Describing thingswood, timber; stick, skewer noun
- máai high
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
How to use it
ไม้máai is wood, and things made of it simply add the word: บ้านไม้bâan máai, a wooden house; โต๊ะไม้dtó máai, a wooden table. Teak, ไม้สักmáai sàk, is the famous wood of Northern Thailand. The same word is a stick or a skewer, and the counting word for skewers: หมูปิ้งสามไม้mǔu-bpîng sǎam máai, three pork skewers. It also starts the names of many wooden things: ไม้กวาดmáai-gwàat, a broom. A tree is ต้นไม้dtôn-máai. Mind the tone: high ไม้máai is wood; falling ไม่mâi is "not".
Don't mix it up
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ไม่mâi
not; no
Falling tone, said short: not.
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:
- mai sak
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