Shangri Lingua

How to say “stand” in Thai

ยืน

yuen

/jɯːn/

ยืน means to stand.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: mid

The vowel has no English match. Try saying “oo” with your lips spread instead of rounded, and hold it, since this one is long.

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

  • เขายืนรอรถ

    kǎo yuen ror rót/kʰǎw jɯːn rɔː rót/

    They’re standing, waiting for a ride.

How it’s spelled

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

  •  ื

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

    sara uee

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

  • น

    “n” ends the word.

    no nu, from หนู (mouse)Low class

    A loop at the top left, ending in a small loop at the bottom right. Compare ม.

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 “n”, 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 ยืน 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 everyday life

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