Fall asleep in Thai

“Fall asleep” in Thai is หลับlàp.

หลับ làp

to be asleep, to fall asleep verb

làp low

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

How to use it

Thai separates going to bed from actually sleeping. นอนnawn is lying down to sleep and หลับlàp is being asleep, so นอนไม่หลับnawn mâi làp, "lie down, not asleep", means "I can't sleep". หลับตาlàp dtaa is closing your eyes, and หลับในlàp nai, "asleep inside", is nodding off at the wheel, a common cause of road accidents.

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:

lup
lahp

More verbs in Thai

All verbs

เป็น bpen Be
to be (a nationality, a job, a role)
มี mii Have
to have
ไป bpai Go
to go
มา maa Come
to come
กิน gin Eat
to eat
ดื่ม dùuem Drink
to drink

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