Food and drinklime; also used for lemon noun
- má high
- naao mid
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
Classifier: ลูกlûuk · counting word for fruit and round things
How to use it
มะนาวmá-naao is the small green lime squeezed into tom yum, som tam and every dipping sauce. Thais use the same word for lemon flavours: lemon tea is ชามะนาวchaa má-naao, and lime juice or lemonade is น้ำมะนาวnáam má-naao. The yellow lemons in supermarkets are labelled เลมอนlee-mâwn, said with a falling tone at the end. Limes get expensive in the hot season, when the price makes the news.
The knobbly kaffir lime is a different fruit, มะกรูดmá-grùut: its leaves go into curries and soups.
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:
- manao
- ma nao
- manaow
- ma-nao
- manow
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