Daily Thai Confidence — Using รบกวน (rób-gūan)

Verb: รบกวน (rób-gūan)
Meaning: to disturb / to bother / to interrupt / to trouble someone

In this Thai lesson, we learn how to use the noun รบกวน (rób-gūan), which means ‘to disturb,’ ‘to interrupt,’ or ‘to bother someone,’ especially by affecting their time, attention, or peace. It is also commonly used as a polite word to make request softer, similar to “could you please…” or “may I trouble you…” in English.

For examples (ตัวอย่างเช่น — dtūa-^awyàang chên)

อย่ารบกวนฉันตอนนี้

^awyàa rób-gūan chǎn dtāwn-née
Literal: Do not disturb me now.
Don’t disturb me now.

The imperative verb อย่า (^awyàa) means ‘do not’ or ‘don’t.’ It is used when you want someone to stop or avoid doing something — อย่า (^awyàa) + verb.

ฉันขอโทษที่รบกวนคุณ

chǎn k^hǎw-t^hôod t^hêe rób-gūan k^hūn
Literal: I sorry that disturb you.
I’m sorry for disturbing you.

The verb ขอโทษ (k^hǎw-t^hôod) means ‘sorry’ or ‘to apologise.’ It is used when you want to say sorry for something you did wrong, or to politely get someone’s attention.

ฉันไม่อยากรบกวนเขาตอนเขาพักผ่อน

chǎn mâi ^awyàak rób-gūan k^hǎo dtāwn k^hǎo p^hág-p^hàwn
Literal: I not want to disturb him while he rest.
I don’t want to disturb him while he is resting.

The verb อยาก (^awyàak) means ‘to want to’ or ‘to feel like’ doing something. It is used to express desire, wishes, or intention to do something — subject + อยาก (^awyàak) + verb.

ผมขอรบกวนถามอะไรหน่อยครับ

p^hǒm k^hǎw rób-gūan t^hǎam à-rāi ^hnòi k^hráb
Literal: I ask for disturb to ask something a little.
May I ask you a question please?

The comparative adverb ขอรบกวน…หน่อย (k^hǎw rób-gūan…^hnòi) is a common Thai polite request pattern, meaning “May I trouble you a little to…?” or “Could you please…?” It is used to make requests sound soft, polite, and not too direct.

Homework (การบ้าน — gāan-bâan)

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

1. The loud noise disturbs my sleep.
2. I don’t want to bother him.
3. Why are you bothering me?
4. Could I trouble please trouble you to send me the documents?
5. Could you please open the door for me?

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