Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for nam pla. Search instead for nam+pla.

nam pla

American  
[nahm plah] / ˈnɑm ˈplɑ /

noun

  1. a fish sauce used in Thai cuisine.

nam pla British  
/ ˌnæm ˈplɑː /

noun

  1. a fermented fish sauce with a strong aroma and a salty taste, often used in Thai cookery

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of nam pla

First recorded in 1930–35; from Thai námplaa, equivalent to nám “water” + plaa “fish”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This fish sauce is now called nuoc mam in Vietnamese or nam pla in Thai, but the Chinese seamen called it ke-tchup, “preserved-fish sauce” in Hokkien—the language of southern Fujian and Taiwan.

From Slate • May 30, 2012

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.