ดังกล่าว in Formal Written Reference

ดังกล่าว means “aforementioned” or “referred to above.” It is a (formal) written anaphor: after a report, notice, contract, news story, or academic text introduces a referent, noun + ดังกล่าว retrieves that referent precisely. Thus บุคคลดังกล่าว is “the aforementioned person” and มาตรการดังกล่าว is “the measure just described.”

ดังกล่าว belongs after the noun or full counted phrase, not before it. It is not an elegant-sounding replacement for every conversational นั้น, and it does not normally point at something merely visible. Its meaning depends on an accessible textual antecedent.

The core contrast: ordinary pointing versus formal retrieval

Compare an ordinary spoken reference with the style expected in a report.

Both expressions retrieve an accessible company, but their registers differ. บริษัทนั้น fits speech and ordinary prose; บริษัทดังกล่าว tells the reader to search the preceding text for the company already identified. In formal English, the aforementioned company works similarly; everyday English usually says that company or repeats its name.

It follows the material it identifies

Thai noun phrases are head-initial. ดังกล่าว comes after the referenced noun, and a numeral-classifier unit comes between the noun and ดังกล่าว when an exact set is meant.

The order in the last example is noun + ทั้ง + number + classifier + ดังกล่าว. ดังกล่าว does not itself mark singular or plural; the numeral and classifier package the exact set. With no number, surrounding discourse supplies number just as it does with a bare noun.

This differs from the ordinary demonstrative construction เอกสารสองฉบับนั้น. Both put the locating expression late, but ดังกล่าว explicitly signals textual anaphora and formal register. The classifier–demonstrative page explains the everyday pattern with นี้ and นั้น.

What can serve as the antecedent

The antecedent may be a person, physical object, institution, event, proposal, behavior, or whole situation. It need not repeat exactly the same words, but the intended link must be unambiguous.

In each pair, the first sentence makes an entity available and the second retrieves it. Thai does not add an article equivalent to the. Formal definiteness comes from prior mention plus the anaphor; in ordinary prose, repetition, a name, นั้น, or a bare noun may do the same work.

Register: formal writing, not elevated conversation

ดังกล่าว is productive in (formal) legal, administrative, journalistic, and academic prose. It helps writers avoid repeating long identifying descriptions. In ordinary (informal) conversation, however, it sounds bureaucratic or humorously over-formal. Speakers normally use นี้, นั้น, the person's name or role, or zero reference.

Do not infer that formal writing must use ดังกล่าว at every later mention. Once continuity is clear, a bare noun can be smoother. Repeating ดังกล่าว in every sentence creates heavy bureaucratic prose, just as repeating aforementioned does in English.

Physical deixis and discourse deixis remain distinct

นี้/นั้น/โน้น can direct shared visual attention. ดังกล่าว normally cannot: seeing an unfamiliar folder on the table does not make เอกสารดังกล่าว appropriate. The document must have been mentioned in the text or formally established in the discourse.

The first expression uses a classifier plus demonstrative to pick a visible or current copy. The second retrieves the document by prior formal mention and does not need a classifier unless number or copy-level individuation matters.

Ordinary-polite dialogue about formal wording

People can, of course, say the word ดังกล่าว while discussing how to write a document. That does not make it a neutral conversational pointer.

The female question ends in คะ; the male response ends in ครับ. The omitted subjects are obvious from the editing task. No English-style obligatory I or you is needed.

Common Mistakes

1. Putting ดังกล่าว before the noun

2. Using it without an antecedent

3. Using bureaucratic reference in a café order

4. Leaving the anaphor without a noun

Key Takeaways

ดังกล่าว is a post-nominal, backward-looking device of formal writing. It retrieves an already established person, institution, object, event, or proposition; a numeral and classifier can precede it when an exact set matters. It neither replaces conversational นั้น nor points to an unmentioned visible object. Prior text supplies definiteness, classifiers and numerals supply individuation and number, and context licenses omission on later mentions.