ไส้
intestines
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 intestines、guts; entrails
- 2 filling、stuffing
- 3 refill、lead、wick
- 4 private affairs、secret
This word centers on the idea of something inside an outer body or covering. It commonly means the intestines, a food filling, or an inner working part such as a pen refill, and it can also refer figuratively to private matters or secrets.
intestines、guts; entrails
Refers to the intestines of a person or animal, sometimes with the more graphic sense of “guts” or “entrails.”
-
ล้างไส้หมูให้สะอาด láaŋ sây mǔu hây saàat Wash the pork intestines thoroughly. ล้างไส้หมูให้สะอาด details
filling、stuffing
Refers to a filling or stuffing enclosed inside bread, pastries, dumplings, and similar foods.
-
ซาลาเปาไส้หมู saalaapaw sây mǔu a steamed bun with pork filling ซาลาเปาไส้หมู details
refill、lead、wick
Refers to an inner functional part housed inside an object, such as a pen refill, pencil lead, or lamp wick.
-
เปลี่ยนไส้ปากกา plìan sây pàakkaa replace the pen refill เปลี่ยนไส้ปากกา details
-
ไส้ตะเกียง sây takiaŋ lamp wick ไส้ตะเกียง details
private affairs、secret
Figuratively refers to secrets, private affairs, or someone’s hidden nature, mainly in compounds and established expressions.
Learning notes
Explanation
The central image of ไส้ is something contained inside an outer body or covering. Its basic meaning is the intestines of a person or animal. From there, it extends naturally to food enclosed inside another food and to functional parts housed inside an object. For food, it commonly appears in the pattern “food + ไส้ + filling,” as in ซาลาเปาไส้หมู, a steamed bun with pork filling, and ขนมปังไส้ครีม, bread with a cream filling. For objects, the name of the object usually follows ไส้, as in ไส้ปากกา, a pen refill. Its meanings related to secrets and private affairs are figurative and occur mainly in established expressions such as รู้ไส้รู้พุง, “to know someone inside and out.”
Usage
It is common when discussing intestines as a body part or food, describing fillings in bread, sweets, and dumplings, and buying or replacing items such as pen refills and lamp wicks. It also appears in conversational idioms about knowing or exposing someone’s private affairs or true nature.
Caution
The intended meaning depends heavily on context. For example, ไส้หมู by itself can mean pig intestines, but in ซาลาเปาไส้หมู it means pork filling. ไส้ is not a general word for the contents of any container. For the contents of a box or bag, use an expression such as ของข้างใน. Also, learn ไส้เดือน as the complete word for “earthworm” rather than interpreting it from its individual parts.
Differences from similar words
1 intestines synonyms
-
ลำไส้ is the neutral, anatomically precise word for the intestine. ไส้ is more conversational and may also refer to intestines as food or evoke the more graphic sense of “guts.”
2 filling synonyms
-
เครื่อง broadly refers to ingredients, toppings, or accompaniments in a dish. ไส้ specifically means a filling enclosed or stuffed inside another food.