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Thai

เศร้า

Pronunciation

sâw

เศร้า

sâw

sad

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  1. 1 sad、sorrowful

Describes someone feeling weighed down by sadness, or something such as a song, expression, or story that conveys sadness.

1

sad、sorrowful

Adjective⭐️4 Often used

Describes an emotional state of sadness or the sad quality conveyed by a story, song, expression, or atmosphere.

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Learning notes

Explanation

เศร้า centers on the idea of sadness draining away a person's emotional brightness or energy. It can describe a person directly, as in ฉันเศร้า (“I'm sad”), or something that conveys sadness, such as เพลงเศร้า (“a sad song”), เรื่องเศร้า (“a sad story”), or สายตาเศร้าๆ (“sad-looking eyes”). As a Thai state word, it can serve as the predicate without a separate verb meaning “to be.” It is a neutral, common word used in both conversation and writing.

Usage

Commonly used when talking about sadness after a breakup, loss, separation, or failure. It also describes sad songs, movies, and stories, as well as expressions, voices, or atmospheres that convey sadness.

Caution

Do not use เป็น before เศร้า: say ฉันเศร้า, not ฉันเป็นเศร้า. It is also distinct from เหงา (“lonely”). By itself, เศร้า means sad; the medical condition depression is โรคซึมเศร้า.

Differences from similar words

1 sad synonyms

  • ทุกข์ใจ emphasizes mental distress or emotional suffering. เศร้า is the more general word for sadness and can also describe the mood of a song, story, or expression.

  • เสียใจ can express sadness, disappointment, regret, or an apology. เศร้า focuses more specifically on being in a sad emotional state.

  • เหงา means lonely, especially from being alone or missing companionship. เศร้า is broader sadness and does not necessarily involve loneliness.

Component words

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