เนย
nəəi/nɤːj˧/
Butter in Thai is เนย (nəəi).
เนย is the general term for the soft foodstuff made from milk. To distinguish real butter from margarine or processed spreads, speakers often use the term เนยสด, which means "fresh butter".
Meaning: soft foodstuff made from milk (noun)
Which one should you use?
The term เนยสด (nəəi sot) is often used to specify fresh or real butter, as opposed to margarine or processed spreads.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Central Thai, the term เนย is commonly used.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is nəəi and the IPA is /nɤːj˧/.
Did you know?
- The Thai word เนย actually traces its roots back to the Tamil word ney, which specifically refers to clarified butter or ghee.
- Although เนย is the word for butter, traditional Thai fats are coconut-based, meaning there is no indigenous Thai word for butter that predates foreign influence.
- Because salt levels are meticulously controlled in traditional Thai sweets, เนย is strictly categorized as either เนยจืด 'unsalted' or เนยเค็ม 'salted'.
Examples in context
- เนยอยู่ที่ไหน?Where's the butter?This sentence is useful for asking for the location of เนย.Tatoeba #8720257 by pastelite, translation #1841526 by CK
- ขอเนยสดสองก้อนค่ะI'd like two blocks of butter, please.
- ฉันชอบกินขนมปังทาเนยchan chop kin khanop pang tha neryI like eating bread with butter.
- ใช้เนยแทนน้ำมันได้ไหม?chai nery thaen namman dai mai?Can I use butter instead of oil?
Example conversation
In a kitchen while cooking breakfast.
- พิมล Pimonวิทวัส ช่วยหยิบเนยให้หน่อยได้ไหม?witthatat chuay yip nery hai noi dai mai?Witthatat, can you please grab the butter for me?
- วิทวัส Witthawatอยู่ในตู้เย็นครับyu nai tu yen khrapIt is in the refrigerator.
- พิมล Pimonขอบคุณมากนะkhop khun mak naThank you very much.
- วิทวัส Witthawatไม่เป็นไรครับmai pen rai khrapYou're welcome.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “butter” translations and entries เนย, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries เนย, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
