Coloursa light colour, pale colour noun
- sǐi rising
- àwn low
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
How to use it
After a colour word, Thai just adds อ่อนàwn, soft: เขียวอ่อนkǐaw àwn is light green and ฟ้าอ่อนfáa àwn pale blue. On its own, สีอ่อนsǐi àwn means light or pastel colours in general, and in a clothes shop สีอ่อนกว่านี้sǐi àwn gwàa níi asks for something lighter.
The opposite is เข้มkêm, strong: สีเข้มsǐi kêm are dark colours. You'll also hear แก่gàe, old, for a deep shade, as in เขียวแก่kǐaw gàe, dark green.
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:
- si on
- si orn
More colours in Thai
All colours
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones