Food and drinkBasil in Thai
“Basil” in Thai is โหระพาhǒo-rá-paa, Thai basil; holy basil is กะเพราgà-prao and lemon basil แมงลักmaeng-lák.
Thai basil, sweet basil noun
- hǒo rising
- rá high
- paa mid
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
holy basil noun
- gà low
- prao mid
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
lemon basil noun
- maeng mid
- lák high
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
How to use it
Thai cooking uses three basils. โหระพาhǒo-rá-paa, Thai basil, has purple stems and a sweet aniseed smell: it goes into green curry and on the plate of fresh herbs with noodle soup. กะเพราgà-prao, holy basil, is peppery and hot, the star of ผัดกะเพราpàt-gà-prao. แมงลักmaeng-lák, lemon basil, is eaten with khanom jeen, and its seeds swell into a jelly in sweet drinks.
Mix them up and the dish changes: pad kra pao made with Thai basil isn't the real thing.
Other spellings you'll see
There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:
- horapha
- hora pa
- horapa
- kaphrao
- kapow
- krapow
- ka prao
More food and drink in Thai
All food and drink- ข้าว kâao Rice
- ข้าวเหนียว kâao-nǐaw Sticky rice
- ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง kâao-nǐaw má-mûang Mango sticky rice
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones