to gain face, to get the credit verb
- dâi falling
- nâa falling
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
The opposite: เสียหน้าsǐa nâa, to lose face.
You'll hear it in Made in Thailand (เมด อิน ไทยแลนด์).
How to use it
ได้หน้าdâi nâa, "get face", is gaining prestige in front of others: praise in a meeting, a child's success, the credit for someone else's work. It's the opposite of เสียหน้าsǐa nâa, to lose face, and sparing someone embarrassment so they keep theirs is ไว้หน้าwái nâa. Our guide to saving face explains why it matters so much.
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:
- dai nah
Read more
Culture Saving Face in Thailand: Losing Face and Giving Face Why face matters so much in Thailand, the Thai words for losing and giving face, and how to disagree, complain or correct someone gracefully. - Song Made in Thailand (เมด อิน ไทยแลนด์) The song that plays as the guests arrive by boat in the first episode of The White Lotus season 3. With a flute riff every Thai knows, it pokes fun at Thais who trust a foreign label more than their own country's goods. It teaches words you'll use every week (Westerner, to appreciate, warranty, label, to sell well, to fool), the Thai idea of face, and the playful echo words Thais use for emphasis.
More feelings in Thai
All feelings- เสียใจ sǐa-jai Sad in Thai
- ซึมเศร้า suem-sâo Depressed in Thai
- เหงา ngǎo Lonely in Thai
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones