Daily Thai Confidence — Using จับผิด (jàb-phìd)

Verb: จับผิด (jàb-p^hìd)
Meaning: to find fault / to criticise / to pick on

In this Thai lesson, we learn how to use the verb จับผิด (jàb-p^hìd), which means ‘to find fault,’ ‘to criticise,’ or ‘to pick on.’ It is used when someone pays close attention in order to criticise, point out mistakes, or catch someone doing something wrong.

This verb phrase is made up of two words:

• จับ (jàb) = to catch / to grab
• ผิด (p^hìd) = is wrong / is incorrect / mistaken

Together, จับผิด (jàb-p^hìd) means ‘to catch what is wrong.’

It is used when someone:

• Criticises small mistakes
• Watches carefully to find faults
• Points out errors excessively
• Tries to catch someone doing something wrong

It focuses on flaws rather positives, criticism or scrutiny, intentional fault-finding. It can sound emotionally negative if someone is constantly doing it.

The typical structure usually follows the pattern: subject + จับผิด (jàb-p^hìd) + person / thing.

For examples (ตัวอย่างเช่น — dtūa-^awyàang chên)

เขาชอบจับผิดคนอื่น

k^hǎo châwb jàb-p^hìd k^hōn èun
Literal: He like find fault people other.
He likes finding faults in others.

The adjective อื่น (èun) means ‘other,’ ‘another,’ or ‘different.’ It is used to refer to something or someone that is not the same as the one already mentioned or understood from context.

เขาจับผิดทุกอย่างที่ฉันทำ

k^hǎo jàb-p^hìd t^húk-^awyàang t^hêe chǎn t^hām
Literal: He find fault everything that I do.
He finds fault with everything I do.

The relative pronoun ที่ (t^hêe) means ‘that,’ ‘which,’ ‘where,’ or ‘who,’ depending on context. It is used to connect a noun with additional information about that noun. In this sentence, it connects the pronoun ทุกอย่าง (t^húk-^awyàang = everything) to the clause that gives more information about it ที่ฉันทำ (t^hêe chǎn t^hām = that I do).

อย่ามัวแต่จับผิดคนอื่น

^awyàa mūa-dtàe jàb-p^hìd k^hōn èun
Literal: He to be person quiet and not so much speak-chat with anyone.
Don’t focus only on finding faults in others.

The verb phrase มัวแต่ (mūa-dtàe) means ‘to keep doing something,’ ‘to waste time only doing…,’ or ‘to be too busy doing one thing.’ It often carries the idea that someone is overfocused on one action, causing another important thing to be ignored, delayed, or forgotten.

เธอรู้สึกเหมือนถูกจับผิดตลอดเวลา

t^hēr rúu-sèuk ^hměuan t^hùuk jàb-p^hìd dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa
Literal: She feel same as being affected by the act of finding fault all the time.
She feels like she is constantly being criticised.

The passive marker ถูก (t^hùuk) means ‘to be affected by’ or ‘to be subjected to’ an action that followed — subject + ถูก (t^hùuk) + verb. For example: เขาถูกจับ (k^hǎo t^hùuk jàb = He was arrested.); เธอถูกหลอก (t^hēr t^hùuk ^hlàwk = She was deceived.); บ้านถูกทำลาย (bâan t^hùuk t^hām-lāai = The house was destroyed.), etc.

Homework (การบ้าน — gāan-bâan)

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

1. He tried to catch mistakes in what I said.
2. Some people like nitpicking small things.
3. I don’t like people who constantly find faults.
4. She feels stressed because her boss keeps finding faults in her work.
5. He is too busy criticising others to notice his own mistakes.

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