Shangri Lingua

How to say “building” in Thai

ตึก

dtùek

/tɯ̀k/

ตึก means building.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: low

This means a solid, multi-story building, as opposed to a house. The short vowel stops sharply on the k.

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

  • ตึกนี้สูงมาก

    dtùek née sǒong mâak/tɯ̀k níː sǔːŋ mâːk/

    This building is very tall.

How it’s spelled

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

  • ต

    “dt” starts the word.

    to tao, from เต่า (turtle)Mid class

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

  •  ึ

    The vowel “short ue”. Sits on top of the consonant.

    sara ue

    Like sara i, with a small circle on the right.

  • ก

    “k” ends the word.

    ko kai, from ไก่ (chicken)Mid class

    No loop at all: a beak at the top left and two legs. Compare ภ and ถ, which add a loop.

Why the tone is low

  1. It starts with ต, which is mid class.
  2. There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
  3. It ends in “k”, a sound that stops short, so the syllable is dead.
  4. Mid class and dead gives a low tone.

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

Learn to write it

The Shangri Lingua app teaches ตึก 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.