Colours in Thai with pictures

Colors in Thai share one simple rule that helps young children: every colour name begins with สี (si), which means "colour". Red is สีแดง (si daeng), "colour red", and green is สีเขียว (si khiao). This page has 12 colours with clear audio and romanization for grown-ups. Tap a colour to hear it in Thai and English, then play Find it, where Golu asks for a colour and your child taps it.

Colour names in Thai

The 12 colours in the word list above are สีแดง (red), สีเหลือง (si lueang, yellow), สีน้ำเงิน (si namngoen, dark blue), สีเขียว (green), สีส้ม (si som, orange), สีม่วง (si muang, purple), สีชมพู (si chomphu, pink), สีน้ำตาล (si namtan, brown), สีดำ (si dam, black), สีขาว (si khao, white), สีเทา (si thao, grey) and สีฟ้า (si fa, sky blue).

Several colours are named after things: สีส้ม is the colour of ส้ม (orange fruit), สีน้ำตาล is the colour of น้ำตาล (sugar, from brown palm sugar), and สีฟ้า is the colour of ฟ้า, the sky.

Two blues in Thai: si fa and si namngoen

Thai has two everyday words for blue. สีฟ้า (si fa) is light, sky blue, and สีน้ำเงิน (si namngoen) is dark, navy blue. Thai children treat them as two different colours, the way English speakers treat pink and red. Point to the sky for สีฟ้า and a school uniform or jeans for สีน้ำเงิน.

"What colour is this?" in Thai

Ask "นี่สีอะไร?" (ni si arai?). Your child can answer with just the colour: สีแดง! In Thai, the colour comes after the thing: แมวสีดำ (a black cat), กล้วยสีเหลือง (a yellow banana), ท้องฟ้าสีฟ้า (a blue sky). Describe things this way while you play, and link colours to food with fruits in Thai and vegetables in Thai.

Thai colours of the day

In Thailand, each day of the week has its own colour, linked to old Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Many Thai people know their birthday colour, and some wear the colour of the day.

Find out which day your child was born and what their colour is. Then make a week chart together: one coloured square for each day. It is a lovely way to learn colours and the days of the week at the same time.

Colours in Thai culture

• The Thai flag, ธงไตรรงค์ ("three-colour flag"), has red, white and blue stripes. Red stands for the nation, white for religion and blue for the monarchy.
• Loy Krathong baskets are decorated with bright flowers; name the colours of each petal together.
• Monks' robes are saffron orange, so children often see สีส้ม at the temple.
• Mother's Day on 12 August is linked to light blue and white jasmine flowers.

How to teach colours in Thai at home

1. Age 2-3: one colour a week. Hunt for everything สีแดง in the house.
2. Age 3-4: sort blocks, socks or fruit by colour and name each pile.
3. Age 4-5: describe things with the colour after the noun: รถสีฟ้า (a blue car).
4. Age 5-6: colour the days of the week, and paint a rainbow (รุ้ง) on the colouring pages.

Colour names are abstract, so many children mix them up until three or four, in every language. Name colours often, never quiz until your child is upset, and praise careful looking: "ดูเก่งมาก!"

If you are worried your child cannot tell colours apart, talk to your paediatrician; colour vision differences are common and easy to support. In the game, the settings offer fewer choices and high contrast.

Red, green, blue: quick answers

Red in Thai is สีแดง (si daeng). Green in Thai is สีเขียว (si khiao). Blue in Thai is สีน้ำเงิน for dark blue and สีฟ้า for light blue. Yellow in Thai is สีเหลือง, black in Thai is สีดำ, white in Thai is สีขาว and pink in Thai is สีชมพู.

For heritage and bilingual families

The colour-of-the-day tradition is an easy way to bring Thai into a busy week abroad: say the day's colour in Thai each morning. The word list above prints from your browser if you want a colour chart for the wall. Compare with colours in Korean, where most colours end in 색 instead of starting with สี.

มาเรียนสีกันเถอะ

ชื่อสีภาษาไทยจำง่าย เพราะขึ้นต้นด้วยคำว่า "สี" เสมอ เช่น สีแดง สีเหลือง สีเขียว ลองถามลูกบ่อย ๆ ว่า "นี่สีอะไร" เมื่อลูกตอบว่า "สีแดง" ให้พูดต่อว่า "ใช่แล้ว แอปเปิลสีแดง"

คนไทยมีสีประจำวันด้วย วันจันทร์สีเหลือง วันอังคารสีชมพู วันพุธสีเขียว ลองบอกลูกว่าเกิดวันอะไรและสีประจำวันเกิดคือสีอะไร แล้วช่วยกันระบายสีตารางประจำสัปดาห์ ถ้าลูกยังจำสีสลับกันบ้าง ไม่เป็นไรนะคะ ค่อย ๆ เรียนไปอย่างสนุก

How to use this page at home

Say it, then find it

Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: thai words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.

Ten minutes is enough

Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.

Use both languages

Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.