มะละกอ
má-lá-gɔɔ/ma˦˥.la˦˥.kɔː˧/
The Thai word for papaya is มะละกอ (má-lá-gɔɔ).
มะละกอ refers to the papaya fruit.
Meaning: fruit (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced má-lá-gɔɔ. It consists of three syllables.
Did you know?
- While มะละกอ is the fruit, the world famous 'Som Tum' salad uses shredded unripe มะละกอ as a vegetable rather than a sweet fruit.
- The word มะละกอ is a borrowing from the name of the city มะละกา 'Melaka' in Malaysia. This is because papayas were historically brought into Thailand via traders from that port.
- The word มะละกอ belongs to a group of Thai fruit names starting with มะ 'ma', a prefix used for many plants and fruits.
Examples in context
- ซื้อมะละกอไว้ทำส้มตำBuy papaya to make som tum (papaya salad).
- ฉันชอบกินมะละกอchan chop kin ma-la-koI like eating papaya.
- มะละกอนี้หวานมากma-la-ko ni wan makThis papaya is very sweet.
- คุณต้องการซื้อมะละกอไหมkhun tong kan sue ma-la-ko maiDo you want to buy papaya?
Example conversation
A woman is asking a man if he wants fruit for a snack.
- ณิชา Nichaธนกฤต อยากกินมะละกอไหมคะThanakit yak kin ma-la-ko mai khaThanakrit, do you want to eat papaya?
- ธนกฤต Thanakritกินครับ มะละกอสดหรือเปล่าkin khrap, ma-la-ko sot rue plaoI do. Is the papaya fresh?
- ณิชา Nichaสดค่ะ เพิ่งซื้อมาจากตลาดsot kha, phoeng sue ma chak ta-latIt is fresh. I just bought it from the market.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritดีเลยครับ ขอบคุณครับdi loei khrap, khop khun khrapThat's great. Thank you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “papaya” translations and entries มะละกอ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries มะละกอ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
