Water in Thai

“Water” in Thai is น้ำnáam.

น้ำ náam

water; drink, juice noun

náam high

High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.

In drink names it means drink or juice. It's also Nam's nickname.

Taught in Unit 3 · Lesson 1: Food, drinks and tastes of the free course.

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How to use it

น้ำnáam is water, and the first word of most drinks: น้ำส้มnáam sôm is orange juice and น้ำแข็งnáam-kǎeng, "hard water", is ice. Drinking water is น้ำเปล่าnáam-bplàao, "plain water": most people in Thailand don't drink from the tap, they buy bottles or fill up at the coin-operated water machines.

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:

nam
narm
nahm

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
ส้มตำ sôm-dtam Papaya salad
papaya salad, som tam
ก๋วยเตี๋ยว gǔay-dtǐaw Noodles
noodle soup
ข้าวซอย kâao-sawy Khao soi
khao soi (Chiang Mai's curry noodle soup)

Learn this word in Unit 3, free

Unit 3 · I like it! · Food, drinks and tastes. Short lessons with audio for every word, speaking practice and spaced review. No sign-up needed.

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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones