PeopleMan in Thai
“Man” in Thai is ผู้ชายpûu-chaai; you'll also hear ชายchaai (signs, forms) and หนุ่มnùm (young man).
man; boy; male noun everyday
- pûu falling
- chaai mid
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
Classifier: คนkon · person, people
male, men (on signs and forms) noun
- chaai mid
- Mid: level, in your normal speaking voice.
young man noun
- nùm low
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
You'll hear it in Bad Boy (ทรงอย่างแบด).
How to use it
ผู้ชายpûu-chaai is the everyday word for a man or a boy. Signs and forms use the short ชายchaai, and a young man is หนุ่มnùm. A good-looking man is หล่อlàw, handsome.
To talk to a man, Thais use a family word rather than "man" or "sir": พี่pîi for someone a bit older, น้องnáwng for someone younger and ลุงlung for an older man.
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:
- phu chai
- pu chai
- puchai
- phuchai
- poo chai
- poochai
More people in Thai
All people
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones