Food and drinksauce (bottled) noun
- sáwt high
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
dipping sauce noun
- náam high
- jîm falling
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
How to use it
ซอสsáwt, from English, is for bottled sauces: ketchup is ซอสมะเขือเทศsáwt má-kǔea-têet and chilli sauce ซอสพริกsáwt prík; the famous Sriracha sauce is named after the town of Si Racha, on the coast southeast of Bangkok.
Thai food runs on น้ำจิ้มnáam-jîm, dipping sauces: sweet chilli sauce for fried chicken, a sour, garlicky green sauce for seafood, the tamarind and toasted rice แจ่วjàew for grilled meat, and a spicy one for hot pot.
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:
- sot
- nam jim
- nam chim
- nahm jim
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