hungry
หิวHungry in Thai — หิว (hǐw), the Most-Answered Word in Thailand
Hungry in Thai is หิว (hǐw). Hear the rising tone, learn its partner อิ่ม ("full"), and the question กินข้าวหรือยัง that Thai hospitality runs on.
Hungry in Thai is หิว (hǐw) — rising tone, one syllable, and in Thailand it's less a complaint than a summons: say it and food begins to happen.
The rule everyone gets wrong: the pair matters as much as the word. Full — as in pleasantly done eating — is อิ่ม (ìm), and it's the polite way to decline more food without refusing hospitality: อิ่มแล้ว (ìm láew, "full already") closes the meal graciously. Without อิ่ม in your pocket, Thai generosity will keep feeding you until you invent it.
The beat: the classic Thai greeting-among-friends isn't "how are you" — it's กินข้าวหรือยัง (gin khâao rǔe yang), "have you eaten yet?" Food is the social operating system, and หิว/อิ่ม are its on/off switches.
The food units are where the course gets delicious — free start, in your browser: app.paithai.app.
Common questions
- How do you say hungry in Thai?
- หิว (hǐw), rising tone. "I'm hungry" is simply หิว — Thai drops the pronoun when it's obvious.
- How do you say full in Thai?
- อิ่ม (ìm) — and อิ่มแล้ว ("full already") is the polite way to decline more food.
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