Shangri LinguaHow to say “ten” in Thai
สิบ
/sìp/
สิบ means ten.
Pronunciation and usage
Tone: low
Higher numbers build on this: สามสิบ (sǎam-sìp), “three ten”, is thirty. Numbers ending in one take เอ็ด (èt), so eleven is สิบเอ็ด (sìp-èt).
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
- ฉันมีเงินสิบบาท
chǎn mee ngoen sìp bàat/t͡ɕʰǎn miː ŋɤn sìp bàːt/
I have ten baht.
How it’s spelled
Thai is written in a fixed order, which isn’t always the order you hear. Here’s each letter of สิบ in the order you’d write it.
- ส
“s” starts the word.
so suea, from เสือ (tiger)High class
Like ล, with a flick at the top.
- ิ
The vowel “short i”. Sits on top of the consonant.
sara i
A low dome, closed along the bottom.
- บ
“p” ends the word.
bo baimai, from ใบไม้ (leaf)Mid class
A loop at the top left, a flat base, and a right side that stops level. Compare ป.
Why the tone is low
- It starts with ส, which is high class.
- There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
- It ends in “p”, a sound that stops short, so the syllable is dead.
- High 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 สิบ 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 numbers
Browse all Thai vocabulary.