น้ำ ไม่ ไหล
“น้ำ ไม่ ไหล” (нам май лай) — the water is off; water outage in Thai. Phrase, level B1, topic — home and things. Literally "the water does not flow": the last word is "to flow", as a river. Thai names no culprit — the water simply stopped flowing. In a live sentence: “น้ำ ไม่ ไหล ทั้ง วัน” — The water has been off all day. Written with the characters น, ้, ำ, ไ, ม, ่, ไ, ห, ล.
In short
| Written in Thai | น้ำ ไม่ ไหล |
| Read in Latin letters | нам май лай |
| Translation | the water is off; water outage |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "the water does not flow": the last word is "to flow", as a river. Thai names no culprit — the water simply stopped flowing
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- น้ำ ไม่ ไหล ทั้ง วันнам май лай тханг ванThe water has been off all day
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- บ้านбанhouse; homeThe house, and home in the sense of homeland: khon baan — "a person of the house", one's own folk. Thai says klap ban, "return home", every evening
- คอน โดкхон доapartment; condoEnglish condominium, the everyday Thai word for an apartment in a high-rise. A separate dwelling is baan, "house" — a difference in price, not in style
- ที่ พักти пхакlodgingLiterally "place to live": phak is to stop over and to live. It names both housing and a night's lodging on the road
- ห้องхонгroomAny room and premises: add a word and you get the name of the room. Its classifier is hong itself
- ครัวкхруаkitchenThe kitchen itself and the household hearth. The cook is "father of the kitchen", and that word will arrive in the professions lesson
- ห้อง น้ำхонг намbathroomLiterally "water room" — there one both washes and finds the toilet. "Where is the bathroom?" is the first question in a stranger's house
- ระ เบียงра биангbalconyAn open balcony ledge: Thai houses love it — laundry dries there and pots of herbs stand
- ชั้นчанfloor; storyFloor, layer, class — one word about levels. "I am on the third floor" is yu chan saam: the number goes right after the word
- ลิฟต์лифтlift; elevatorEnglish lift; the final t does not drop. In a condo without a lift the upper floors are cheaper — and everyone knows it
- บัน ไดбан дайstaircase; stairsA staircase and a stepladder. The word is assembled from "plank" and "walking": planks — and a staircase
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “the water is off; water outage” in Thai?
Literally "the water does not flow": the last word is "to flow", as a river. Thai names no culprit — the water simply stopped flowing
- How do you say “balcony” in Thai?
An open balcony ledge: Thai houses love it — laundry dries there and pots of herbs stand
- How do you say “lodging” in Thai?
Literally "place to live": phak is to stop over and to live. It names both housing and a night's lodging on the road
- How do you say “staircase; stairs” in Thai?
A staircase and a stepladder. The word is assembled from "plank" and "walking": planks — and a staircase
- How do you say “bathroom” in Thai?
Literally "water room" — there one both washes and finds the toilet. "Where is the bathroom?" is the first question in a stranger's house
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “the water is off; water outage” in Thai?
«น้ำ ไม่ ไหล», read “нам май лай”. In a live sentence: “น้ำ ไม่ ไหล ทั้ง วัน” — The water has been off all day. Phrase, level B1, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters น, ้, ำ, ไ, ม, ่, ไ, ห, ล.
How is “น้ำ ไม่ ไหล” written in Latin letters?
нам май лай. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally "the water does not flow": the last word is "to flow", as a river. Thai names no culprit — the water simply stopped flowing. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.