Food and drink มะเขือเทศ má-kǔea-têet
tomato noun
- má high
- kǔea rising
- têet falling
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
Classifier: ลูกlûuk · counting word for fruit and round things
Parts: มะเขือmá-kǔea eggplant เทศtêet foreign
How to use it
Literally a "foreign eggplant": the tomato came to Thailand from abroad. Small cherry tomatoes are pounded into som tam and tossed into salads and sweet and sour stir-fries, and Northern น้ำพริกอ่องnáam-prík-àwng is built on them.
Ketchup is ซอสมะเขือเทศsáwt má-kǔea-têet, "tomato sauce".
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:
- makhuea thet
- ma kuea tet
- makua tet
- makhuea tet
- ma-kuea-tet
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