ร้องไห้
rɔ́ɔng-hâai/rɔːŋ˦˥.haːj˥˩/
To cry in Thai is ร้องไห้ (rɔ́ɔng-hâai). Wiktionary also lists ร่ำไห้ (râm-hâi).
Meaning: intransitive: to shed tears (verb)
Ways to say it
| Thai | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| ร้องไห้ | rɔ́ɔng-hâai | /rɔːŋ˦˥.haːj˥˩/ |
| ร่ำไห้ | râm-hâi | /ram˥˩.haj˥˩/ |
The word ร้องไห้ is the standard, everyday term used for both children crying and adults crying. To describe crying with tears streaming down, you can use the phrase จนน้ำตาไหล (jon náam taa lǎi).
Which one should you use?
While ร้องไห้ is the common term for crying, ร่ำไห้ is a more formal, literary or intense version, often used in literature to describe deep mourning or wailing.
How do you pronounce it?
rɔ́ɔng-hâai
Did you know?
- If a Thai person describes someone as 'crying with many tears' using ร้องไห้น้ำตาเป็นสายเลือด, they are describing someone crying 'tears of blood', a common hyperbolic idiom for extreme grief.
- The word ร้อง in ร้องไห้ also means 'to sing'. In Thai, singing and crying are linguistically linked because both involve projecting the voice.
- The word ร้องไห้ is a combination of two different words that both mean 'to cry', effectively meaning 'cry cry'.
Examples in context
- ฉันอยากร้องไห้I want to cry.This sentence uses ร้องไห้ to express a desire to cry.Tatoeba #8695476 by pastelite, translation #452275 by CM
- คุณทำให้ทอมร้องไห้You made Tom cry.This sentence uses ร้องไห้ to describe making someone else cry.Tatoeba #8720345 by pastelite, translation #3331093 by CK
- เขาไม่ทำอะไรนอกจากร้องไห้He did nothing but cry.This sentence uses ร้องไห้ to describe someone doing nothing except crying.Tatoeba #8717406 by pastelite, translation #47492 by CK
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a sad movie they just watched.
- วิทวัส Witthawatหนังเรื่องนี้เศร้ามากเลยnang rueang ni sao mak loeiThis movie is so sad.
- สิรินทร์ Sirinใช่ ฉันร้องไห้หนักมากchai chan rong hai nak makYes, I cried a lot.
- วิทวัส Witthawatวิทวัสก็ร้องไห้เหมือนกันใช่ไหมwitthawat ko rong hai muean kan chai maiWitthawat cried too, right?
- สิรินทร์ Sirinใช่ เขาร้องไห้จนตาบวมเลยchai khao rong hai chon ta buam loeiYes, he cried until his eyes were swollen.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cry” translations and entries ร้องไห้, ร่ำไห้, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ร้องไห้, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
