Shangri Lingua

How to say “long” in Thai

ยาว

yaao

/jaːw/

ยาว means long.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: mid

This is about length. A long time is a different word, นาน (naan).

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

  • ผมของเธอยาวมาก

    pǒm kǒng toe yaao mâak/pʰǒm kʰɔ̌ːŋ tʰɤː jaːw mâːk/

    Her hair is very long.

How it’s spelled

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

  • ย

    “y” starts the word.

    yo yak, from ยักษ์ (giant)Low class

    A loop at the top, an S-curve down the left, and a flat base.

  • า

    The vowel “long a”. Written after the consonant.

    sara aa

    A hook over the top and a straight drop down.

  • ว

    “w” ends the word.

    wo waen, from แหวน (ring)Low class

    A small arch curling over to the right, with a loop at the lower left.

Why the tone is mid

  1. It starts with ย, which is low class.
  2. There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
  3. It ends in “w”, 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 ยาว 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 size and length

Browse all Thai vocabulary.