As the words "brown" and "sugar" are the same in Thai, how would you say "brown sugar"? A friend told me the Thais say "black sugar". Could this be correct? Thanks.

As the words "brown" and "sugar" are the same in Thai, how would you say "brown sugar"? A friend told me the Thais say "black sugar". Could this be correct? Thanks.

i thought the word for the colour brown was, see nam taan, and the word for sugar was, nam taan.

i do of course concede that the spelling for both ( excluding the word for colour , see ) is the same.

i have never asked for brown sugar, however i would guess, kor (say)nam taam see nam taam krap, if i was asking for it in coffee.

for black sugar i would imagine nam taan see dam, although i have never heard this, that is not to say it isnt asked for.

น้ำตาลแดง [naahmH dtaanM daaengM] is brown sugar

Edited April 13, 200818 yr by DavidHouston

น้ำตาลแดง [naahmH dtaanM daaengM] is brown sugar

david,

i dont want to split hairs with you, and i concede your knowledge of thai is far greater than mine, however, with regards to your reply, i thought that was more to do with the grade of the sugar, as oppossed to the actual colour.

i have heard it referred to as naahm taan tong (gold sugar) as well as naam taan daeng, now the colour maybe slightly different ( both being brown ), but i refer back to my original statement of the quality of the sugar.

any help and insight is as always greaty appreciated.

My understanding is:

• nam tan น้ำตาล Sugar
  
• nam tan kruat น้ำตวลกราด Rock sugar
  
• nam tan ma prao น้ำตาลมะพร้าว Coconut palm sugar
  
• nam tan pep น้ำตาลปี๊บ Palm Sugar
  
• nam tan sai น้ำตาลทราย Granulated Cane Sugar - Colors range from white to reddish and textures from fine to coarse. Some people find the reddish sugar tastier than the more refined white.
  
• nam tan sai daeng น้ำตาลทรายแดง Granulated Brown Sugar - Less refined than nam tan sai.
  

domnern & sathienpong thai-english dictionary; น้ำตาลแดง (naam taan deeng)brown sugar

engish-thai-dictionary.com ; น้ำตาลทรายแดง (naam taan saai deeng) brown sugar.

My understanding is:

• nam tan น้ำตาล Sugar
  
• nam tan kruat น้ำตวลกราด Rock sugar
  
• nam tan ma prao น้ำตาลมะพร้าว Coconut palm sugar
  
• nam tan pep น้ำตาลปี๊บ Palm Sugar
  
• nam tan sai น้ำตาลทราย Granulated Cane Sugar - Colors range from white to reddish and textures from fine to coarse. Some people find the reddish sugar tastier than the more refined white.
  
• nam tan sai daeng น้ำตาลทรายแดง Granulated Brown Sugar - Less refined than nam tan sai.
  

As far as I know regarding sugar, your understanding is correct, at least technically. However, let me add that usually if you say น้ำตาล (namtan) or น้ำตาลทราย (namtan sai), people will assume you mean the white colored refined sugar. If you are referring to other sugars that are not of that kind, you would use the specific names mentioned above.

My household uses brown sugar, it's called น้ำตาลทรายแดง (namtan sai daeng). That's the official name on the bags and the signs.

น้ำตาลแดง is more likely to refer to a color - สีน้ำตาลแดง (see namtan daeng), reddish-brown (or brownish-red, dunno. Is there a difference? ) However, I don't know if other people also use it to refer to the sugar or not.