Shangri Lingua

How to say “automobile” in Thai

รถยนต์

rót-yon

/rót.jon/

รถยนต์ means car, automobile.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: high, mid

This is the specific, more formal word for a car. In everyday speech, plain รถ (rót) is usually enough.

Reading the romanization: the mark over a vowel shows its tone. bp and dt are a p and a t with no puff of air, while plain p, t and k have the puff. The IPA shows the exact sounds, and Learn the IPA explains how to read it.

Examples

  • พ่อซื้อรถยนต์ใหม่

    pôr súe rót-yon mài/pʰɔ̂ː sɯ́ː rót.jon màj/

    My father bought a new car.

How it’s spelled

Thai is written in a fixed order, which isn’t always the order you hear. Here’s each letter of รถยนต์ in the order you’d write it.

  • ร

    “r” starts the first syllable.

    ro ruea, from เรือ (boat)Low class

    A wavy flag across the top, a drop down the right, and a small loop at the bottom.

  • ถ

    Ends the first syllable as “t”: “rót”, with an implied “o”.

    tho thung, from ถุง (sack)High class

    An arch with a small loop inside the foot of the left leg. Compare ภ, whose loop is outside.

  • ย

    “y” starts the second syllable.

    yo yak, from ยักษ์ (giant)Low class

    A loop at the top, an S-curve down the left, and a flat base.

  • น

    Ends the second syllable as “n”: “yon”, with an implied “o”.

    no nu, from หนู (mouse)Low class

    A loop at the top left, ending in a small loop at the bottom right. Compare ม.

  • ต

    Not heard, because of the mark above it.

    to tao, from เต่า (turtle)Mid class

    Same body as ด, with a notch in the top.

  •  ์

    Thanthakhat: it silences the letter it sits on.

    thanthakhat

    A small curl with a tail. Not actually a tone mark.

Why the tones are high, mid

  1. Rót: ร is low class and it ends in “t”, so it’s dead. The vowel is short, and low, dead and short gives a high tone.
  2. Yon: ย is low class and it ends in “n”, since the ต is silent, so it’s live. Low and live gives a mid tone.

New to consonant classes and live or dead syllables? See how Thai tones work.

Learn to write it

The Shangri Lingua app teaches รถยนต์ in its Thai writing course. You write the word one letter at a time, with your finger or Apple Pencil, and the app checks each letter and gives you more help if you get stuck. Get it on the App Store.

More places and things

Browse all Thai vocabulary.