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Abstract The words ming and khwan Navavan Bandhumedha Fellow of the Academy of Arts, The Royal Institute, Thailand The words ming and khwan are often juxtaposed to form a synonymous compound ming-khwan . Both ming and khwan have long been used in the Thai language. The word ming is found in a Sukhothai stone inscription. The word khwan was used in Lilit Ongkan Chaeng Nam, a literature of the Ayutthaya period. The people of Thailand believe that khwan is an unsubstantial thing supposedly residing in the body of a person. If khwan leaves the body, the person will be ill. The words ming and khwan also occur in many languages of the Tai family. They too show the belief that khwan may leave a body. The Tai peoples, like the Thais, have to perform a ceremony to restore the khwan that leaves. Keywords : ming, khwan, meaning