause. Learn the complete examples without imposing an overt Subject + Verb requirement on every clause.

2. Avoid an Unstated Converse
ตราบใดที่คุณยังไม่ขอโทษ ผมจะไม่คุยกับคุณ says that the speaker will not talk to the listener while the listener has not apologized. It does not promise that conversation will begin after an apology. The hope and corruption examples likewise present the speaker's exhortation or prediction, not a verified moral or political law.

3. Notice the Paired Form
The corruption example pairs ตราบใดที่ with ตราบนั้น. The NIU dictionary also gives ตราบใดที่คุณพ่อเธอมีชีวิตอยู่ เธอก็จะเป็นโสดอยู่ตราบนั้น, translated as remaining single as long as her father lives. Read ก็ within that complete example, not as a compulsory addition to every ตราบใด clause.

4. Compare the Requested Meanings
The waiting exercise requests จนกว่า for the arrival endpoint: ฉันจะรอจนกว่าคุณจะมา. ตราบใดที่คุณมา presents an as-long-as condition instead of reproducing that endpoint construction. The food exercise requests ถ้า for its specified if-hungry offer; a ตราบใด condition can have a meaningful contextual reading, so the task is not a ban on casual speech. Compare ในขณะที่ in its own simultaneous or contrasting examples rather than treating it as an interchangeable register variant.

Examples (4)

  1. ตราบใดที่ยังมีชีวิตอยู่ เราต้องมีความหวัง

    As long as there is life, we must have hope.

    Word by Word: as long as | still be alive | we | must have hope

    The speaker urges maintaining hope while there is life. This is the message of the example, not a factual guarantee about every living person.

  2. ตราบใดที่คุณยังไม่ขอโทษ ผมจะไม่คุยกับคุณ

    As long as you haven't apologized, I won't talk to you.

    Word by Word: as long as | you | have not yet apologized | I | will not talk with you

    The speaker refuses conversation while the listener has not apologized. The sentence does not say that an apology necessarily leads to conversation.

  3. ตราบใดที่มีการทุจริต ตราบนั้นประเทศจะไม่มีวันเจริญ

    As long as there is corruption, the country will never prosper during that time.

    Word by Word: as long as | there is corruption | during that time | country | will never prosper

    The example pairs ตราบใด with ตราบนั้น. Its prediction about the country belongs to the quoted speaker; this grammar lesson does not verify it as a universal political claim.

  4. ตราบใดที่เขายังเป็นหัวหน้า เราต้องทำตามคำสั่ง

    As long as he is still the boss, we must follow orders.

    Word by Word: as long as | he | still is the boss | we | must follow orders

    The speaker links the stated obligation to his continuing role as boss. This example does not establish a universal workplace rule or a fixed register for ตราบใด.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting ที่ in the exact ตราบใดที่ form requested here.

    ตราบใดเขายังอยู่...
    ตราบใดที่เขายังอยู่...

    This task requests ตราบใดที่เขายังอยู่.... ตราบใดเขายังอยู่... does not reproduce that form. The exercise does not establish that every occurrence of ตราบใด without ที่ is ungrammatical.

  • Not reproducing จนกว่า for the arrival endpoint requested in this waiting task.

    ฉันจะรอตราบใดที่คุณมา
    ฉันจะรอจนกว่าคุณจะมา

    For waiting until the listener arrives, this exercise requests ฉันจะรอจนกว่าคุณจะมา. ฉันจะรอตราบใดที่คุณมา does not reproduce the specified until construction; an as-long-as condition would require its own appropriate context.

  • Not using ถ้า for the exact if-hungry offer requested here.

    ตราบใดที่เธอหิว ฉันจะซื้อข้าวให้
    ถ้าเธอหิว เดี๋ยวฉันซื้อข้าวให้

    This task requests ถ้าเธอหิว เดี๋ยวฉันซื้อข้าวให้. ตราบใดที่เธอหิว ฉันจะซื้อข้าวให้ gives an as-long-as condition instead. It can be meaningful in context; the task does not prohibit ตราบใด in conversation.

How It Connects

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

ตราบใดLevel 5As Long as

Learn This First

To understand 'ตราบใด' (as long as), you should be familiar with how Thai uses temporal markers like 'เมื่อ' to link clauses. It also relies on the relative marker 'ที่' to connect the condition to the main statement, and often pairs with 'ยัง' to emphasize the continuation of a state.

Words in This Pattern

ตราบใด