ไม่ยอม

Refuse to

Level 4

ไม่ยอม can mean refuse to or will not cooperate. The computer example uses it figuratively, without giving the machine a real intention.

How It Works

Read the Action:
เด็กไม่ยอมนอน says the child will not sleep. เขาไม่ยอมบอกความจริง says he will not tell the truth. The wording does not prove why either person does not act.

A Machine That Will Not Cooperate:
คอมพิวเตอร์ไม่ยอมเปิด describes a computer that will not turn on. The machine does not have a deliberate choice. This use shows why a universal stubbornness rule would be misleading.

Refusing Permission:
แม่ไม่ยอมให้ฉันไปเที่ยว says Mom will not let the speaker go out. In the selected construction, ไม่ยอม precedes ให้ and the permitted action. Read that whole order rather than every unrelated ให้ phrase as the same pattern.

A Complete Expression:
เขาไม่ยอมแพ้ means he refuses to give up. Learn ยอมแพ้ together rather than translating แพ้ alone as the entire expression.

Examples (5)

  1. เด็กไม่ยอมนอน

    The child will not go to sleep.

    Word by Word: child not willing sleep

    The sentence presents the child as not going to sleep. It does not prove the cause or establish a personality trait.

  2. เขาไม่ยอมบอกความจริง

    He won't tell the truth.

    Word by Word: he not willing tell truth

    ไม่ยอมบอก presents unwillingness to tell the truth. Any particular pressure or motive needs context.

  3. คอมพิวเตอร์ไม่ยอมเปิด

    The computer refuses to turn on.

    Word by Word: computer not willing open

    This sentence describes a computer that will not turn on. “Refuses” is figurative here; it does not give the machine an intention.

  4. แม่ไม่ยอมให้ฉันไปเที่ยว

    Mom won't let me go out.

    Word by Word: mom not willing give I go travel

    Uses the 'mâi yom hâi' structure to show a refusal to grant permission.

  5. เขาไม่ยอมแพ้

    He refuses to give up.

    Word by Word: he not willing lose

    In this complete expression, ไม่ยอมแพ้ means refusing to give up. Learn ยอมแพ้ as a unit.

Common Mistakes

  • Choose The Displayed Refusal-To-Allow Pattern.

    เขาไม่ให้ยอมไป
    เขาไม่ยอมให้ไป

    To reproduce the displayed refusal-to-allow pattern, choose เขาไม่ยอมให้ไป, with ไม่ยอม before ให้. The other ordering does not reproduce that pattern. The person who would go is unstated and must be understood from context; this exercise does not judge every possible longer sentence containing the same words.

How It Connects

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

ไม่ยอมLevel 4Refuse to

Learn This First

To understand 'ไม่ยอม' (refuse to), you first need to know how to negate verbs using 'ไม่'. It is also helpful to understand the core meaning of the verb 'ยอม' (to yield or consent) and how Thai chains verbs together, as 'ไม่ยอม' is placed directly before the action being refused.

Words in This Pattern

ไม่ยอมยอม