Body and healthMassage in Thai
“Massage” in Thai is นวดnûat; you'll also hear นวดแผนไทยnûat-pǎen-tai (Thai massage) and นวดน้ำมันnûat-náam-man (oil massage).
to massage; massage verb
- nûat falling
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
Thai massage noun
- nûat falling
- pǎen rising
- tai mid
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
oil massage noun
- nûat falling
- náam high
- man mid
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
How to use it
นวดnûat is both to massage and a massage. Shop menus list นวดแผนไทยnûat-pǎen-tai, traditional Thai massage with pressure and stretching, นวดเท้าnûat-táao, a foot massage, and นวดน้ำมันnûat-náam-man, usually priced by the hour. Ask for stronger with แรงraeng and softer with เบาbao, and say เจ็บjèp if it hurts.
Traditional Thai massage has been on UNESCO's list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity since 2019.
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:
- nuad
- nuat thai
- nuad thai
- nuad phaen boran
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones