Boat noodles in Thai

“Boat noodles” in Thai is ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือgǔay-dtǐaw-ruea.

ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ gǔay-dtǐaw-ruea

boat noodles (rich, dark noodle soup) noun

  • gǔay rising
  • dtǐaw rising
  • ruea mid
  • Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”

Classifier: ชามchaam · bowl; counting word for bowls

Parts: ก๋วยเตี๋ยวgǔay-dtǐaw noodle soup เรือruea boat

How to use it

A dark, rich pork or beef noodle soup, spiced and traditionally thickened with a little blood. It was once sold from boats on the canals around Bangkok, and it still comes in small bowls, so people order several and stack up the empties.

Bangkok's Victory Monument has a whole lane of boat noodle shops. Choose your noodles as for any noodle soup: เส้นเล็กsêen-lék (thin) or เส้นใหญ่sêen-yài (wide).

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:

  • kuay teow reua
  • kuaitiao ruea
  • guay tiew ruea
  • kway teow rua
  • guaytiaw ruea
  • boat noodle

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
  • ส้มตำ sôm-dtam Papaya salad

    papaya salad, som tam

  • ข้าวซอย kâao-sawy Khao soi

    khao soi (Chiang Mai's curry noodle soup)

  • ข้าวมันไก่ kâao-man-gài Chicken rice

    Hainanese chicken rice (khao man gai)

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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones