Fairy tale in Thai

“Fairy tale” in Thai is นิทานní-taan.

นิทาน ní-taan

tale, fairy tale, fable noun

  • ní high
  • taan mid
  • High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.

How to use it

นิทานní-taan is a tale told for its own sake, mostly to children: a bedtime story, a fable with talking animals, a folk tale, นิทานพื้นบ้านní-taan púuen-bâan. It starts กาลครั้งหนึ่งgaa-lá-kráng-nùeng, once upon a time, and a fable ends with its moral, นิทานเรื่องนี้สอนให้รู้ว่าní-taan rûeang níi sǎwn hâi rúu wâa, "this tale teaches us that…". Aesop's fables are นิทานอีสปní-taan ii-sòp. A fairy tale of princesses and magic is also a เทพนิยายtêep-ní-yaai, and a legend a ตำนานdtam-naan.

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:

  • nitan
  • ni tan
  • nithan

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