Shangri LinguaHow to say “eight” in Thai
แปด
/pɛ̀ːt/
แปด means eight.
Pronunciation and usage
Tone: low
The ด at the end sounds like a t that stops short, and that’s what gives this word its low tone.
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
- ฉันทำงานวันละแปดชั่วโมง
chǎn tam-ngaan wan lá bpàet chûa-mohng/t͡ɕʰǎn tʰam.ŋaːn wan láʔ pɛ̀ːt t͡ɕʰûa.moːŋ/
I work eight hours a day.
How it’s spelled
Thai is written in a fixed order, which isn’t always the order you hear. Here’s each letter of แปด in the order you’d write it.
- แ
The vowel “ae”. Written first, but heard after the consonant.
sara ae
Two เ side by side.
- ป
“bp” starts the word.
po pla, from ปลา (fish)Mid class
Same as บ, but the right side rises tall.
- ด
“t” ends the word.
do dek, from เด็ก (child)Mid class
A rounded top, with the line curling back inside at the top left. Compare ต.
Why the tone is low
- It starts with ป, which is mid class.
- There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
- It ends in “t”, a sound that stops short, so the syllable is dead.
- 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 แปด 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.
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Browse all Thai vocabulary.