Photo: Grossbildjaeger / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Colours in Kham Mueang: Names and Intensifiers
In Kham Mueang, si (สี, Kham Mueang reading si) means colour, just as in central Thai, but many colour names are different. Northerners call blue lae, grey si so and pink si on, and they have many words that follow a colour, such as dam kik, daeng phoe loe and lueang am sam, which tell you both how strong the colour is and how big the coloured thing is.
This article gathers colour words from the Moradok Lanna dictionary: the main colours, colours named after everyday things, words for dark, pale and faded colours, colour intensifiers, and words that start with si but have nothing to do with colour.
The main colour names
Basic colours such as black, white, red, yellow and green are said much as in central Thai, but some colours have names of their own. Two worth remembering are lae (แห้ลฯ), blue, which the dictionary says can also mean light blue or green in some places, and kam (กํา), dark or deep purple, used for things and for faces, as in na daeng kam, a face flushed dark red with anger or sun.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| dam | ดำ | black, dark, dense (as a verb, to dive, as in dam nam) |
| khao | ขาวฯ | white; also clear, clean, pure |
| daeng | แดงฯ | the colour of blood or vermilion; also names red things, e.g. mot daeng (red ant), mai daeng, het daeng |
| lueang | เหิลฯอฯง | yellow; also a monk's yellow robe |
| khiao | ขยฯว | green |
| lae | แห้ลฯ | blue (sometimes light blue or green) |
| kam | กํา | dark, deep purple, e.g. khao sali kam, dark-coloured maize |
| muang | ม่วฯง | purple, indigo mixed with red (the word also means mango) |
| si so | สีสํอฯ | grey |
| si on | สีออฯร | pink |
| si in | สีอิ้นฯ | light green |
| si khiao kwit | สีขยฯวกิวฯด | dark green |
| si mak suk | สีหมฯากฯสุก | orange, vermilion orange |
| si sio | สีสิ้วฯ | deep yellow mixed with red, vermilion orange |
| si ban yen | สีบาฯนฯเอยฯ็นฯ | the colour of the four-o'clock flower, deep pink |
| si pang | สีปังฯ | indigo purple |
| si mui | สีมุ่ | bluish purple |
| si khon | สีข่อฯร | light brown (also si tun, สีตุ่ร) |
| si hak | สีรักฯ | the colour of lacquer: dark brown, reddish black, e.g. kwang hak, a beetle with reddish-black wings |
| si khao pon | สีขาวฯพอฯร | creamy white |
Swatches are approximate, based on the dictionary's descriptions.
Colours named after everyday things
Northerners named colours after things they saw every day: fruit, spices, flowers and dyed cloth. One of the best-known Lanna colours is si mo hom (สีหํมฯอฯห้อฯม), the blue-black of cloth dyed with the hom plant (ห้อฯม). The dictionary explains that dyeing with hom gives blue-black and dyeing with indigo gives a darker sky blue, but both are called pha mo hom. A shirt dyed this way is a suea mo hom (เสิ้อฯอหํมฯอฯห้อฯม).
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| si mo hom | สีหํมฯอฯห้อฯม | blue-black, dark sky blue |
| si khak | สีขักฯ | a dull dark yellow like jackfruit heartwood used for dyeing; cloth dyed this way is pha khak (ผ้าขักฯ), the colour of a forest monk's robe |
| si kam ba tan | สีกาบ่าฯตาลฯฯ | dark like the skin of a ripe palmyra palm fruit |
| si kaen ba phang | สีแก่นฯบ่าฯผางฯ | the colour of a marian plum seed, reddish purple |
| si pu loei | สีพูเลิยฯ | the colour of plai (cassumunar ginger), whose rhizome is greenish yellow |
| si sa ban nga | สีสบันฯงา | the colour of ylang-ylang, greenish yellow |
| lueang khao min | เหิลฯอฯงเขั้าหิ้มฯร | turmeric yellow (khao min, เขั้าหิ้มฯร, is turmeric, also used to dye cloth) |
| dam nam pu | ดำนาฯปู | greyish black like nam pu, the Northern crab paste |
| dam pang | ดำปัลฯง | purplish black like ripe Malabar spinach seeds |
| si tun | สีตุ่ร | light yellowish brown like fai tun (ฝ้ายฯตุ่ร), a native cotton whose fibre is naturally light brown, not dyed |
Photo: 19thronin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Harshanh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Omar hoftun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: MattPicks / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Prenn / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo: Adityamadhav83 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Dark, pale, faded and striped
The dictionary has words just for how strong a colour is. Si kae (สีแก่) is a deep colour, as in deep green, while cloth that has faded with use is pha si poet. The word mon (ห฿มฯร) describes a dull, cloudy colour.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| si kae | สีแก่ | a deep colour, e.g. si khiao kae, deep green |
| si chang | สีจางฯ | pale, washed-out colour |
| si poet | สีเปิดฯ | faded white, a colour no longer bright because it has faded, e.g. pha si poet, faded cloth |
| si tai | สีตายฯ | pale, faded |
| si mong | สีหมฯอฯง | a dull colour, looking sad |
| mon | ห฿มฯร | cloudy, dull, not clear |
| kan | ก่านฯ | striped, with bands across, mottled |
| si kan | สีก่านฯ | a colour laid in bands or chevrons |
| si kan kong lai len | สีก่านฯโก้฿งฯลายฯเลนฯ | multicoloured stripes, all kinds of patterns |
| lai phoi | ลายฯระฯพ้อฯ | blotchy, spotted all over, grubby |
Colour intensifiers: dam kik, daeng phoe loe, lueang am sam
Kham Mueang has many more colour intensifiers than central Thai. Where central Thai says dam pi, khao chua or daeng chae, Kham Mueang offers a wider choice, and some words even tell you whether the thing you see is small or large, few or many.
Black
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| dam kik | ดำกิกฯ | pitch black, very black, jet black |
| dam khue lue | ดำฅึลึ | jet black |
| dam khueng tueng | ดำฅึงฯทึงฯ | very black, dark |
| dam muek | ดำหึมฯก | black as ink |
| dam muek kuek | ดำมึกฯคึกฯ | dense black; for many things, dam muek kuek mak kak |
| mi | มี้ | black, jet black, e.g. than mi, jet-black charcoal |
| dam phuet | ดำผืดฯ | many small black things together, e.g. a swarm of black ants |
| dam moi | ดำมอฯยฯ | dark and attractive, of a woman's dusky skin |
White
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| khao phon | ขาวฯผอฯร | white all over |
| cho pho | โช฿ะโฟ฿ะ | follows khao for something large and very white, e.g. la-on khao cho pho, a very fair child; for small things the dictionary gives a variant with a different vowel (written เจ๊าะเฟาะ) |
| swa lwa | สวฯะหลฯวฯะ | follows khao: brilliant white, very white |
| phueak | เผิอฯก | white all over, spreading white, e.g. egrets flying in a white flock |
| sun san | ซุรซานฯ | snow-white, of hair, e.g. hua ngok sun san, completely white hair |
Red
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| daeng kam | แดงฯก่ำ | deep red, dark red, e.g. a mango ripened deep red |
| daeng ching hing | แดงฯชิงฯฮิงฯ | light red, for small things |
| daeng pa ling | แดงฯปหิ้ลฯง | rosy, for small things, e.g. rosy cheeks |
| daeng pa lueng | แดงฯปหึ้ลฯง | glowing red, like the sky after rain or live coals |
| daeng phoe loe | แดงฯเผิ้อฯเลิ้อฯ | bright red, for large or very visible things, e.g. wearing a bright red shirt |
| daeng ham | แดงฯร่ามฯ | a mass of shining red, for many red things |
Yellow and green
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| lueang ham | เหิลฯอฯงฮ่ามฯ | a mass of shining yellow, e.g. Mexican sunflowers blooming yellow all over the hills |
| lueang am sam | เหิลฯอฯงอ่ามฯส่ามฯ | bright yellow over a wide area; a medium area is lueang oem soem, a small one lueang aem saem |
| lueang uea tuea | เหิลฯอฯงเอิ้อฯะเทิ้อฯะ | yellow but not strong |
| khiao kwit | ขยฯวกิวฯด | vivid green |
| khiao um hum | ขยฯวอุ้มฮุ่ม | lush green |
Words that start with "si" but aren't colours
Si has several meanings in Kham Mueang. The dictionary lists it as the 5th year of the animal cycle (the Dragon), a rice mill, and a verb meaning to draw a bow or to rub, so many words starting with si have nothing to do with colour.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| si mue | สีมื | skill, craftsmanship, expertise |
| si na | สีห้นฯา | facial expression, manner |
| si num | สีหุ่ม | looking younger than one's age |
| si thao | สีเถั้า | looking old, older than one's age |
| si tha | สีธ่าฯ | probably, likely, seeming to |
| sik | สีกฯ | to tear, to pull apart |
Sayings with colours
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| ao daeng ao dam | ´าแดงฯ´าดำ | "take the red, take the black": take everything |
| kin dip kin daeng | กินฯดิบฯฯกินฯแดงฯ | "eat it raw and red": cheat someone openly, right in front of them |
| si salo hue khwai fang | สีสลอฯหื้ฅวฯายฯฟังฯ | "play the fiddle for the buffalo": teaching someone who won't listen is usually useless (here si means to bow a fiddle) |
Summary
- Northerners call blue lae, grey si so, pink si on, light green si in and orange si mak suk.
- Many colours are named after everyday things: si mo hom, si khak, si kam ba tan, si kaen ba phang, dam pang.
- Intensifiers such as dam kik, khao cho pho, daeng phoe loe and lueang am sam show both how strong a colour is and how big the thing is.
- Si also means the Year of the Dragon, milling rice and bowing a fiddle, as in si salo hue khwai fang.
Look up more colour words in the Moradok Lanna dictionary (in Thai), read about colourful blooms in Lanna Flowers, or about the reddish-black kwang hak beetle in Kwang Lanna.
Sources
- Moradok Lanna dictionary (in Thai): สี · แหล้ · สีหม้อห้อม · ดำกิ๋ก · แดงเผ้อเหล้อ
- All photos are from Wikimedia Commons as credited under each picture.
