Shangri Lingua

How to say “edge” in Thai

ริม

rim

/rim/

ริม means edge, side.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: mid

You’ll see it in the names of places by the water: ริมน้ำ (rim náam) is a riverside and ริมทะเล (rim tá-lay) is the seaside.

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

  • บ้านของเขาอยู่ริมน้ำ

    bâan kǒng kǎo yòo rim náam/bâːn kʰɔ̌ːŋ kʰǎw jùː rim náːm/

    Their house is by the water.

How it’s spelled

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

  • ร

    “r” starts the word.

    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.

  •  ิ

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

    sara i

    A low dome, closed along the bottom.

  • ม

    “m” ends the word.

    mo ma, from ม้า (horse)Low class

    A loop at the top left, a second loop at the bottom left, and a W-shaped base. Compare น.

Why the tone is mid

  1. It starts with ร, which is low class.
  2. There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
  3. It ends in “m”, a sound you can hold, so the syllable is 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 ริม 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 basic words

Browse all Thai vocabulary.