เผ็ด
pèt/pʰet̚˨˩/
The Thai word for spicy is เผ็ด (pèt).
เผ็ด is used to describe a burning sensation in the mouth caused by chilies and other spices. If you wish to request that food not be spicy, you can use the negation ไม่ before the adjective to form ไม่เผ็ด.
Meaning: providing a burning sensation due to chilies and other spices (adj)
Which one should you use?
While เผ็ด specifically refers to the heat from chilies, it is distinct from ร้อน, which means 'hot' in terms of temperature. There is also a compound form, เผ็ดร้อน, used to describe a sensation that is both spicy and physically warming or pungent, such as the heat from ginger or peppercorns.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is romanized as pèt.
Did you know?
- Thai speakers may use เผ็ด metaphorically to describe a person's personality or speech if they are sharp, biting or provocative.
- In Thailand, the phrase เผ็ด is often accompanied by a hand gesture of fanning the mouth or tongue to visually signal that a dish is too spicy.
- When ordering food, saying ไม่เผ็ด (not spicy) may still result in a dish with some heat, as Thai culinary standards for 'no spice' differ from Western ones.
Examples in context
- อาหารเผ็ดมากVery spicy food
- ผม/ดิฉันชอบรสเผ็ดI like the spicy flavor.
- ร้านนี้อาหารเผ็ดมากมั้ยIs the food in this restaurant very spicy?
- ส้มตำนี้เผ็ดมากsom tam ni phet makThis papaya salad is very spicy.
- ฉันชอบอาหารเผ็ดchan chop a-han phetI like spicy food.
- แกงนี้เผ็ดไปสำหรับฉันkaeng ni phet pai sam-rap chanThis curry is too spicy for me.
Example conversation
A man and a woman are eating at a Thai restaurant.
- กนกวรรณ Kanokwanธนกฤต กินเผ็ดไหมคะthan-na-krit kin phet mai khaThanakrit, do you eat spicy food?
- ธนกฤต Thanakritผมกินเผ็ดได้ครับphom kin phet dai khrapI can eat spicy food.
- กนกวรรณ Kanokwanงั้นสั่งแบบเผ็ดเลยนะngan sang baep phet loei naThen let's order it spicy.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritได้ครับ กนกวรรณdai khrap ka-nok-wanOkay, Kanokwan.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry เผ็ด, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
