Shangri Lingua

How to say “do” in Thai

ทำ

tam

/tʰam/

ทำ means to do, to make.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: mid

This is one of the most useful verbs in Thai: ทำงาน (tam-ngaan) is to work and ทำอาหาร (tam aa-hǎan) is to cook.

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

  • คุณทำอะไรอยู่

    kun tam à-rai yòo?/kʰun tʰam ʔà.raj jùː/

    What are you doing?

How it’s spelled

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

  • ท

    “t” starts the word.

    tho thahan, from ทหาร (soldier)Low class

    A loop at the top left, a dip, and two legs. Compare ห.

  • ำ

    The vowel “am”. Written after the consonant, with its ring above.

    sara am

    A small ring above and า next to it, as a single letter.

Why the tone is mid

  1. It starts with ท, which is low class.
  2. There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
  3. It ends on a vowel that always counts as live.
  4. Low class 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 ทำ 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 everyday life

Browse all Thai vocabulary.