หนู

See also: หน, หั่น, หุ่น, หัน, หนี, หนี้, and หิน

Thai

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *ʰnuːᴬ (“mouse; rat”). Cognate with Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᨶᩪ, Lao ໜູ (nū), Lü ᦐᦴ (ṅuu), Tai Dam ꪘꪴ, Shan ၼူ (nǔu), Ahom 𑜃𑜥 (nū), Zhuang nou, Saek หนู่. Compare Sui hnoc (“mouse, rat”) and Southern Kam not (“mouse, rat”), Mon ကၞိ.

Pronunciation

Orthographic		หนู h n ū
Phonemic		หฺนู h ̥ n ū
Romanization	Paiboon	nǔu
	Royal Institute	nu
(standard) IPA(key)		/nuː˩˩˦/(R)

Noun

หนู • (nǔu) (classifier ตัว)

1. (zoology) murid: member of the Muridae family.
2. mouse; rat.
3. (figurative) young person; child.
4. used as a title or term of address
   1. (colloquial, sometimes considered derogatory and offensive) used as a title for or term of address to a young or younger person or person of lower status.
   2. (colloquial, humble) used by a person to refer to oneself when speaking to an older person or person of higher status.
      • 2019 April 30, ยิ่งยศ ปัญญา, 3:47 from the start, in ม้าได้โปรดยกอโหสิกรรมให้หนูด้วยเถอะ (กรงกรรม)‎^[1], spoken by เรณู (ราณี แคมเปน), กรุงเทพฯ: ช่อง ๓:

        หนูไม่มีดอกไม้ ธูป เทียน แต่หนูรอคอยแต่วันนี้ วันที่จะได้กราบแทบเท้าขอขมาม้า กรรมใดที่หนูเคยกระทำล่วงเกินต่อม้า ไม่ว่าจะเป็นกายกรรม วจีกรรม มโนกรรม หนูขอให้ม้าได้โปรดยกอโหสิกรรมให้หนู

        nǔu mâi mii dɔ̀ɔk-máai · tûup · tiian · dtɛ̀ɛ nǔu rɔɔ-kɔɔi dtɛ̀ɛ wan níi · wan tîi jà dâai gràap tɛ̂ɛp táao kɔ̌ɔ-kà-maa máa · gam dai tîi nǔu kəəi grà-tam lûuang-gəən dtɔ̀ɔ máa · mâi-wâa jà bpen gaai-yá-gam · wá-jii-gam · má-noo-gam · nǔu kɔ̌ɔ hâi máa dâai-bpròot yók à-hǒo-sì-gam hâi nǔu

        I don't have [any] flowers, incense sticks, [and] candles [for now], but I have been waiting for this very day, the day that [I] would be able to prostrate [myself] by your feet [and] beg your forgiveness. [For] whatever action which I have done [and which has] caused an offence to you, whether it be a physical action, verbal action, [or] mental action, I beg you to kindly grant forgiveness to me.

5. (slang) (อี~) woman who is a mistress, concubine, minor wife, or illicit lover of a much older man; comfort girl, kept woman, prostitute.

Pronoun

หนู • (nǔu)

1. first or second person pronoun for lower status person, or just for fun