How to Say “Later” in Thai

When to use it

เดี๋ยว (dǐaw) means "in a moment" or "later," but its exact duration depends entirely on context. For instance, เดี๋ยวกิน (dǐaw kin) means you will eat soon — in a few minutes or hours — while เดี๋ยวเจอกันใหม่ (dǐaw cəə kan mày) means "see you later," which could be days or weeks away. To strongly emphasize doing something later, add ทีหลัง (thii-lǎng) "later/afterwards" to the end, as in เดี๋ยวกินทีหลัง (dǐaw kin thii-lǎng). Lastly, combining it with ก่อน (kɔ̀ɔn) "first" creates the very common phrase เดี๋ยวก่อน (dǐaw-kɔ̀ɔn), which works as a standalone "Hold on!" or "Not just yet!" to postpone an action without mentioning any details.

Why you've seen it spelled differently

You may have seen เดี๋ยว written as: diao, diao kon, thi lang.

There is no single standard for writing Thai in the Roman alphabet — phrasebooks, road signs, and tourist guides each follow a different system, and many just invent their own spellings. The romanization on this page uses a consistent IPA-based system that marks all five tones and distinguishes short from long vowels. The same word always gets the same spelling. Paste any Thai to see it romanized →

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