ลำ
[classifier for boats and ships]
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 [classifier for boats and ships]、[classifier for aircraft]、[classifier for bamboo and certain long objects]
- 2 trunk、stalk、main body
- 3 course、passageway
- 4 perform a melodic narrative [Isan dialect]、perform molam [Isan dialect]
- 5 delicious [Northern Thai]
This word evokes a long, continuous body or line, as in a torso, plant stem, vessel, or watercourse. It is also a classifier for boats, aircraft, bamboo, and certain other elongated objects. Regional uses include “to perform a traditional sung narrative” and “delicious.”
[classifier for boats and ships]、[classifier for aircraft]、[classifier for bamboo and certain long objects]
A classifier used for boats, aircraft, bamboo, and certain other long objects treated as a single unit.
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เรือหนึ่งลำ rʉa nʉ̀ŋ lam one boat เรือหนึ่งลำ details
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เครื่องบินสองลำ khrʉ̂aŋ bin sɔ̌ɔŋ lam two airplanes เครื่องบินสองลำ details
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เรือลำนี้ rʉa lam níi this boat เรือลำนี้ details
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ไม้ไผ่สามลำ máay phày sǎam lam three bamboo stalks ไม้ไผ่สามลำ details
trunk、stalk、main body
The long central body of a person, animal, plant, or object, excluding appendages such as limbs or branches. It most often appears as part of a compound.
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ลำตัว lam tua torso; body ลำตัว details
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ลำต้น lamtôn plant stem; tree trunk ลำต้น details
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ลำเรือ lam rʉa hull of a vessel ลำเรือ details
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ลำไม้ไผ่ lam máay phày a bamboo stalk ลำไม้ไผ่ details
course、passageway
An elongated course or passage, used mainly in compounds referring to rivers, streams, and waterways.
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ลำน้ำ lam náam river; watercourse ลำน้ำ details
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ลำธาร lamthaan stream; brook ลำธาร details
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ลำคลอง lam khlɔɔŋ canal; waterway ลำคลอง details
perform a melodic narrative [Isan dialect]、perform molam [Isan dialect]
In Isan and Lao performing traditions, this means to deliver a story or verse in a distinctive melodic, chant-like style.
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เขาลำเก่งมาก khǎw lam kèŋ mâak He is very good at performing molam. เขาลำเก่งมาก details
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ลำเรื่อง lam rʉ̂aŋ perform a story in a melodic narrative style ลำเรื่อง details
delicious [Northern Thai]
In Northern Thai, this describes food as tasting good and corresponds to standard Thai อร่อย.
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อาหารลำ aahǎan lam The food is delicious. อาหารลำ details
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ลำแต๊ ๆ lam tɛ́ɛ tɛ́ɛ Really delicious. ลำแต๊ ๆ details
Learning notes
Explanation
In standard Thai, ลำ carries the core image of a long, continuous body or line. This image appears in compounds such as ลำตัว “torso,” ลำต้น “plant stem or tree trunk,” ลำเรือ “hull,” and ลำน้ำ “watercourse.” As a noun, it occurs more often inside these compounds than by itself. It is also an important classifier. Use patterns include เรือสองลำ “two boats,” เรือลำนี้ “this boat,” and เรือกี่ลำ “how many boats?” Separate regional meanings must be learned individually. In Isan and Lao cultural contexts, ลำ refers to performing verse or stories in a traditional melodic style; this is the ลำ in หมอลำ. In Northern Thai, ลำ means “delicious.” Neither regional meaning is predictable from the standard Thai sense of an elongated body.
Usage
You will commonly encounter ลำ in words for body parts, plant structure, and vessels, including ลำตัว, ลำต้น, and ลำเรือ. It is frequent as a classifier for boats and aircraft in travel, transportation, and news contexts. Compounds such as ลำน้ำ and ลำธาร appear in discussions of geography and nature. The melodic-performance sense occurs in discussions of Isan music and culture, especially in หมอลำ. The meaning “delicious” may be heard in restaurants and everyday conversation in Northern Thailand.
Caution
Do not use ลำ for every long object simply because of its shape. It is conventional for boats, aircraft, bamboo, and certain other nouns, but cars take คัน and trees normally take ต้น. Classifier choice must be learned with each noun. The meaning “delicious” is Northern Thai. Use อร่อย when you want the neutral standard Thai expression.
Differences from similar words
2 trunk synonyms
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ตัว broadly means the whole body or an individual object. ลำ focuses on the trunk or elongated central body, excluding appendages.
4 perform a melodic narrative [Isan dialect] synonyms
5 delicious [Northern Thai] synonyms
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อร่อย is the standard word for “delicious” and is understood throughout Thailand. ลำ has the same basic meaning but is distinctly Northern Thai.