Alternating time periods (... เว้น ...)

Alternating Time Periods with เว้น

To talk about doing something "every other" day, week, or month, Thai uses the word เว้น (to skip / to space out).

To express an alternating pattern, simply sandwich เว้น between two identical time words:

• [Time Unit] + เว้น
  • [Time Unit]

For example, วันเว้นวัน translates literally to "day skip day," which means "every other day."

This structure works seamlessly with any unit of time, such as weeks (อาทิตย์), years (ปี), or nights (คืน).

Physical Spacing

Because เว้น fundamentally means "to skip" or "leave a space," it is not restricted to time. You can also use it to talk about leaving physical gaps (ช่องว่าง) or spacing objects out, such as lines or rows (แถว).