News and societycourt (of law); shrine noun
- sǎan rising
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
How to use it
ศาลsǎan is a court of law: to appear in court is ขึ้นศาลkûen sǎan, "to go up to the court", a legal case is a คดีká-dii, the judge is the ผู้พิพากษาpûu-pí-pâak-sǎa, and the court's ruling is a คำพิพากษาkam-pí-pâak-sǎa.
The same word means a shrine: the little house for the guardian spirit outside homes and shops is a ศาลพระภูมิsǎan-prá-puum, and a Chinese shrine is a ศาลเจ้าsǎan-jâo.
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:
- san
- sarn
- sahn
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones