Laravel 5.3 return custom error message using $this->validate()

Question

How to return a custom error message using this format?

$this->validate($request, [
  \'thing\' => \'required\'
]);

Answer 1

https://laravel.com/docs/5.3/validation#working-with-error-messages

$messages = [
    'required' => 'The :attribute field is required.',
];

$validator = Validator::make($input, $rules, $messages);

"In most cases, you will probably specify your custom messages in a language file instead of passing them directly to the Validator. To do so, add your messages to custom array in the resources/lang/xx/validation.php language file."