Daily Thai Confidence — Using จากนั้น (jàak nán)

Adverb: จากนั้น (jàak nán)
Meaning: after that / then / afterwards

In this Thai lesson, we learn how to use the adverb จากนั้น (jàak nán), which means ‘after that,’ ‘then,’ or ‘afterwards’. It is a time-sequence adverb used to introduce the next event in a sequence of actions. It refers back to a previously mentioned action or situation and marks what happens next. We can also say หลังจากนั้น (^hlǎng jàak nán), which is literally ‘after from that’.

The typical structure usually follows the pattern: action 1 + จากนั้น (jàak nán) / หลังจากนั้น (^hlǎng jàak nán) + action 2.

For examples (ตัวอย่างเช่น — dtūa-^awyàang chên)

(mêua-wāan-née chǎn bpāi dtà-^hlàad, jàak nán chǎn glàb bâan láe t^hām āa-hǎan-yēn)
Literal: Yesterday I go market, from there I return home and make dinner.
Yesterday I went to the market, then I came home and cooked dinner.

The verb กลับ (glàb) means ‘to return,’ ‘to go back,’ or ‘to come back’. It is used to indicate the movement or shift back to a previous point, state, or point in time. The verb phrase กลับบ้าน (glàb bâan) means ‘to go home’ or ‘to return home’ and is the normal expression used in Thai. In contrast, ไปบ้าน (bpāi bâan) is not normally used to mean ‘go home’ in standard Thai.

(chǎn jà bpāi séu-k^hǎwng t^hêe dtà-^hlàad, ^hlǎng jàak nán chǎn jà bpāi t^há-nāa-k^hāan)
Literal: I will go buy-stuff at market, after from that I will go bank.
I will go shopping at the market, after that I will go to the bank.

The verb phrase ซื้อของ (séu-k^hǎwng) is literally ‘to buy things,’ but in natural English it is often translated as ‘to go shopping. However, if you want to be more specific about what you are buying, then simply change the word ของ (k^hǎwng = things / stuff) to the noun you are buying. For example: ซื้ออาหาร (séu āa-hǎan = to buy food); ซื้อนม (séu nōm = to buy milk); ซื้อน้ำ (séu nám = to buy water); ซื้อน้ำแข็ง (séu nám-k^hǎeng = to buy ice); ซื้อเสื้อผ้า (séu sêua-p^hâa = to buy clothes); ซื้อรองเท้า (séu rāwng-t^háo = to buy shoes); ซื้อดอกไม้ (séu dàwk-mái = to buy flowers); ซื้อต้นไม้ (séu dtôn-mái = to buy trees or plants), etc.

(t^hēr dtèun-nāwn dtāwn hòk mōng cháo, jàak nán t^hēr àab-nám, gīn āa-hǎan-cháo, láew-gâw bpāi t^hām-ngāan)
Literal: She wake up at six o’clock in the morning, from there she take shower, eat food-morning, and then go do-work.
She woke up at six o’clock in the morning. After that she took a shower, ate breakfast, and went to work.

The adverb phrase แล้วก็ (láew gâw) means ‘and then’ and is used to link events in sequence, often in casual speech or storytelling. It is similar to หลังจากนั้น (^hlǎng jàak nán) or จากนั้น (jàak nán), but slightly more conversational and less formal.

(k^hǎo àan ^hnǎng-sěu bpēn wāy-lāa ^hnèung chûa-mōng, ^hlǎng jàak nán k^hǎo gâw nâng dūu t^hōo-rá-t^hád jōn-t^hěung sèe t^hûm gàwn bpāi-nāwn)
Literal: He read book to be time one hour, after from that he then sit watch television until four o’clock in evening before go-sleep.
He read a book for an hour, after that he sat watching television until ten o’clock in the evening before going to bed.

The preposition of time ก่อน (gàwn) means ‘before’ and is used to show when something happens relative to another event — ก่อน (gàwn) + time / event. For example: เด็กๆกินอาหารเช้าก่อนไปโรงเรียน (dèk-dèk gīn āa-hǎan-cháo gàwn bpāi rōng-rīan = The children ate breakfast before going to school.); เขาเกิดก่อนปี 2000 (k^hǎo gèud gàwn bpēe 2000 = He was born before the year 2000.), etc.

Practise putting your newly learned Thai word into a sentence by translating the following sentences below.

1. He finished his homework. After that, he watched television.
2. He ate breakfast, then he went to work.
3. Mum cooked dinner. After that she went to her friend’s house.
4. We finished the meeting, then we continue talking with each other.
5. He studied Thai for two years, then he went to work in Thailand.

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Urai Khomkham

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