พายุ
paa-yú/pʰaː˧.juʔ˦˥/
The Thai word for storm is พายุ (paa-yú).
พายุ is a noun used to describe a disturbed state of the atmosphere that causes destructive or unpleasant weather. You can create more specific terms by combining it with other words: adding ฝน (rain) results in พายุฝน, meaning rainstorm and adding หมุน (to rotate/spin) results in พายุหมุน, meaning cyclone or rotating storm.
Meaning: disturbed state of the atmosphere causing destructive or unpleasant weather (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
In colloquial speech, you may hear the phrase พายุเข้า to describe a storm hitting or entering a specific area.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is paa-yú.
Did you know?
- The root word for 'wind' found in พายุ is related to the Hindu deity Vayu, the god of wind.
- The word พายุ is cognate with the Modern Khmer word ព្យុះ, showing how ancient linguistic roots spread across Mainland Southeast Asia.
- Thai often uses the word พายุ metaphorically to describe a 'storm' of emotions or a chaotic social situation, similar to English.
Examples in context
- พายุสร้างความเสียหายเท่าไหร่How much damage did the storm cause?This sentence is useful for asking about the amount of damage caused by พายุ.Tatoeba #10647661 by Somsak, translation #5851314 by CK
- พายุก่อให้เกิดความเสียหายมากมายThe storm caused a lot of damage.This sentence is useful for stating that พายุ caused a large amount of damage.Tatoeba #8714316 by pastelite, translation #325297 by CK
- พายุเข้าภาคเหนือของประเทศไทยA storm hits the Northern region of Thailand.This sentence is useful for describing a situation where พายุ hits the Northern region of Thailand.
- วันนี้มีพายุหรือเปล่าIs there a storm today?
- ใช่ วันนี้มีพายุเล็ก ๆ ที่จะผ่านมาYes, there's a small storm passing by today.
- ใช่ เป็นพายุที่ทำให้เกิดความเสียหายมากมายYes, it was a storm that caused a lot of damage.
Example conversation
A couple discusses the weather before going out.
- ธีรภัทร Theeraphatข้างนอกมีพายุไหมkhang not mi phayu maiIs there a storm outside?
- ณิชา Nichaดูเหมือนจะมีพายุลูกใหญ่กำลังมานะdu muean cha mi phayu luk yai kamlang ma naIt looks like a big storm is coming.
- ธีรภัทร Theeraphatงั้นเราอย่าเพิ่งออกไปเลยngan rao ya phoeng ok pai loeiThen let's not go out yet.
- ณิชา Nichaใช่ค่ะ รอให้พายุสงบก่อนดีกว่าchai kha ro hai phayu sangop kon di kwaYes, it is better to wait until the storm subsides.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “storm” translations and entries พายุ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
