Daily Thai Confidence — Using เหลิง (hlěuhng)

Adjective: เหลิง (^hlěuhng)
Meaning: is spoiled / is overconfident / is cocky / is conceited

In this Thai lesson, we learn how to use the adjective เหลิง (^hlěuhng), which can be translated as ‘is spoiled,’ ‘is overconfident,’ ‘is cocky,’ or ‘is conceited.’ It is usually used in a negative sense to describe someone who starts to think too highly of themselves or behaves as if the normal rules no longer apply to them.

The core meaning of เหลิง (^hlěuhng) is to become overly confident or full of oneself because of success, praise, attention, privilege, or getting away with something. So, if someone keeps getting away with bad behaviour or no one corrects them, they may become เหลิง (^hlěuhng) because they start believing they can do whatever they want. It’s similar to saying ‘to get carried away with oneself,’ ‘to forget oneself,’ or ‘to be enamoured by one’s own glory.’

The typical structure usually follows the pattern: subject + เหลิง (^hlěuhng).

For examples (ตัวอย่างเช่น — dtūa-^awyàang chên)

พ่อแม่ตามใจเขาจนเขาเหลิง

p^hâw-mâe dtām-jāi k^hǎo jōn k^hǎo ^hlěuhng
Literal: Father-mother indulge him until he forget himself.
His parents spoiled him so much that he started thinking he could do no wrong.

In this sentence, เหลิง (^hlěuhng) indicates that his parents let him do whatever he wanted so often, or indulged him so much, that he became conceited, cocky, and overconfident. He started to think he could do no wrong or that the normal rules no longer applied to him.

เธอโกหกบ่อยครั้งโดยไม่มีใครจับได้ เธอก็เลยเหลิง

t^hēr gō-hòk bòi k^hránge dōy mâi mēe k^hrāi jàb dâi, t^hēr gâw-lēuy ^hlěuhng
Literal: She lie often times by not have anyone catch can, she therefore overconfident.
She lied many times without anyone catching her, so she became overconfident.

In this sentence, เหลิง (^hlěuhng) indicates that she lied successfully so many times without being caught that she became overconfident and started thinking she could do it without consequences.

เธอเหลิงเพราะฉันไม่เคยพูดอะไรทุกครั้งที่เธอใช้ฉันเป็นแพะรับบาป

t^hēr ^hlěuhng p^hrót chǎn mâi-k^hēuy p^hûud à-rāi t^húk k^hráng t^hêe t^hēr chái chǎn bpēn p^háet-ráb-bàab
Literal: She become overconfident because I never say anything every time she use me to be goat-accept-sin.
She became overconfident because I never said anything every time she used me as a scapegoat.

In this sentence, เหลิง (^hlěuhng) indicates that she became overconfident because I never spoke up, even once, whenever she repeatedly used me as a scapegoat. As a result, her behaviour continued without resistance, which made her more and more emboldened over time.

มีคนชมเธอว่าเธอสวยจนเธอเหลิงและหลงตัวเอง

mēe k^hōn chōm t^hēr wâa t^hēr sǔay jōn t^hēr ^hlěuhng láe ^hlǒng dtūa-āeng
Literal: Have people compliment her that she beautiful until she overconfident and lost in-oneself.
People praised her for being beautiful until she got carried away and become self-absorb.

In this sentence, เหลิง (^hlěuhng) indicates that she became overconfident and carried away because she received so much praise for being beautiful, to the point that it went to her head and became vain or full of herself.

Homework (การบ้าน — gāan-bâan)

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

1. He became overconfident after becoming famous.
2. She got carried away with herself because everyone praised her.
3. Don’t become overconfident after one success.
4. She became overconfident because she was never punished.
5. They got carried away because they kept getting away with it.

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