เด็กหญิง

Thai

Etymology

From เด็ก (dèk, “child”) +‎ หญิง (yǐng, “female”).

Pronunciation

Orthographic		เด็กหญิง e ɗ ˘ k h ɲ i ŋ
Phonemic		เด็ก-หฺญิง e ɗ ˘ k – h ̥ ɲ i ŋ
Romanization	Paiboon	dèk-yǐng
	Royal Institute	dek-ying
(standard) IPA(key)		/dek̚˨˩.jiŋ˩˩˦/(R)

Noun

เด็กหญิง • (dèk-yǐng)

1. girl.
2. (law) a formal title which a unmarried woman under 15 years of age is required to use. Abbreviation: ด.ญ. (dɔɔ-yɔɔ)

Usage notes

• An unmarried woman over 15 years of age is required to use the title นางสาว (naang-sǎao). A married woman, irrespective of the age, is required to use either นางสาว (naang-sǎao) or นาง (naang).
• A man under 15 years of age is required to use the title เด็กชาย (dèk-chaai), and that over 15 years of age is required to use the title นาย (naai).