Small wordsI, me (male speaker) pronoun men
- pǒm rising
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
The polite 'I' for men; it also means 'hair'. The app puts it in your sentences if you speak with ครับkráp.
I, me (female speaker) pronoun women
- chǎn rising
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
The 'I' for women; in everyday talk many women use their nickname instead, the way Nam says น้ำnáam.
Taught in Unit 2 · Lesson 1: What's your name? of the free course.
Practise it freeHow to use it
Men say ผมpǒm and women say ฉันchǎn, but Thais leave "I" out whenever it's clear who is talking: หิวhǐu on its own means "I'm hungry". Many women use their nickname instead, and friends often say เราrao (we) to mean "I".
Very formal speech uses ดิฉันdì-chǎn for women, and you'll hear the blunt กูguu between close friends and in films and songs: it's rude anywhere else.
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:
- phom
- chun
- chanh
More small words in Thai
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Learn this word in Unit 2, free
Unit 2 · Nice to meet you · What's your name? Short lessons with audio for every word, speaking practice and spaced review. No sign-up needed.
Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones