Shangri Lingua

How to say “want” in Thai

เอา

ao

/ʔaw/

เอา means to want, to take (handy for ordering).

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: mid

This word is for wanting a thing, which makes it handy when ordering. To say you want to do something, use อยาก (yàak) before the verb instead.

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

  • เอาไก่

    ao gài/ʔaw kàj/

    I’ll have chicken.

  • ไม่เอา

    mâi ao/mâj ʔaw/

    I don’t want it.

  • เอากาแฟร้อนแก้วหนึ่ง

    ao gaa-fae rón gâew nùeng/ʔaw kaː.fɛː rɔ́ːn kɛ̂ːw nɯ̀ŋ/

    I’ll have one hot coffee.

How it’s spelled

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

  • เ

    Part of the vowel “ao”. Written first.

    sara e

    One tall stroke with a small loop at the bottom. Compare แ.

  • 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.

  • า

    Together with เ, this makes the vowel “ao”.

    sara aa

    A hook over the top and a straight drop down.

Why the tone is mid

  1. It starts with อ, which is mid class.
  2. There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
  3. It ends on a vowel that always counts as live.
  4. Mid 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 เอา 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 likes and feelings

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