nam pla

American

[nahm plah] / ˈnɑm ˈplɑ /

noun

a fish sauce used in Thai cuisine.

nam pla British

/ ˌnæm ˈplɑː /

noun

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.

See Examples For:

nam pla

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

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