ทะเล
sea
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- 1 sea、marine; of the sea
This is the everyday Thai word for the sea: a large body of salt water. It is widely used when talking about seaside trips, ocean views, marine life, and seafood.
sea、marine; of the sea
It refers to the sea as a large body of salt water. It can also follow another noun to describe something from, in, or associated with the sea.
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อาหารทะเลสดมาก aahǎan thalee sòt mâak The seafood is very fresh. อาหารทะเลสดมาก details
Learning notes
Explanation
ทะเล is the neutral, everyday noun for “sea.” The common expression ไปทะเล literally means “go to the sea,” but it usually suggests taking a trip to the coast or spending time at the beach. Thai nouns can modify other nouns from the following position. In ปูทะเล (“sea crab”) and สัตว์ทะเล (“marine animal”), ทะเล therefore describes a connection with the sea without functioning as a separate adjective in the English sense. It also appears in expressions such as ทะเลหมอก, literally a “sea of mist,” for mist or clouds spread across a wide area. When individual seas need to be counted, แห่ง can be used as the classifier.
Usage
It is common in conversations about beach trips, coastal scenery and weather, boats, fishing, and marine life. Typical travel expressions include ไปทะเล (“go to the seaside”), วิวทะเล (“sea view”), and โรงแรมริมทะเล (“seaside hotel”).
Caution
ทะเล refers broadly to the sea or seaside area; use ชายหาด for the sandy beach itself. A lake is ทะเลสาบ, not ทะเล alone. อาหารทะเล means “seafood,” but ทะเล by itself does not normally mean seafood.
Differences from similar words
1 sea synonyms
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มหาสมุทร means “ocean,” especially one of the world's vast bodies of salt water. ทะเล is the ordinary word for “sea” and is also used more broadly when talking about going to the seaside.