สะพาน
“สะพาน” (сапхаан) — bridge in Thai. Noun, level A2, topic — the city and its places. Two syllables, both even: said "saphaan". Across the river in Bangkok there are many, and every bridge carries the name of a king or a temple. In a live sentence: “ข้าม สะพาน ไป ตลาด” — Across the bridge to the market. Written with the characters ส, ะ, พ, า, น. One of 81 words in the set “the city and its places” in the Thai course.
In short
| Written in Thai | สะพาน |
| Read in Latin letters | сапхаан |
| Translation | bridge |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
Two syllables, both even: said "saphaan". Across the river in Bangkok there are many, and every bridge carries the name of a king or a temple
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.
- ข้าม สะพาน ไป ตลาดкхаам сапхаан пай талатAcross the bridge to the market
Nearby words: the city and its places
Street, square, pharmacy, bank. An address is built out of these, and an address is something you have to both say and understand.
- เมืองмыангcity; townThe old word for a princedom: Thai cities grew out of mueangs, and the country's name in neighboring languages is the same word. "A big city" is mueang yai
- ถนนтханонstreetBoth n's are pronounced: thanon. In addresses the street comes first, the number after the name: Thanon Sukhumvit 31
- ลานланsquare; plazaLiterally "a glade, an open space": the city square is named with a village word. From it lan kwang — "a wide square"
- ร้าน ขาย ยาран кхай йаpharmacyThree words in one: "shop selling medicine". The pharmacy in Thailand is first aid and a consultant: the pharmacist will suggest what one would otherwise see a doctor about
- ธนาคารтханакханbankA bookish word wholly from Pali: "money place". The first letter is the low-class th; in live speech the word is often squeezed to thanakhaan
- ฝูง คนфуун кхонcrowdLiterally "herd of people": fuun is said both of a pack of dogs and of a crowd. The crush at the market is named with it too
- ไฟ จรา จรфай чара чонtraffic lightLiterally "fire of traffic". Red and green are said with the familiar colors: "red fire", "green fire"
- จักร ยานджаккра йаанbicycleA Sanskrit word, "wheel of time": by ear far from English, but in the city it is everywhere — on the rental signs too
- ป้าย รถ เมล์паай рот мэbus stopLiterally "plate of the bus": the same pai as in the price tag. The bus here is rot me, familiar from the city
- บัตร ราย เดือนбат раай дыанmonthly passLiterally "card of the month": the same bat as in the bank card. The general transit pass Thais also call the English "pass"
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “the city and its places”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “bridge” in Thai?
Two syllables, both even: said "saphaan". Across the river in Bangkok there are many, and every bridge carries the name of a king or a temple
- How do you say “traffic light” in Thai?
Literally "fire of traffic". Red and green are said with the familiar colors: "red fire", "green fire"
- How do you say “square; plaza” in Thai?
Literally "a glade, an open space": the city square is named with a village word. From it lan kwang — "a wide square"
- How do you say “monthly pass” in Thai?
Literally "card of the month": the same bat as in the bank card. The general transit pass Thais also call the English "pass"
- How do you say “crowd” in Thai?
Literally "herd of people": fuun is said both of a pack of dogs and of a crowd. The crush at the market is named with it too
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 “bridge” in Thai?
«สะพาน», read “сапхаан”. In a live sentence: “ข้าม สะพาน ไป ตลาด” — Across the bridge to the market. Noun, level A2, from the set “the city and its places”; written with the characters ส, ะ, พ, า, น.
How is “สะพาน” written in Latin letters?
сапхаан. 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?
Two syllables, both even: said "saphaan". Across the river in Bangkok there are many, and every bridge carries the name of a king or a temple. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.