FamilyMother-in-law in Thai
Thai has two words for a mother-in-law: แม่ยายmâe-yaai is your wife's mother and แม่สามีmâe-sǎa-mii your husband's mother.
mother-in-law (your wife's mother) noun
- mâe falling
- yaai mid
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
mother-in-law (your husband's mother) noun
- mâe falling
- sǎa rising
- mii mid
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
mother-in-law (your husband's mother; casual) noun
- mâe falling
- pǔa rising
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
How to use it
Your wife's mother is แม่ยายmâe-yaai and your husband's mother แม่สามีmâe-sǎa-mii, or casually แม่ผัวmâe-pǔa. Talking to her, call her คุณแม่kun-mâe or แม่mâe.
The mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law, แม่ผัวลูกสะใภ้mâe-pǔa lûuk-sà-pái, are a favourite source of drama in Thai TV soaps.
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:
- mae yai
- mae sami
- mae samee
- mae phua
More family in Thai
All family
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones