นั่ง ลง
“นั่ง ลง” (нанг лонг) — to sit down in Thai. Verb, level A1, topic — everyday life and routine. Literally "sit down": the familiar nang, "sit", plus long, "down" — the very motion of sitting. The state "am sitting" goes without long. In a live sentence: “นั่ง ลง ข้าง ผม” — Sit down next to me. Written with the characters น, ่, ง, ล, ง. One of 13 words in the set “everyday life and routine” in the Thai course.
In short
| Written in Thai | นั่ง ลง |
| Read in Latin letters | нанг лонг |
| Translation | to sit down |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "sit down": the familiar nang, "sit", plus long, "down" — the very motion of sitting. The state "am sitting" goes without long
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.
- นั่ง ลง ข้าง ผมнанг лонг кхаанг пхомSit down next to me
Nearby words: everyday life and routine
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
- งานнганworkWork as a deed, with the root in "to do" (tham ngaan — "do work"). The same word names a ceremony: ngaan thaeng — "the work of a wedding"
- ทำ งานтхам нганto workLiterally "do work": the two words always go as a pair, and the verb here is exactly "do". The same turn answers "what do you do for a living?"
- ต้องтонгmust; to have toLiterally "it is required": after it the verb goes unchanged, as in "one must go". No person shows on it either — "must" is one word for everybody
- ตื่นтынto wake upTo open the eyes and come out of sleep: "I wake up in the morning". The tone falls — and with the same word Thai says "alarmed"
- ลุกлукto get upTo rise onto one's feet — from bed, from a chair. After teun, "wake up", the morning continues with luk — "get up"
- ล้าง หน้าлаанг нааto wash one's faceLiterally "wash the face": the familiar laang, "wash", plus naa, "face". Washing hands — laang mue — follows the same scheme
- หวี ผมвии пхомto comb one's hairLiterally "comb the hair": wii you know as "comb", and phom is both "I" and "hair". The context decides which is meant
- โกน หนวดкон нуатto shaveLiterally "take off the whiskers": kon is "to shave off", nuat is "whiskers". The familiar nuat from the animals lesson
- แต่ง ตัวтэнг туаto get dressedLiterally "dress the body": tua is the body. The separate "put on a shirt" is the familiar sai; "get dressed in general" is this one
- ถอด เสื้อ ผ้าтхот сыа пхааto undressLiterally "take off the clothes": thot is "to pull off", and suea phaa is the familiar "clothes". Shoes are taken off with the same thot
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “everyday life and routine”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to sit down” in Thai?
Literally "sit down": the familiar nang, "sit", plus long, "down" — the very motion of sitting. The state "am sitting" goes without long
- How do you say “to comb one's hair” in Thai?
Literally "comb the hair": wii you know as "comb", and phom is both "I" and "hair". The context decides which is meant
- How do you say “must; to have to” in Thai?
Literally "it is required": after it the verb goes unchanged, as in "one must go". No person shows on it either — "must" is one word for everybody
- How do you say “to undress” in Thai?
Literally "take off the clothes": thot is "to pull off", and suea phaa is the familiar "clothes". Shoes are taken off with the same thot
- How do you say “to wash one's face” in Thai?
Literally "wash the face": the familiar laang, "wash", plus naa, "face". Washing hands — laang mue — follows the same scheme
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 “to sit down” in Thai?
«นั่ง ลง», read “нанг лонг”. In a live sentence: “นั่ง ลง ข้าง ผม” — Sit down next to me. Verb, level A1, from the set “everyday life and routine”; written with the characters น, ่, ง, ล, ง.
How is “นั่ง ลง” written in Latin letters?
нанг лонг. 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 "sit down": the familiar nang, "sit", plus long, "down" — the very motion of sitting. The state "am sitting" goes without long. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.