Colours สีเขียวขี้ม้า sǐi kǐaw kîi-máa
olive green, army green adjective
- sǐi rising
- kǐaw rising
- kîi falling
- máa high
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
Parts: สีsǐi colour เขียวkǐaw green ขี้ม้าkîi-máa horse dung
How to use it
Olive or army green is literally "horse-dung green", สีเขียวขี้ม้าsǐi kǐaw kîi-máa. It's simply the name of the colour, used by shop assistants and fashion pages alike, and nobody hears anything rude in it. The same ขี้kîi starts many words for habits and traits, such as ขี้เกียจkîi-gìat, lazy.
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 khiao khi ma
- khiao khi ma
- kiew kee ma
- kheaw khee ma
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