อาหารทะเล
aa-hǎan-tá-lee/ʔaː˧.haːn˩˩˦.tʰa˦˥.leː˧/
The Thai word for seafood is อาหารทะเล (aa-hǎan-tá-lee).
อาหารทะเล is used broadly to cover all edible aquatic life, including fish, crustaceans and mollusks.
Meaning: fish, shellfish, seaweed and other edible aquatic life (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of อาหาร (food) and ทะเล (sea).
How do you pronounce it?
The four syllables are pronounced aa-hǎan-tá-lee.
Did you know?
- In Thailand, seafood is almost always paired with a specific green chili and lime dipping sauce called น้ำจิ้มซีฟู้ด, which is considered essential for the meal to be authentic.
- The phrase อาหารทะเล is a 'calque', meaning it was constructed to mimic the English concept of 'seafood' rather than evolving naturally from ancient Thai.
- Thai cuisine distinguishes between อาหารทะเล (seafood) and ปลาน้ำจืด (freshwater fish), as the tastes and cooking methods for river fish are often entirely different.
Examples in context
- ฉันชอบกินอาหารทะเลมาก.chan chop kin a-han-tha-le mak.I like eating seafood very much.
- ร้านนี้มีอาหารทะเลสดๆ เยอะเลย.ran ni mi a-han-tha-le sot-sot yoe loei.This restaurant has lots of fresh seafood.
- ราคาอาหารทะเลแพงขึ้นหรือยัง?ra-kha a-han-tha-le phaeng khuen rue yang?Has the price of seafood gone up yet?
Example conversation
A couple is deciding what to eat for dinner at a restaurant.
- วิทวัส Witthawatเย็นนี้กินอาหารทะเลกันไหม?yen ni kin a-han-tha-le kan mai?Shall we eat seafood this evening?
- ณิชา Nichaได้ค่ะ ฉันอยากกินพอดีเลย.dai kha. chan yak kin pho di loei.Sure. I was just craving it.
- วิทวัส Witthawatคุณอยากกินกุ้งหรือปูครับ?khun yak kin kung rue pu khrap?Do you want to eat shrimp or crab?
- ณิชา Nichaเอาทั้งสองอย่างเลยค่ะ.ao thang song yang loei kha.I want both, please.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “seafood” translations and entries อาหารทะเล, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries อาหารทะเล, CC BY-SA 4.0.
