ขาว
white
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 white、fair-skinned; light-skinned
This is the basic word for something being white or light in color. It can also refer to the color white itself when the context is clear.
white、fair-skinned; light-skinned
Describes something as white or light-colored. With skin it means fair or light-skinned, and with hair it means white-haired.
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เขามีแค่เสื้อสีขาว khǎw mii khɛ̂ɛ sʉ̂a sǐi khǎaw He only has white shirts. เขามีแค่เสื้อสีขาว details
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เขาผิวขาว khǎw phǐw khǎaw He has fair skin. เขาผิวขาว details
Learning notes
Explanation
ขาว fundamentally means “white.” Like other Thai color words, it normally follows the noun it describes. Both เสื้อขาว and เสื้อสีขาว mean “a white shirt.” It can also function as the predicate without a separate verb meaning “to be.” For example, แมวตัวนี้ขาว means “This cat is white,” and ขาวมาก means “very white.” Its natural English translation changes with the noun: ผิวขาว means “fair or light skin,” ผมขาว means “white hair,” and หน้าขาวซีด describes a pale face. These are contextual uses of the same core idea of whiteness.
Usage
It is common in everyday descriptions of clothing, paper, walls, animals, and food. It is also used when selecting a white item while shopping and when describing skin or hair color.
Caution
Place ขาว after the noun: say เสื้อขาว or เสื้อสีขาว, not ขาวเสื้อ. Using ขาว alone about a person can sound like a direct judgment about skin tone, so ผิวขาว is clearer when that is what you mean. Also, ขาว describes color; it does not by itself mean “clean.”