เผา
burn
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 burn、incinerate、cremate、fire (pottery, bricks)
- 2 roast over a fire、char-grill
- 3 fire-roasted、char-grilled
- 4 dish the dirt on someone [slang]、bad-mouth someone [slang]
This word centers on exposing something to fire or intense heat, whether to burn it, cremate it, fire it in a kiln, or cook it. In slang, it can also mean revealing embarrassing or unflattering stories about someone.
burn、incinerate、cremate、fire (pottery, bricks)
To subject something to fire or intense heat, including incinerating waste, cremating a body, or firing pottery in a kiln.
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เผาขยะ phǎw khayà burn garbage เผาขยะ details
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ห้ามเผาป่า hâam phǎw pàa Do not burn the forest. ห้ามเผาป่า details
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เผาศพ phǎw sòp cremate a body เผาศพ details
roast over a fire、char-grill
To cook food by exposing it directly to flame, hot coals, or intense heat, often producing a browned or lightly charred surface.
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เผากุ้ง phǎw kûŋ grill prawns over a fire เผากุ้ง details
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เอาปลาไปเผาเกลือ aw plaa pay phǎw klʉa salt-crust grill the fish เอาปลาไปเผาเกลือ details
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เผามันจนหอม phǎw man con hɔ̌ɔm roast the sweet potato until fragrant เผามันจนหอม details
fire-roasted、char-grilled
Placed after the name of a food, it describes a dish cooked over direct fire, hot coals, or similarly intense heat.
dish the dirt on someone [slang]、bad-mouth someone [slang]
To reveal embarrassing or unflattering stories about someone, gossip about them, or speak ill of them, often in a teasing but potentially hurtful way.
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อย่าเผาเพื่อนสิ yàa phǎw phʉ̂an sì Don't expose your friend's embarrassing stories. อย่าเผาเพื่อนสิ details
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เขาโดนเพื่อนเผากลางวง khǎw doon phʉ̂an phǎw klaaŋ woŋ His friends exposed his embarrassing stories in front of the group. เขาโดนเพื่อนเผากลางวง details
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วันนี้มาเผากันเต็มที่ wan níi maa phǎw kan tem thîi Today, let's dish all the dirt on one another. วันนี้มาเผากันเต็มที่ details
Learning notes
Explanation
The central image of เผา is applying fire or intense heat directly to something. Its natural translation depends on the object: garbage is burned or incinerated, a body is cremated, pottery is fired, and food is roasted or char-grilled. In dish names, เผา follows the food noun, as in กุ้งเผา “char-grilled prawns” and ปลาเผา “fire-roasted fish.” In this position, it identifies how the food was cooked. In casual slang, เผา can also mean revealing embarrassing or damaging stories about someone. It may be playful among friends, but it can become insulting or malicious depending on the content and tone.
Usage
It is widely used when talking about burning waste, controlled burning, cremation, and firing ceramics. In restaurants and markets, it commonly appears in dish names such as ปลาเผา and กุ้งเผา. The slang sense appears in conversations among friends, parties, interviews, and entertainment programs when people reveal someone's embarrassing or unflattering stories.
Caution
เผา is not the default verb for every kind of cooking translated as “grill” or “roast.” ย่าง is more general for grilled food, while ปิ้ง is common for smaller items, skewered food, and toast. เผา more strongly suggests direct fire, hot coals, or intense heat. The sense involving embarrassing stories is casual slang. Avoid it in formal settings or with people you do not know well, especially when the story could humiliate or harm someone.
Differences from similar words
1 burn synonyms
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เผาผลาญ emphasizes consuming or destroying something completely by fire and can figuratively mean squandering resources. เผา is the more neutral, general verb for burning something.
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เผาไหม้ often describes the process of burning or being consumed by fire, while เผา commonly describes an agent deliberately burning something.
2 roast over a fire synonyms
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ปิ้ง is commonly used for toasting or grilling smaller foods, especially skewered items or bread. เผา is more typical when fish, prawns, tubers, and similar foods are exposed to strong direct heat.
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ย่าง is the broad everyday verb for grilling food, often on a rack or over charcoal. เผา more strongly suggests direct exposure to fire, coals, or intense heat and may imply some charring.
4 dish the dirt on someone [slang] synonyms
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นินทา means gossiping or speaking about someone behind their back. เผา focuses more on exposing embarrassing stories or making someone the subject of unflattering talk, sometimes while they are present.
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แฉ strongly suggests exposing secrets, wrongdoing, or scandal and is common in reports or public accusations. เผา can refer to lighter, more playful revelations among friends, though it may still be offensive.