Describing thingsAlive in Thai
“Alive” in Thai is มีชีวิตmii chii-wít; you'll also hear เป็นๆbpen-bpen (at the market).
alive, living adjective
- mii mid
- chii mid
- wít high
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
alive, live (fish and seafood) adjective at the market
- bpen mid
- bpen mid
- Mid: level, in your normal speaking voice.
How to use it
มีชีวิตmii chii-wít, "to have life", is alive, and someone still alive is ยังมีชีวิตอยู่yang mii chii-wít yùu. At markets and seafood restaurants, fish, prawns and crabs that are still alive are เป็นๆbpen-bpen, or just เป็นbpen: ปลาเป็นbplaa bpen, live fish, picked from a tank and sold by weight. The opposite is ตายdtaai, dead.
Other spellings you'll see
There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:
- mee chiwit
- mi chi wit
- pen pen
More describing things in Thai
All describing things- ดี dii Good in Thai
- ดีกว่า dii gwàa Better in Thai
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones