Food and drink ขม kǒm
bitter adjective
- kǒm rising
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
How to use it
Thais value a little bitterness: bitter melon, มะระmá-rá, goes into soups and stir-fries. The old saying หวานเป็นลมขมเป็นยาwǎan bpen lom kǒm bpen yaa, "sweet makes you faint, bitter is medicine", means that honest criticism does you more good than flattery.
ขมkǒm has a rising tone; with a flat mid tone, คมkom means sharp.
Don't mix it up
-
คมkom
sharp
Mid tone: sharp, like a knife.
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:
- khom
- khome
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