ว่าย น้ำ
“ว่าย น้ำ” (ваай нам) — to swim in Thai. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. Literally "move in the water": waai is to move cutting the water. One who cannot swim may still bathe — but not swim. In a live sentence: “ผม ว่าย น้ำ ได้” — I can swim. Written with the characters ว, ่, า, ย, น, ้, ำ. One of 115 words in the set “verbs” in the Thai course.
In short
| Written in Thai | ว่าย น้ำ |
| Read in Latin letters | ваай нам |
| Translation | to swim |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "move in the water": waai is to move cutting the water. One who cannot swim may still bathe — but not swim
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.
- ผม ว่าย น้ำ ได้пхом ваай нам дайI can swim
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. The verb holds a sentence together: a few of the most frequent ones cover more everyday talk than a long list of nouns.
- ขอкхоI want; I will takeThe main word of ordering: literally "I ask". "I want coffee" in Thai is kho kafae khrap, and that is politer than a flat "I want". It does not conjugate: I and you say the same kho
- ชอบчопto like; to love"Love" in the sense of "like" — about food, music and people. Love for a person Thai says with another word (rak), and the two cannot be mixed up
- ไปпайto goOne verb for on foot, by bus and by plane. At the end of a phrase it also means "to be off": pai kon — "I am off". It changes for neither person nor time
- กินкинto eatThe neutral "eat". Politer is than; about animals kin is used without embarrassment. The Thai greeting formula is "let's go eat rice": pai kin khao
- ดื่มдыымto drinkA long syllable with a dead end — the p is not released. About alcohol Thai speaks with the same word: duem bia — "drink beer"
- อ่านанto readThe tone falls. The book is nangsue, and "read a book" is a pair that always lives together
- พูดпхуытto speakA low-class ph with a puff of air. "To speak Thai" is assembled through "language": phut phasaa thai — literally "speak language Thai"
- 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
- อยู่юto live; to be located"Live", "be located" and "stay put": one word for everything where "to be somewhere" is needed. Yu thinai? is "where do you live?" and "where are you?" at once
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to swim” in Thai?
Literally "move in the water": waai is to move cutting the water. One who cannot swim may still bathe — but not swim
- How do you say “to speak” in Thai?
A low-class ph with a puff of air. "To speak Thai" is assembled through "language": phut phasaa thai — literally "speak language Thai"
- How do you say “to go” in Thai?
One verb for on foot, by bus and by plane. At the end of a phrase it also means "to be off": pai kon — "I am off". It changes for neither person nor time
- How do you say “to live; to be located” in Thai?
"Live", "be located" and "stay put": one word for everything where "to be somewhere" is needed. Yu thinai? is "where do you live?" and "where are you?" at once
- How do you say “to read” in Thai?
The tone falls. The book is nangsue, and "read a book" is a pair that always lives together
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 swim” in Thai?
«ว่าย น้ำ», read “ваай нам”. In a live sentence: “ผม ว่าย น้ำ ได้” — I can swim. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters ว, ่, า, ย, น, ้, ำ.
How is “ว่าย น้ำ” written in Latin letters?
ваай нам. 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 "move in the water": waai is to move cutting the water. One who cannot swim may still bathe — but not swim. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.