Shangri Lingua

How to say “hand” in Thai

มือ

mue

/mɯː/

มือ means hand.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: mid

It also appears in มือถือ (mue tǔe), “hand hold”, the Thai word for a mobile phone.

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

  • ล้างมือก่อนกินข้าว

    láang mue gòn gin kâao/láːŋ mɯː kɔ̀ːn kin kʰâːw/

    Wash your hands before eating.

How it’s spelled

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

  • ม

    “m” starts 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.

  •  ื

    The vowel “long ue”. Sits on top of the consonant.

    sara uee

    Like sara i, with two small strokes on the right.

  • อ

    Not heard. With no final consonant, this vowel takes a silent อ after 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.

Why the tone is mid

  1. It starts with ม, which is low class.
  2. There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
  3. It ends on a long vowel, which 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 มือ 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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