อัญชัน
butterfly pea
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 butterfly pea、butterfly pea flower
This word refers to the butterfly pea, a tropical climbing plant known for its vivid blue flowers. It can also refer to the flower itself, which is often used in drinks and as natural food coloring.
butterfly pea、butterfly pea flower
The butterfly pea plant or its distinctive blue flower, commonly used to color food and beverages.
Learning notes
Explanation
อัญชัน is the common Thai name for the butterfly pea, a climbing plant in the legume family that is especially known for its vivid blue flowers. The word can refer to the whole plant or, depending on context, its flower. Use ดอกอัญชัน when you specifically mean the flower and ต้นอัญชัน when emphasizing the plant. Flowers are counted with ดอก, while individual plants are counted with ต้น. The flowers are widely used as natural coloring in drinks, desserts, and rice dishes. A blue herbal drink made from them is called น้ำอัญชัน. Its color famously changes toward purple when an acidic ingredient such as lime juice is added.
Usage
It commonly appears in conversations about gardening, herbal drinks, Thai desserts, and natural food coloring. You will also see it in the names of beverages, foods, and beauty products.
Caution
By itself, อัญชัน primarily names the plant or flower. Use น้ำอัญชัน or ชาอัญชัน for a drink or tea. Although the word can describe the flower's characteristic deep-blue shade in expressions such as สีอัญชัน, it is not the ordinary Thai word for blue; สีฟ้า and สีน้ำเงิน are the usual basic color terms.