สูง

Explanation

The central idea of สูง is being above a reference point. It describes physical height in expressions such as เขาสูง, “he is tall,” and ตึกสูง, “a tall building.” Thai property words can function directly as predicates, so สูง does not normally require เป็น in this construction. Its meaning extends naturally to scales and rankings: ราคาสูง means “a high price,” อุณหภูมิสูง “a high temperature,” ความเสี่ยงสูง “high risk,” and ตำแหน่งสูง “a high-ranking position.” สูงกว่า means “higher” or “taller,” สูงที่สุด means “the highest” or “the tallest,” and สูงขึ้น means “become higher” or “rise.” The noun ความสูง means “height” or “stature.”

Usage

In everyday conversation, สูง is commonly used for a person's stature, the height of buildings or furniture, and the vertical position of objects. In news, business, education, and product descriptions, it frequently appears with words for prices, temperatures, income, risk, quality, and technical level. It is also used when discussing the pitch of voices and musical sounds.

Caution

สูง does not cover every use of English “high” or “expensive.” Use แพง to say that a product or service is expensive; use ราคาสูง when describing its price as high. For horizontal length or duration, use ยาว, “long,” rather than สูง.

1 high synonyms

• ยาว

  yaaw long

  ยาว means “long” and refers to length or duration. สูง refers to vertical height or a person's stature.

2 high (in amount or degree) synonyms

• มาก

  mâak very

  มาก broadly means “a lot,” “many,” or “very.” สูง presents an amount or degree as occupying a high point on a scale.

• แพง

  phɛɛŋ expensive

  แพง means “expensive” and directly describes goods or services. สูง describes the price level itself, as in ราคาสูง, “a high price.”

3 high-pitched synonyms

• แหลม

  lɛ̌ɛm high-pitched

  แหลม often suggests a sharp, piercing, or shrill sound. สูง is more neutral and simply describes a high pitch.