Describing thingsDirty in Thai
“Dirty” in Thai is สกปรกsòk-gà-bpròk; you'll also hear เลอะlóe (smeared, stained).
dirty, filthy adjective
- sòk low
- gà low
- bpròk low
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
stained, smeared (with food, mud, paint) adjective
- lóe high
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
How to use it
สกปรกsòk-gà-bpròk is the standard word for dirty, with three short, low syllables. When something is smeared with food, mud or paint, Thais say เลอะlóe: a child eating mango sticky rice ends up เลอะlóe all over. Like English, it also describes cheating: เล่นสกปรกlên sòk-gà-bpròk, to play dirty.
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:
- sokaprok
- sok ka prok
- sok-ga-prok
- sakaprok
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