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