Shangri Lingua

How to say “full” in Thai

อิ่ม

ìm

/ʔìm/

อิ่ม means full (from eating).

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: low

This means full from eating. A full glass or a full bus takes a different word, เต็ม (dtem).

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

  • อิ่มแล้ว

    ìm láew/ʔìm lɛ́ːw/

    I’m already full.

  • อิ่มมาก

    ìm mâak/ʔìm mâːk/

    I’m really full.

How it’s spelled

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

  • อ

    A silent starter: a syllable that begins with a vowel still needs a consonant to carry it.

    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.

  •  ิ

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

    sara i

    A low dome, closed along the bottom.

  •  ่

    Mai ek, a tone mark. It goes above the consonant, on top of the vowel already there.

    mai ek

    A single short vertical stroke.

  • 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 low

  1. It starts with อ, which is mid class.
  2. 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 food and drink

Learn these words together in the lesson Have you eaten yet?, or browse all Thai vocabulary.