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    Home » Recipes » All Recipes

    Thai Language Lesson - Food Words

    Published: Sep 11, 2018 · Modified: Dec 19, 2020 by Pailin Chongchitnant · This post may contain affiliate links

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    NOTE: I know I said the words only once cuz there are many to get through, but you can press the back arrow to replay the last 5 seconds to hear them again! Or on mobile, tap the left side of the screen twice to replay the last 10 seconds.

    How do you say "vegetarian" in Thai? What about "I'm allergic to peanuts." Or "Not spicy" or just "Can I have some ice/coffee/beer"?

    Thai food terms will help you not only in Thailand, but also when you read a Thai menu in Thai restaurants! Knowing these words will allow you to know about the dish based simply on the name.

    Make sure you check out PART 1 of this series so you know the basics of Thai language before you dive into this one, it will help you with pronunciation and understanding. Also check out PART 2 where I teach you phrases for using in a restaurant, or when buying food from a street vendor.


    Please see my Thai Language Basics video first and it'll make this lesson make more sense!

    MEATS:

    Chicken     gai      ไก่
    Pork     moo         หมู
    Beef     neua        เนื้อ
    Duck     bped       เป็ด
    Eggs     kai           ไข่

    SEAFOOD:

    Shrimp     goong, gung, kung      กุ้ง
    Fish     pla, bpla      ปลา
    Seafood     ahaan talay     อาหารทะเล (when used as a noun, as in "I want some seafood");
    talay     ทะเล      (when used as an adjective, as in "seafood soup")
    Squid     pla meuk      ปลาหมึก
    Bivalve shellfish     hoi      หอย
    (This is a general term for things like mussels, clams, oysters, scallops and cockles)

    PLANTS:

    Tofu       taohu        เต้าหู้
    Vegetables      pak        ผัก
    Nuts      tua       ถั่ว
    (can also refer to all legumes such as beans)

    Peanuts      tualisong      ถั่วลิสง
    Cashews       med mamuang himapan   เม็ดมะม่วงหิมพานต์  (or just med mamuang for short)
    Vegetarian       mangsawirat       มังสวิรัติ
    (general term, some people who eat mangsawirat eat eggs, some eat dairy, some are basically vegan, so the term itself isn't specific, but there will definitely be no meat if you get something that is mangsawirat)
    Vegan      Jay      เจ
    (this doesn't actually mean vegan, it's a specific way of eating that means no animal products and also pungent herbs like garlic, onion or chives. But if you're very concerned and want to make sure there is absolutely nothing in there that might be animal based, this might be a good term to use.)

    COOKING METHODS (TYPES OF DISH):

    Stir-Fry     Pad      ผัด
    Soup     Tom      ต้ม
    Curry     Gaeng      แกง
    Steamed      Neung       นึ่ง
    Deep fried       Tod       ทอด
    Grilled (big pieces of meat)    Yang       ย่าง
    Grilled (skewers or smaller things like bananas)      Ping       ปิ้ง 

    SPICY TERMS:

    Chilies      prik      พริก
    Spicy      ped       เผ็ด
    Very spicy     ped ped    เผ็ดๆ    or     ped mak     เผ็ดมาก
    A little bit spicy     ped nid noi      เผ็ดนิดหน่อย
    Not spicy   mai ped      ไม่เผ็ด

    DRINKS:

    Water      nam plao      นำ้เปล่า
    Ice      nam kang       นำ้แข็ง
    Coffee     gafae        กาแฟ
    Tea      Cha/nam cha       ชา / นำ้ชา
    Iced drinks      Yen      เย็น
    (so gafae yen is iced coffee)

    Hot       Ron      ร้อน
    Beer       Bia       เบียร์

    OTHER USEFUL TERMS:

    To ask for something       Kaw       ขอ
    Sentence structure: Kaw [the thing you're asking for] [polite suffix]
    E.g. Kaw nam plao ka (can I have a water please); or add an amount Kaw nam kang 3 krub (3 glasses of ice please)
    You can also use the same word to request your dish to be made in a specific way
    E.g. Kaw ped ped ka (make it very spicy please)

    Please don’t add       Mai sai       ไม่ใส่
    Sentence structure: Mai sai [the thing you don't want] [polite suffix]
    E.g. Mai sai kai krub (no eggs please), mai sai prik ka (no chilies please)

    Allergic       pae      แพ้

    I am allergic to ...
    chun pae      ฉันแพ้ ...  (female speaker)
    pom pae       
    ผมแพ้ ...  (male speaker)

    **If you want a Thai writing that says "I'm allergic to _____" so you can show people in Thailand, feel free to copy/paste the above "I'm allergic to" followed by any of the food items listed here.

    I'm allergic to nuts
    Chun pae tua          ฉันแพ้ถั่ว   (female)
    Pom pae tua           
    ผมแพ้ถั่ว   (male)

    I'm allergic to shrimp
    Chun pae goong     ฉันแพ้กุ้ง
    Pom pae goong     
    ผมแพ้กุ้ง

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