Breakdown of เห็นว่า ร้านอาหาร เก่า เจ๊ง แล้ว ครับ
ครับ
polite particle (male)
เก่า
old
ร้านอาหาร
restaurant
แล้ว
already
เห็นว่า
I heard that / word has it that
เจ๊ง
to go bankrupt / to fail (of a business)
Questions & Answers about เห็นว่า ร้านอาหาร เก่า เจ๊ง แล้ว ครับ
Why does เห็นว่า mean "I heard that" when เห็น usually means "to see"?
While เห็น literally means "to see," combining it with ว่า (that) creates an idiom used for hearsay. It translates closer to "word has it that" or "it appears that." Thai speakers use this at the beginning of a clause to show they are passing on information they learned from someone else, rather than stating a firsthand fact.
Is เจ๊ง the standard word for "bankrupt"?
เจ๊ง is a very common, colloquial word meaning to go bust, fold, or fail. It is almost exclusively used for small businesses and shops in everyday conversation. If you were reading a formal news report or legal document about a company going bankrupt, you would see a much more formal word like ล้มละลาย instead.
Could ร้านอาหารเก่า accidentally be misunderstood as a shop selling "old food"?
Not usually. Because ร้านอาหาร (restaurant) acts as a well-established single compound noun, the adjective เก่า (old) naturally modifies the entire concept of the restaurant. If someone specifically wanted to talk about "old food," they would drop the word shop and just say อาหารเก่า.
What role does แล้ว play in this context?
แล้ว (already) acts as a perfective marker, indicating that a change of state has occurred and is now completed. It tells the listener that the business going bust is a done deal. Without it, the sentence might sound a bit abrupt or leave the listener waiting for more information about the process.
Learn เห็นว่า ร้านอาหาร เก่า เจ๊ง แล้ว ครับ and more in Thai
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free