ขนุน
kà-nǔn/kʰa˨˩.nun˩˩˦/
The Thai word for jackfruit is ขนุน (kà-nǔn).
Meaning: the fruit (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced as kà-nǔn. It has two syllables.
Did you know?
- The Thai word ขนุน is a homophone for the word meaning 'to support' or 'to prop up'. Because of this, planting a jackfruit tree near a house is traditionally believed to bring support and stability to the family.
- The word ขนุน was borrowed from Pre-Angkorian Old Khmer ក្នុរ៑, making it a linguistic relative of the Modern Khmer word ខ្នុរ.
- Thai people often use the jackfruit as a natural 'meat substitute' in vegan or Buddhist vegetarian diets, where it is referred to as a way to mimic the texture of pulled pork.
Examples in context
- ฉันชอบกินขนุนมาก.chan chop kin kha-nun mak.I like eating jackfruit very much.
- ขนุนลูกนี้มีรสหวาน.kha-nun luk ni mi rot wan.This jackfruit is sweet.
Example conversation
At a local fruit market.
- กนกวรรณ Kanokwanขนุนลูกนี้ราคาเท่าไหร่คะ?kha-nun luk ni ra-kha thao-rai kha?How much is this jackfruit?
- ชลสิทธิ์ Cholasitห้าสิบบาทครับคุณผู้หญิง.ha sip bat khrap khun phu-ying.It is fifty baht, ma'am.
- กนกวรรณ Kanokwanงั้นเอาขนุนลูกนี้หนึ่งลูกค่ะ.ngan ao kha-nun luk ni nueng luk kha.Then I will take one jackfruit.
- ชลสิทธิ์ Cholasitได้ครับ ขอบคุณครับ.dai khrap. khop khun khrap.Certainly. Thank you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “jackfruit” translations and entries ขนุน, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ขนุน, CC BY-SA 4.0.
