Describing things
Colours สีน้ำตาล sǐi náam-dtaan
brown adjective
- sǐi rising
- náam high
- dtaan mid
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
Parts: สีsǐi colour น้ำตาลnáam-dtaan sugar
How to use it
Brown is literally "sugar colour", สีน้ำตาลsǐi náam-dtaan. Without the สีsǐi, น้ำตาลnáam-dtaan is just sugar, so keep it when you mean the colour: ใส่น้ำตาลไหมsài náam-dtaan mǎi at a coffee stall asks whether you take sugar. Light and dark brown are สีน้ำตาลอ่อนsǐi náam-dtaan àwn and สีน้ำตาลเข้มsǐi náam-dtaan kêm.
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:
- si nam tan
- see nam tan
- nam tan
- sinamtan
- num taan
- nam taan
More describing things in Thai
All describing things
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones