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Thai

ดอง

Pronunciation

dɔɔŋ

ดอง

dɔɔŋ

pickle

Native recording

Analyzing pitch…

  1. 1 pickle、preserve in liquid、infuse by soaking
  2. 2 leave pending、shelve
  3. 3 be related by marriage、become in-laws

This word mainly describes leaving something in a liquid to pickle or preserve it. By extension, it can mean leaving work, plans, or content untouched for too long. It also appears in expressions for relationships created through marriage.

1

pickle、preserve in liquid、infuse by soaking

Verb⭐️3 Common

To leave food or another substance in brine, vinegar, alcohol, or another liquid in order to preserve it or infuse it with flavor or other properties.

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2

leave pending、shelve

Verb⭐️3 Common Slang

An informal extension meaning to leave work, plans, messages, or purchased content untouched or unfinished for an unnecessarily long time.

3

be related by marriage、become in-laws

Verb⭐️1 Rarely used

To become related through marriage. This sense is most often encountered in established expressions rather than as a standalone verb.

Learning notes

Explanation

The core image is leaving something in a particular environment or condition for an extended period. In food contexts, ดอง followed by an ingredient describes the action of pickling it. When ดอง follows the ingredient, as in ผักดอง, it usually describes the ingredient as pickled. A pickling liquid can follow as well, as in ไข่ดองน้ำปลา, “eggs cured in fish sauce.” Some pickled foods are fermented, but ดอง does not inherently mean “ferment.” The idea of leaving something for a long time also produces the informal sense of neglecting work, plans, messages, or entertainment. The marriage-related sense is best learned through common expressions such as เกี่ยวดอง and ญาติดอง.

Usage

It is common in cooking, food preservation, and the preparation of fruit or herbal infusions, and frequently appears on menus and product labels. The figurative sense is common in conversation and social media when discussing accumulated work, shelved plans, unanswered messages, or unplayed games and unread books. The marriage-related sense appears when describing family relationships, especially in expressions such as เกี่ยวดอง.

Caution

Do not automatically translate ดอง as “ferment.” When the focus is specifically on fermentation, aging, or marinating meat, หมัก is often more appropriate. Figurative phrases such as ดองงาน can imply neglect or laziness. In formal contexts, ค้างไว้ for leaving something pending or เลื่อน for postponing it may be more neutral.

Differences from similar words

1 pickle synonyms

  • หมัก focuses on fermentation, aging, or marinating food so flavors develop. ดอง focuses on keeping something in brine or another liquid to pickle and preserve it.

  • แช่ simply means to soak or immerse something and does not necessarily imply preservation. ดอง involves leaving it immersed long enough to preserve or transform it.

2 leave pending synonyms

  • ค้างไว้ neutrally describes leaving something unfinished or pending. ดอง more strongly suggests that it has been neglected for an excessive amount of time.

  • เลื่อน means to reschedule or postpone something to a later time. ดอง suggests leaving it inactive without necessarily setting a new date.

3 be related by marriage synonyms

  • เกี่ยวข้อง broadly means to be connected or involved. เกี่ยวดอง and เป็นดองกัน specifically refer to a family connection created through marriage.

Component words

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