Thai Family Words and Phrases

Parents and home

The warm everyday words — แม่ and พ่อ are what Thais actually call their parents, at any age.

1. 1 แม่ mae — Mom
2. 2 พ่อ pho — Dad
3. 3 พ่อแม่ pho mae — Parents

   Always in this order — father first, a fixed compound.

4. 4 ครอบครัว khropkhrua — Family

Older and younger siblings

Thai doesn't have a plain word for brother or sister — age comes first. พี่ is your older sibling, น้อง your younger one, and gender is just a suffix.

1. 5 พี่ชาย phi chai — Older brother
2. 6 พี่สาว phi sao — Older sister
3. 7 น้องชาย nong chai — Younger brother
4. 8 น้องสาว nong sao — Younger sister

Grandparents, four ways

Thai splits grandparents by side of the family — two words for Dad's parents, two for Mom's. Thais always know exactly which grandma made the sticky rice.

1. 9 ปู่ pu — Grandpa on dad's side
2. 10 ย่า ya — Grandma on dad's side
3. 11 ตา ta — Grandpa on mom's side
4. 12 ยาย yai — Grandma on mom's side

Children and relatives

The next generation down, plus the aunts, uncles, and cousins who fill a Thai house at Songkran.

1. 13 ลูกชาย luk chai — Son
2. 14 ลูกสาว luk sao — Daughter
3. 15 หลาน lan — Grandchild, niece, or nephew

   One word for the whole generation below — context does the sorting.

4. 16 ลุง lung — Uncle older than your parents
5. 17 ป้า pa — Aunt older than your parents

   Also the friendly way to address the older woman selling som tam at the market.

6. 18 ญาติ yat — Relatives

Husbands and wives

The formal pair — safe in any company, from small talk to paperwork.

1. 19 สามี sami — Husband
2. 20 ภรรยา phanraya — Wife

In real life: asking about someone's family