How to Say Big, Small and 'Can I Try It On' in Thai

ใหญ่ yài is big and เล็ก lék is small. ลอง lawng is to try it on. Hold up the shirt, say lawng with a questioning look, and you'll be pointed at a curtain.

Then it's yài or lék depending on how that went. This is the whole market-stall exchange when nothing on the rail has a label.

mii is the question you'll use most

มี mii means have, or there is. As a question — mii said with a questioning look, holding up the thing — it asks "do you have any?" As an answer it means yes, we do.

And its negative you already know from the toilet page: mâi-mii, there isn't any. Between those two you can establish the existence of anything in Thailand, which is most of shopping.

ìik gets you another one

อีก ìik means another, or more. It's the word for a second beer, one more portion, a different size, another color. ìik plus a pointed finger is a complete request, and it will follow you well beyond clothes shopping.

Are Thai sizes different?

Yes, noticeably. Clothing sold at markets and in local shops runs small by Western standards — a Thai large is frequently a Western medium or smaller, and "free size" on a label means one size that fits a fairly narrow range of bodies.

This is not a reason to be shy about asking for yài. It's a reason to try things on rather than trust the letter on the tag. Bigger malls and international brands use their home sizing, so the gap mostly shows up at markets.

Can I try things on at a market?

Often yes, behind a curtain or in a shared corner. Sometimes no, because there's nowhere to do it. Ask with lawng rather than assuming — walking off with an item toward a changing room that doesn't exist is the awkward version of this.

If you can't try it on, hold it against yourself and look at the vendor. They see a hundred people a day and they're good at this.

sǐi — and what to do about it

สี sǐi is color. You almost never need the individual color words as a beginner, because pointing at a thing that is the color you want solves it instantly. Say sǐi and point at your own shirt, at the sky, at another item on the rail.

Careful with the sound though — sǐi (color) and sìi (four) are the same syllable in two different tones: color rises, four sits low. To an untrained ear they're one word. Context saves you almost every time, but it's a good pair to listen to side by side until they separate.

Takeaways

• yài big, lék small, lawng try it on.
• mii = do you have any? mâi-mii = there isn't any.
• ìik = another one, and it works for far more than clothes.
• Market sizing runs small. Try things on rather than trusting the label.
• sǐi is color — point at something that's the shade you want.