สี
color
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 color、hue
- 2 rub、scrape、mill rice、husk rice
- 3 play (a bowed string instrument)
สี is the basic Thai word for “color.” It can also mean paint or coloring material, and as a verb it appears in specific uses such as rubbing, milling rice, or playing a bowed string instrument.
color、hue
This sense refers to color as a visual quality. It is commonly placed before color names, as in สีแดง “red” and สีขาว “white.”
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ชอบสีอะไร? chɔ̂ɔp sǐi aray What color do you like? ชอบสีอะไร? details
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เสื้อสีดำ sʉ̂a sǐi dam a black shirt เสื้อสีดำ details
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สีผม sǐi phǒm hair color สีผม details
rub、scrape、mill rice、husk rice
As a verb, สี means to rub or scrape. It is also used in สีข้าว, meaning to mill or husk rice.
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สีข้าว sǐi khâaw mill rice สีข้าว details
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โรงสี rooŋ sǐi rice mill โรงสี details
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รถสีกับขอบทาง rót sǐi kàp khɔ̀ɔp thaaŋ The car scraped against the curb. รถสีกับขอบทาง details
play (a bowed string instrument)
This verb is used for playing bowed string instruments, where the sound is produced by drawing a bow across the strings.
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สีไวโอลิน sǐi wayoolin play the violin สีไวโอลิน details
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สีซอ sǐi sɔɔ play the saw, a Thai bowed string instrument สีซอ details
Learning notes
Explanation
The most important meaning of สี is “color.” Thai commonly uses สี before color names, and color descriptions usually follow the noun, as in เสื้อสีขาว “a white shirt.” สีหน้า literally relates to the color of the face, but in normal use it means facial expression or complexion. สี can also refer to paint or coloring material, so ทาสี means to paint a surface and ระบายสี means to color or paint in. The verb uses are more limited and are best learned through common combinations such as สีข้าว and สีไวโอลิน.
Usage
สี is used constantly when talking about clothing, shopping, design, hair color, wall color, objects, and personal preferences. It also appears when talking about paint, coloring, dyeing, rice milling, and bowed string instruments.
Caution
For “a red shirt,” the natural order is เสื้อสีแดง, not สีแดงเสื้อ. Also, สี is not the general verb for playing every instrument; guitars and pianos normally use เล่น, as in เล่นกีตาร์ and เล่นเปียโน.
Differences from similar words
1 color synonyms
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เฉดสี means a shade or specific tone of a color. สี is the broader everyday word for color in general.
2 rub synonyms
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ขัด means to scrub or polish, usually to clean or smooth a surface. สี is less tied to cleaning and can simply mean rubbing or scraping.
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ถู is the general verb for rubbing with a hand, cloth, or similar tool. สี often suggests surfaces rubbing against each other and appears in fixed expressions such as rice milling.
3 play (a bowed string instrument) synonyms
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เล่น is the general verb for playing an instrument and works with guitar, piano, and many others. สี is specifically for bowed string instruments.