น้ำดื่ม
náam-dʉ̀ʉm/naːm˦˥.dɯːm˨˩/
The English phrase "drinking water" is translated into Thai as น้ำดื่ม (náam-dʉ̀ʉm).
น้ำดื่ม refers specifically to water that is safe and intended for people to consume. You can also use the phrase น้ำดื่มสะอาด to specify "clean drinking water" by adding the word for clean.
What does it mean word for word?
The term น้ำดื่ม is composed of น้ำ, which means water and ดื่ม, which means to drink.
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between น้ำดื่ม and น้ำเปล่า. While น้ำดื่ม emphasizes that the water is safe and meant for drinking, น้ำเปล่า is the term more commonly used to specify "plain water" when you want to distinguish it from other beverages like tea or soda.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is náam-dʉ̀ʉm.
Did you know?
- The word น้ำ is used in Thai to describe any liquid, such as 'oil' น้ำมัน or 'fish sauce' น้ำปลา, not just water.
- In Thailand, it is common to see large, free water-filtration machines on the street where people refill bottles with น้ำดื่ม for a few cents.
- The word ดื่ม (to drink) used in น้ำดื่ม is often considered more formal or polite than the common word กิน (to eat/drink) used in casual daily speech.
Examples in context
- ขอน้ำดื่มสะอาดได้ไหม?Can I have some clean drinking water?
- กรุณาเตรียมน้ำดื่มไว้ด้วยครับkaruna triam nam-duem wai duai khrapPlease prepare some drinking water.
- น้ำดื่มขวดนี้ราคาเท่าไหร่ครับnam-duem khuat ni raka thao-rai khrapHow much is this bottle of drinking water?
- เรามีน้ำดื่มบริการฟรีค่ะrao mi nam-duem borikan fri khaWe have free drinking water available.
Example conversation
Witwat is at a cafe asking Nicha for help.
- วิทวัส Witthawatขอโทษครับ มีน้ำดื่มไหมครับkho thot khrap mi nam-duem mai khrapExcuse me, is there any drinking water?
- ณิชา Nichaมีค่ะ อยู่ตรงโน้นค่ะmi kha yu trong non khaYes, it is over there.
- วิทวัส Witthawatขอบคุณมากครับkhop khun mak khrapThank you very much.
- ณิชา Nichaยินดีค่ะyin di khaYou're welcome.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry น้ำดื่ม, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
