How to say Rotten in Thai
Rotten in Thai is เน่า (nâo)
เน่า
nâo
Rotten
Tap the word to hear it. That's real premium audio from the HearThai Academy library — the same audio the app teaches with.
Why เน่า sounds the way it does
Thai tone isn't random — it's produced by four things working together in each syllable: the initial consonant's class, the vowel's length, whether the syllable ends live or dead, and any tone mark. Read the row, get the tone.
| Syllable | Class | Vowel | Ending | Mark | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| เน่า | LOW | LONG | LIVE | ◌่mai ek | FALLING |
เน่า in a sentence
ผลไม้ เน่า แล้ว
The fruit is rotten now.
Common questions
How do you say rotten in Thai?
Rotten in Thai is เน่า, pronounced nâo. Play the audio above to hear it spoken by a premium Thai voice — the tones are the part that spelling can't teach you.
What tones does เน่า use?
เน่า has 1 syllable: เน่า (nâo) is falling tone.
Is the romanization nâo enough to pronounce it?
No — and this is the trap most learners fall into. Romanization shows you the letters, not the pitch shape your voice has to make. Thai speakers hear the tone first. Use the spelling to recognize the word, and use the audio to learn it.
The short version
- เน่า (nâo) means rotten.
- It has 1 syllable, carrying the falling tone.
- Its tone comes from the consonant class, vowel length, live/dead ending and tone mark — not from memorizing it word by word.
- Reading the romanization is not the same as hearing it. Play the clip until you can say it back without looking.
- One word is a start. Thai fluency is an ear that recognizes thousands — which is what HearThai Academy trains.
That's one word.
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