ตู้เย็น
refrigerator
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 refrigerator、fridge
This is the everyday Thai word for a refrigerator or fridge used to keep food and drinks cold. It also commonly refers to a standard refrigerator with a freezer compartment.
refrigerator、fridge
A household appliance that keeps food and drinks cold.
Learning notes
Explanation
The word is formed from ตู้, meaning a cabinet or box-shaped unit, and เย็น, meaning cold or cool. Its literal image is therefore a “cold cabinet.” A standard household refrigerator with a freezer compartment is also normally called ตู้เย็น. Common classifiers are ตู้ and เครื่อง. For example, ตู้เย็นหนึ่งตู้ and ตู้เย็นหนึ่งเครื่อง both mean “one refrigerator.”
Usage
It is widely used in homes, restaurants, hotels, and appliance stores. You will commonly hear it when people talk about storing food, chilling drinks, buying a refrigerator, or dealing with a broken fridge.
Caution
ตู้เย็น is a noun and is not used as a verb meaning “refrigerate.” To say “put something in the fridge,” use ใส่ตู้เย็น. When you specifically mean a separate freezer, use ตู้แช่แข็ง.