ใจ

Thai

Etymology

From Proto-Southwestern Tai *caɰᴬ², from Proto-Tai *cɤɰᴬ (heart; breath).[1]

Cognate with Northern Thai ᨧᩲ, Lao ໃຈ (chai), ᦺᦈ (ṫsay), Tai Dam ꪻꪊ, Shan ၸႂ် (tsǎue), Tai Nüa ᥓᥬ (tsaue), Phake ꩡၞ် (caü), Ahom 𑜋𑜨𑜧 (chow), Zhuang caw.

Compare to Proto-Austronesian *qaCay.

Pronunciation

Orthographicใจ
au t͡ɕ
Phonemic
ไจ
ai t͡ɕ
RomanizationPaiboonjai
Royal Institutechai
(standard) IPA(key)/t͡ɕaj˧/(R)
Homophonesไจ

Noun

ใจ • (jai)

  1. heart.
  2. mind; spirit.
  3. breath.
  4. desire; intention.
  5. opinion; view.
  6. emotion; feeling.
  7. favour; kindness.
  8. centre; middle.

Derived terms

Verb

ใจ • (jai)

  1. (slang) to thank.
  2. (slang) to be brave; to dare; to have courage.

Interjection

ใจ • (jai)

  1. (slang) thanks.

Descendants

  • Khmer: ចៃ (cay)

References

  1. ^ Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2009) The Phonology of Proto-Tai[1], Cornell University PhD dissertation, page 326