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Eye contact in Thai

“Eye contact” in Thai is สบตาsòp-dtaa.

สบตา sòp-dtaa

to meet someone's eyes verb

sòp low
dtaa mid

Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.

Parts: สบsòp to meet, to come together ตาdtaa eye

You'll hear it in Love Destiny (บุพเพสันนิวาส).

How to use it

สบตาsòp-dtaa, "eyes meet", is eye contact: catching someone's eye, holding their gaze, the moment two people look at each other, สบตากันsòp-dtaa gan. Not daring to meet someone's eyes, ไม่กล้าสบตาmâi glâa sòp-dtaa, gives away guilt or a crush, in dramas and in life. Giving someone a meaningful look is ส่งสายตาsòng sǎai-dtaa, and simply looking is มองmawng.

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:

sop ta
sob ta
sobta

Read more

Song Love Destiny (บุพเพสันนิวาส) The opening theme of Love Destiny (2018), the Channel 3 period drama that became a craze across Thailand: a modern archaeologist wakes up in the body of a noblewoman of 17th-century Ayutthaya. A song about a love fated from a past life, which nothing in heaven or earth can break, sung over music with a classical Thai touch. Its lines teach the elegant Thai of period dramas: to meet someone's eyes, like, a bond, to separate, however hot or cold.

More feelings in Thai

มีความสุข mii kwaam-sùk Happy in Thai
to be happy
เสียใจ sǐa-jai Sad in Thai
ซึมเศร้า suem-sâo Depressed in Thai
เหงา ngǎo Lonely in Thai
คิดถึงบ้าน kít-tǔeng bâan Homesick in Thai
homesick (literally 'miss home')
ร้องไห้ ráwng-hâai Cry in Thai
to cry

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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones