Daily Thai Confidence — Using ตลอดเวลา (dtà-hlàwd wāy-lāa)

Adverb of Time: ตลอดเวลา (dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa)
Meaning: all the time / the whole time / constantly / at all times

In this Thai lesson, we learn how to use the adverb of time ตลอดเวลา (dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa), which means ‘all the time,’ ‘the whole time,’ ‘constantly,’ or ‘at all times.’ It describes an action or state that continues over an entire period, rather than simply describing how often something happens.

It made up of two words:

• ตลอด (dtà-^hlàwd) = throughout / all the way / entire
• เวลา (wāy-lāa) = time

Together, ตลอดเวลา (dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa) literally means ‘throughout the time,’ and the expression focuses on continuity — something does not stop or keeps happening repeatedly during a period.

The typical structure usually follows the pattern: subject + verb + ตลอดเวลา (dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa).

For examples (ตัวอย่างเช่น — dtūa-^awyàang chên)

เขาหัวเราะตลอดเวลา

k^hǎo hǔa-rót dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa
Literal: He laugh all the time.
He laughs all the time.

The verb หัวเราะ (hǔa-rót) means ‘to laugh’ or ‘to laugh out loud.’ It describes the action of making a laughing sound because something is funny, enjoyable, surprising, or amusing.

เธอทำงานตลอดเวลา

t^hēr t^hām-ngāan dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa
Literal: She do-work all the time.
She works all the time.

The verb ทำงาน (t^hām-ngāan) means ‘to work,’ ‘to do work,’ or ‘to be working.’ It can refer to doing your job, performing tasks, working on something, or a chine or system operating.

ฝนตกตลอดเวลา

fǒn-dtòk dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa
Literal: Rain-fall all the time.
It rained the whole time.

The verb ฝนตก (fǒn-dtòk) means ‘to rain’ or ‘raining.’ It describes the situation where rain is falling from the sky. The phrase itself performs the action, which means Thai does not use a word like English ‘it’ in weather expressions.

เขาบ่นตลอดเวลา

k^hǎo bòn dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa
Literal: He moan all the time.
He complains all the time.

The verb บ่น (bòn) means ‘to moan,’ ‘to complain,’ ‘to grumble,’ or ‘to whine.’ It describes expressing dissatisfaction, annoyance, or unhappiness, usually by repeatedly talking about something negative.

When introducing a period of time and emphasising that something continues from the beginning to the end of that period, the phrase ตลอดเวลา (dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa) is used with ที่ (t^hêe = that) — Together, ตลอดเวลาที่ (dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa t^hêe) means ‘during the entire time that…,’ ‘throughout the time that…,’ ‘all the time that…,’ or ‘while…’

The typical structure usually follows the pattern: ตลอดเวลาที่ (dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa t^hêe) + clause.

For examples (ตัวอย่างเช่น — dtūa-^awyàang chên)

ตลอดเวลาที่ฉันอยู่ประเทศไทย ฉันมีความสุขมาก

dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa t^hêe chǎn ^awyùu t^hêe bprà-t^hâed Thāi, chǎn mēe k^hwāam-sùk mâak
Literal: Throughout the entire time that I to be situated in country Thai, I have happiness very.
I was very happy during the entire time I was in Thailand.

ตลอดเวลาที่เขาอยู่ในประเทศไทย เขาเรียนภาษาไทยทุกวัน

dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa t^hêe k^hǎo ^awyùu nāi bprà-t^hâed Thāi, k^hǎo rīan p^hāa-sǎa Thāi t^húk wān
Literal: Throughout the entire time that he to be situated in country Thai, he learn language Thai every day.
Throughout the time he was in Thailand, he studied Thai every day.

ตลอดเวลาที่เขาทำงาน เขาไม่เคยบ่นเลย

dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa t^hêe k^hǎo t^hām-ngāan, k^hǎo mâi k^hēuy bòn lēuy
Literal: Throughout the entire time that he do-work, he never complain at all.
Throughout the time he worked, he never complained.

ตลอดเวลาที่ฝนตก เราอยู่ในบ้าน

dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa t^hêe fǒn-dtòk, rāo ^awyùu nāi bâan
Literal: Throughout the entire time that rain-fall, we to be situated in house.
We stayed inside throughout the time it was raining.

Homework (การบ้าน — gāan-bâan)

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

1. He calls me all the time.
2. I think about her all the time.
3. She is happy all the time.
4. He thinks about his family all the time.
5. He listens to music throughout the time he works.

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