ผีเสื้อ

Thai

2

3

Etymology

From ผี (pǐi, “spirit”) +‎ เสื้อ (sʉ̂ʉa, “tutelar”).

As for the second sense, the insects got their name due to the old belief that they embody ancestral or tutelar spirits.

As for the third sense, the fish got their name probably due to their appearance or colours that look like butterflies.

Pronunciation

Orthographic		ผีเสื้อ pʰ ī e s ụ̄ ˆ ɒ
Phonemic		ผี-เสื้อ pʰ ī – e s ụ̄ ˆ ɒ
Romanization	Paiboon	pǐi-sʉ̂ʉa
	Royal Institute	phi-suea
(standard) IPA(key)		/pʰiː˩˩˦.sɯa̯˥˩/(R)
Audio

Noun

ผีเสื้อ • (pǐi-sʉ̂ʉa)

1. (classifier ตน) tutelar spirit.
2. (zoology) (classifier ตัว) butterfly: insect of the order Lepidoptera.
3. (zoology) (classifier ตัว) butterflyfish: fish of the family Chaetodontidae, except โนรี (noo-rii), Heniochus spp.