Food and drinkOnion in Thai
“Onion” in Thai is หัวหอมhǔa-hǎwm; a shallot is หอมแดงhǎwm-daeng and a spring onion ต้นหอมdtôn-hǎwm.
onion noun
- hǔa rising
- hǎwm rising
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
shallot noun
- hǎwm rising
- daeng mid
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
spring onion, scallion noun
- dtôn falling
- hǎwm rising
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
How to use it
Thai cooking uses shallots more than onions: small red หอมแดงhǎwm-daeng, "red fragrant", are pounded into curry pastes and sliced into salads and larb. The big round onion that goes into stir-fries is หัวหอมhǔa-hǎwm, also called หัวหอมใหญ่hǔa-hǎwm yài, "big onion". ต้นหอมdtôn-hǎwm, "onion plant", is the spring onion on fried rice and congee.
All three contain หอมhǎwm, fragrant.
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:
- hua hom
- hom daeng
- hom deng
- ton hom
- dton hom
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