Older and younger: พี่ and น้อง
The Thai family is a ladder of age, and it has two chief words. พี่ — older: phi chai — elder brother, phi sao — elder sister. น้อง — younger: nong chai — younger brother, nong sao — younger sister. There is no "sibling in general": first the age, then the sex. For example: “พี่ ชาย สูง กว่า ผม” — My elder brother is taller than me. A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The Thai family is a ladder of age, and it has two chief words. พี่ (пхии) — older: phi chai — elder brother, phi sao — elder sister. น้อง (нонг) — younger: nong chai — younger brother, nong sao — younger sister. There is no "sibling in general": first the age, then the sex.
The ladder applies to strangers too. An older saleswoman is "pa", a taxi driver is "phi", any small child is "nong". Politeness here means remembering who is higher on the ladder.
Cousins are assembled into one long word, ลูก พี่ ลูก น้อง (лук пхии лук нонг) — literally "child of the elder, child of the younger". It covers cousin and cousiness with no "first" or "second" degrees. And grandparents are addressed through khun — respectfully, from both sides of the family.
Table
| Who | Word | Reading | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| older | พี่ | phi | พี่ ชาย — elder brother |
| younger | น้อง | nong | น้อง สาว — younger sister |
| respectful to elders | คุณ | khun | คุณ ยาย — grandma |
| cousins | ลูก พี่ ลูก น้อง | luk phi luk nong | ลูก พี่ ลูก น้อง — cousins |
By example
- พี่ ชาย สูง กว่า ผมпхии чаай суунг кваа пхомMy elder brother is taller than me
- น้อง ชาย เรียน หนังสือнонг чаай риан нангсыMy younger brother studies
- ลูก พี่ ลูก น้อง มา เยี่ยมлук пхии лук нонг ма йиамThe cousins came to visit
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Older and younger: how does it work in Thai?
The Thai family is a ladder of age, and it has two chief words. พี่ — older: phi chai — elder brother, phi sao — elder sister. น้อง — younger: nong chai — younger brother, nong sao — younger sister. There is no "sibling in general": first the age, then the sex.
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“พี่ ชาย สูง กว่า ผม” (пхии чаай суунг кваа пхом) — My elder brother is taller than me. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.