Describing thingsUgly in Thai
“Ugly” in Thai is ขี้เหร่kîi-rèe; you'll also hear น่าเกลียดnâa-glìat (unsightly; bad form).
ugly, plain-looking adjective
- kîi falling
- rèe low
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
ugly, unsightly; (behaviour) disgraceful adjective unsightly; bad form
- nâa falling
- glìat low
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
How to use it
ขี้เหร่kîi-rèe is ugly or plain-looking, and among friends it's mostly teasing. A softer way to put it is ไม่สวยmâi sǔay, not pretty. น่าเกลียดnâa-glìat, literally "hateful", is for ugly things and, more often, ugly behaviour: shouting at a waiter or arguing over a few baht is น่าเกลียดnâa-glìat. Good-looking is หน้าตาดีnâa-dtaa dii.
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:
- khi re
- kee ray
- kiree
- khi ray
- keeray
- na kliat
More describing things in Thai
All describing things
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones