Sky, Rain and Wind: Kham Mueang Weather Words

Fa (sky, ฟ้า), fon (rain, ฝ฿นฯ) and lom (wind, ล฿มฯ) are basic words that Kham Mueang shares with central Thai. But when it comes to the details of sky, rain and wind, Kham Mueang has many words of its own. Lightning is fa maep, light drizzle is fon tok sui sui, the storm at the start of the rains is lom luang, and frost on the mountains is moei khap. These words reflect life in the northern valleys, where people watched the sky and the rain to farm their rice.

This article gathers more than 100 nature and weather words from the Moradok Lanna dictionary: the sky, sun, moon and stars; rain and thunder; wind; water, streams and rivers; weirs and canals; dew and mist; earth, rock, mountains and forest; fire; and words for hot and cold weather.

Sky, sun, moon and stars

Central Thai calls the sun tawan, but in Kham Mueang it is ta wan (ตาวันฯ) or tha-wan (ถหัวฯร). The moon is duean (เดิอฯร), the same word as "month". East and west are named after the rising and setting sun: wan ok (วันฯออฯก) and wan tok (วันฯต฿กฯ).

The sky is also part of how Kham Mueang tells time: fa yok and fa ham mean the dark early morning before sunrise. Sunlight, too, has several names depending on how strong it is.

Rain, lightning and thunder

Kham Mueang describes rain by strength and length in more detail than central Thai. Rain that is just starting is fon oi (ฝ฿นฯอ่อฯยฯ), drizzle is fon tok sui sui (ฝ฿นฯต฿กฯสุๆ), heavy rain is fon tok ba ba (ฝ฿นฯต฿กฯบัะๆ), and when the rain stops people say fon uean (ฝ฿นฯเอิ้อฯร).

The dictionary also records fon ha kaeo (ฝ฿นฯห่าแก้วฯ), which is not real rain but an image from the northern Vessantara (Maha Chat) sermon: a shower of jewels falling from the sky like rain.

Wind

A strong wind or storm, usually at the start of the rainy season, is lom luang (ล฿มฯหลฯวฯง). The small whirlwinds that lift dust into the air in the hot season have several names, such as lom kwit kwio (ล฿มฯกิวฯดกิวฯ) and lom phat ta kai (ล฿มฯผัดฯตาไก่).

Water, streams and rivers

A river in Kham Mueang is nam mae (นาฯแม่), the reverse of central Thai mae nam. The source of a river is khun nam (ขุรนาฯ); the dictionary's example is the source of the Ping, at Doi Thuai in Chiang Dao district.

Water also has many words for how it flows: still water, whirlpools and floods.

Weirs and canals: water for the rice fields

Water for rice fields in Lanna comes from damming streams with a fai (weir, ฝายฯ) to raise the water into a mueang (canal, เหิอฯง), then splitting it into smaller canals until it reaches the fields. The dictionary therefore records many kinds of weir and canal.

Dew, mist and cold on the mountains

In the cold season on high mountains, the dew can be so heavy that it freezes white on the grass. Dew is moei (เหิมฯอฯย), and frost is moei khap (เหิมฯอฯยขาปฯ), which the dictionary says is usually seen on high mountains in the cold season.

Earth, rock, mountains and forest

A high mountain is doi (ดอฯย), and a low hill is mon (ม่อฯร). A pass between two mountains is kio doi (กิ่วฯดอฯยฯ), and an open plain between hills is pang (ป่างฯ).

Earth and rock also have words for their kinds, from loose soil that grows crops well to mud you sink into.

Fire

Fai (ไฟ) is one of the four elements, earth, water, wind and fire, as in central Thai. Kham Mueang has some memorable words for how fire behaves: flames that flare up suddenly are fai hup (ไฟหูบ), and a fire dying down is fai moi (ไฟมอฯยฯ). (Note that fai, fire, and fai, weir, have different tones and spellings.)

Kham Mueang also has sayings built on fire. Fai mai long khao (ไฟไห้มฯหลฯอฯงเขั้า), literally "fire burning the rice granary", means so hungry your stomach burns, and fai mai kaep (ไฟไห้มฯแกลฯบ) means something creeping up little by little until it is too late.

Hot, cold and the seasons

Kham Mueang words for hot and cold often take an extra word that shows how much. Muggy heat before rain is hon uam (ร้อฯรอวฯม), pleasantly cool weather is nao ot hot (หนฯาวฯอัอฯดฮัอฯด), and a cool, refreshing breeze in the fields is yen sui (เอยฯนฯซุ้ย).

Hon can describe the heart too: hon chai (ร้อฯรไจ) means anxious, troubled, or in a hurry to get something done.

Summary

• The sun is ta wan or tha-wan, the moon is duean, and east and west are wan ok and wan tok.
• Rain has words for its strength, from fon oi and fon tok sui sui to fon tok ba ba; lightning and thunder are fa maep and fa hong.
• The early-rains storm is lom luang, a small whirlwind is lom kwit kwio, and lom also describes moods: lom khuen means angry.
• A river is nam mae, its source is khun nam, and the fai and mueang weir-and-canal system is the heart of Lanna rice farming.
• Dew is moei, frost on the mountains is moei khap, a high mountain is doi and a low hill is mon.

Look up more nature words in the Moradok Lanna dictionary, or read on about Lanna flowers and Phi in Kham Mueang.