เข็ญใจ

Thai

Etymology

From เข็ญ (kěn, “hard; difficult”) +‎ ใจ (jai, “heart; mind”).

Pronunciation

Orthographic		เข็ญใจ e kʰ ˘ ɲ au t͡ɕ
Phonemic		เข็น-ไจ e kʰ ˘ n – ai t͡ɕ
Romanization	Paiboon	kěn-jai
	Royal Institute	khen-chai
(standard) IPA(key)		/kʰen˩˩˦.t͡ɕaj˧/(R)

Adjective

เข็ญใจ • (kěn-jai) (abstract noun ความเข็ญใจ)

1. (idiomatic, somewhat dated) being in a state of grief or suffering, especially because of financial problems or poverty.