เผ็ดน้อย
phet noi
To say 'little spicy' in Thai, use เผ็ดน้อย (phet noi).
The phrase เผ็ดน้อย is commonly used when ordering food at street stalls or restaurants to specify a preference for low heat levels.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of เผ็ด (phet), meaning 'spicy' and น้อย (noi), meaning 'little' or 'less'.
Which one should you use?
If you want to request the opposite, such as 'very spicy', use เผ็ดมาก (phet mak) instead of เผ็ดน้อย. To specify 'very little spicy', you can use เผ็ดน้อยมาก.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you want the food to be completely non-spicy rather than just 'a little' spicy, use ไม่เผ็ด (mai phet), which means 'not spicy'. To make your request sound more natural, you can add ขอ (kho) to the beginning, as in ขอเผ็ดน้อย (kho phet noi), which means 'May I have [it] little spicy'.
How do you pronounce it?
phet noi
Did you know?
- In Thai culture, the ability to eat high levels of เผ็ด (phet) is often associated with toughness and resilience, making the request for เผ็ดน้อย (phet noi) a sign of a delicate palate.
- While น้อย (noi) means 'little' in เผ็ดน้อย, it is also frequently used as a nickname for children or as a term of endearment.
- Even if you say เผ็ดน้อย, a Thai chef might still include several bird's eye chillies in your dish. In many regions, 'little spicy' is a relative term that reflects the high baseline of heat in local cuisine.
Examples in context
- ขอแบบเผ็ดน้อยครับkho baep phet noi khrapI would like it little spicy, please.
- ทำเผ็ดน้อยได้ไหมคะtham phet noi dai mai khaCan you make it little spicy?
Example conversation
A woman is ordering food at a street food stall.
- พิมล Pimonผัดกะเพราเผ็ดน้อยนะคะphat kaprao phet noi na khaBasil stir-fry, little spicy please.
- วิทวัส Witthawatได้ครับ เผ็ดน้อยนะครับdai khrap, phet noi na khrapOkay, little spicy, right?
- พิมล Pimonใช่ค่ะ ขอบคุณค่ะchai kha, khop khun khaYes, thank you.
- วิทวัส Witthawatรอสักครู่นะครับro sak khru na khrapPlease wait a moment.
