แม้แต่

Even

Level 3

แม้แต่ is translated as “even” in the examples here. It singles out a child, a teacher, an action, or an amount. Some examples continue with ก็; that is not a requirement for every use.

How It Works

1. Highlighting a Surprising Case
Place แม้แต่ before the person, thing, amount, or other case you want to highlight. In แม้แต่เด็กก็รู้เรื่องนี้, the surprising case is เด็ก, 'a child.' A following particle such as ก็ or ยัง can connect that case to the rest of the statement. The displayed continuations do not make either particle compulsory in every use.

2. Different Positions
The highlighted phrase can come before the main clause, as in แม้แต่เงินหนึ่งบาทเขาก็ไม่มี, or be added after it, as in ทุกคนไปงานปาร์ตี้ แม้แต่คุณครู. Position depends on what you want to highlight. Do not decide whether ก็ is allowed only by calling the แม้แต่ phrase a subject or an object.

3. Saying 'Not Even'
With a negative statement, แม้แต่ highlights a case that is absent or an action that did not happen. ไม่มีแม้แต่เงินหนึ่งบาท means 'There is not even one baht.' In แม้แต่เงินหนึ่งบาทเขาก็ไม่มี, the amount comes first and the negative follows later. For an action, ไม่แม้แต่จะ + verb is possible: เขาไม่แม้แต่จะมองหน้าฉัน means 'He did not even look at my face.' This is why แม้แต่ is not limited to nouns.

4. 'Even' and 'Even Though'
แม้แต่ highlights a surprising case. To state a condition and then a result that holds despite it, use a concessive pattern such as ถึงแม้ว่า or แม้ว่า. แม้ว่าฝนตก เขาก็ไป means 'Even though it was raining, he went.' This distinction is about the meaning and structure of the whole sentence, not a ban on every clause after แม้แต่.

5. Read The Whole Example
The examples illustrate particular choices of focus and negative wording. They do not establish a frequency ranking for particles or a rule that every context expresses the same degree of surprise.

Examples (4)

  1. แม้แต่เด็กก็รู้เรื่องนี้

    Even a child knows about this.

    Word by Word: Even child [particle] know matter this

    The sentence singles out เด็ก, “a child,” in saying who knows this information. It does not list what every other person knows.

  2. เขาไม่แม้แต่จะมองหน้าฉัน

    He didn't even look at my face.

    Word by Word: He not even will look face me

    In this sentence, ไม่แม้แต่จะมอง says that he did not even look. The explanation concerns this action, without ranking it as the most basic action in every situation.

  3. ทุกคนไปงานปาร์ตี้ แม้แต่คุณครู

    Everyone went to the party, even the teacher.

    Word by Word: Every person go event party, even teacher

    Here, แม้แต่ is used at the end of the sentence to add an unexpected participant to the group.

  4. แม้แต่เงินหนึ่งบาทเขาก็ไม่มี

    He doesn't have even one baht.

    Word by Word: Even money one baht he [particle] not have

    The statement says he does not have even one baht. It does not separately enumerate smaller amounts or other currencies.

Common Mistakes

  • Using แม้แต่ for the intended meaning 'Even though it was raining, he went'.

    แม้แต่ฝนตก เขาก็ไป
    แม้ว่าฝนตก เขาก็ไป

    For this intended meaning, the rain is a condition that does not stop him from going. Use แม้ว่า or ถึงแม้ว่า to introduce that condition. แม้แต่ highlights a surprising case and does not by itself give the same concessive link. The issue is the intended 'even though' meaning, not a rule that แม้แต่ can only precede nouns.

How It Connects

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

แม้แต่Level 3Even

Learn This First

To understand 'แม้แต่' (even), you need to be comfortable with basic Thai sentence structure and the use of the particle 'ก็', which frequently appears in the second half of the sentence to complete the thought (e.g., 'Even X, [then] Y').

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

แม้แต่