Shangri LinguaHow to say “delicious” in Thai
อร่อย
/ʔà.rɔ̀ːj/
อร่อย means delicious.
Pronunciation and usage
Tone: low, low
If you learn one compliment for the table, make it this one. It works for any food you enjoy.
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
- อร่อยมาก
à-ròi mâak/ʔà.rɔ̀ːj mâːk/
Really delicious.
- อร่อยไหม
à-ròi mái?/ʔà.rɔ̀ːj máj/
Is it good?
How it’s spelled
Thai is written in a fixed order, which isn’t always the order you hear. Here’s each letter of อร่อย in the order you’d write it.
- อ
อ with a short “a”: the first syllable, “à”. No vowel is written.
o ang, from อ่าง (basin)Mid class
A closed egg shape with a small head inside at the top. Carries a vowel when a syllable starts with one.
- ร
“r” starts the second syllable. The อ before it also gives that syllable mid class rules.
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.
- ่
Mai ek, a tone mark. It goes above the consonant.
mai ek
A single short vertical stroke.
- อ
Here อ is the vowel, like the “aw” in “saw”.
o ang, from อ่าง (basin)Mid class
A closed egg shape with a small head inside at the top. Carries a vowel when a syllable starts with one.
- ย
“y” ends the word.
yo yak, from ยักษ์ (giant)Low class
A loop at the top, an S-curve down the left, and a flat base.
Why the tones are low, low
- À: อ is mid class with a short vowel, so the syllable is dead. Mid and dead gives a low tone.
- Ròi: the อ in front gives ร mid class rules, and it has mai ek. Mid class with mai ek gives a low tone.
Mai ek doesn’t always mean one tone: it gives a low tone on mid and high class letters, and a falling tone on low class.
New to consonant classes and live or dead syllables? See how Thai tones work.
Learn to write it
The Shangri Lingua app has a Thai writing course that teaches every letter in this word. You write 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 tastes
Learn these words together in the lesson Have you eaten yet?, or browse all Thai vocabulary.