Shangri Lingua

How to say “beef” in Thai

เนื้อ

néua

/nɯ́a/

เนื้อ means beef (also meat in general).

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: high

This word means meat in general, but on a menu it usually means beef. To be unambiguous, say néua wua, with wua meaning “cow”.

Reading the romanization: the mark over a vowel shows its tone. bp and dt are a p and a t with no puff of air, while plain p, t and k have the puff. The IPA shows the exact sounds, and Learn the IPA explains how to read it.

Examples

  • ไม่กินเนื้อ

    mâi gin néua/mâj kin nɯ́a/

    I don’t eat beef.

  • เนื้อวัว

    néua wua/nɯ́a wua/

    Beef (specifically).

How it’s spelled

Thai is written in a fixed order, which isn’t always the order you hear. Here’s each letter of เนื้อ in the order you’d write it.

  • เ

    Part of the vowel “eua”. Written first, but heard after the consonant.

    sara e

    One tall stroke with a small loop at the bottom. Compare แ.

  • น

    “n” starts the word.

    no nu, from หนู (mouse)Low class

    A loop at the top left, ending in a small loop at the bottom right. Compare ม.

  •  ื

    Together with เ and อ, this makes the vowel “eua”.

    sara uee

    Like sara i, with two small strokes on the right.

  •  ้

    Mai tho, a tone mark. It goes above the consonant, on top of the vowel already there.

    mai tho

    A small curve, like a tiny 2.

  • อ

    Part of the vowel “eua”. Not heard on its own.

    o ang, from อ่าง (basin)Mid class

    A closed egg shape with a small head inside at the top. Carries a vowel when a syllable starts with one.

Why the tone is high

  1. It starts with น, which is low class.
  2. It has mai tho. Low class with mai tho gives a high tone.

Mai tho doesn’t always mean one tone: it gives a falling tone on mid and high class letters, and a high tone on low class.

New to consonant classes and live or dead syllables? See how Thai tones work.

Learn to write it

The Shangri Lingua app has a Thai writing course that teaches every letter in this word. You write with your finger or Apple Pencil, and the app checks each letter and gives you more help if you get stuck. Get it on the App Store.

More meats

  • ไก่

    gài/kàj/

    chicken

  • หมู

    mǒo/mǔː/

    pork

  • ปลา

    bplaa/plaː/

    fish

  • กุ้ง

    gûng/kûŋ/

    shrimp

  • ปลาหมึก

    bplaa-mùek/plaː mɯ̀k/

    squid

  • เป็ด

    bpèt/pèt/

    duck

Learn these words together in the lesson Have you eaten yet?, or browse all Thai vocabulary.