Would both of the following mean 'soft drinks' - such as cola, lemonade and other carbonated drinks (referred to as 'soda' in the US, I think):

NAM WAN (น้ำหวาน)

NAM AT LOM (น้ำอัดลม) (perhaps just 'sparkling water'?)

I assume that NAM KHUAT (น้ำขวด) just means 'bottled water', however could it also mean 'soft drinks'?

The term 'soft drinks' is rather confusing, as in Japan it can also mean fruit juices.

Thank you for your help.

Edited October 27, 201510 yr by Kanga Japan

Taking apart the constituent parts of NAM ATLOM we get "water", "packed", "air". In other words, any carbonated drink. Since there is already a word for soda water (น้ำโซดา - NAM SODA), NAM ATLOM doesn't include sparkling water.

NAM KHUAT is indeed just bottled water. It doesn't include soft drinks.

NAM WAN doesn't appear to be a common term, and it most often appears to be used with respect to some photogenic young woman, not drinks. However, Wikipedia gives us:

น้ำหวาน คือเครื่องดื่มใด ๆ ที่ใสน้ำตาล อธิบายได้ด้วยชื่อ "ลูกกวาด" (liquid candy) การกินน้ำหวานทำให้น้ำหนักขึ้น เป็นโรคอ้วน และเกี่ยวพันกับความเสี่ยงทางสุขภาพ

NAM WAN that's to say various drinks which have added sugar which explains the name LUK KHUAT (liquid candy)*. Eating NAM WAN cases weight increase, obesity and can be injurious to health.

https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/้ำหวาน

* There's something wrong with the original Wikipedia article here. LUK KHUAT does not translate as "liquid candy". It's hard boiled candy. See for example http://www.foodnetworksolution.com/wiki/word/1958/hard-boiled-candy-ลูกกวาด I suspect a word is missing from the text.

Dear AyG,

Thank you very much for that information. I appreciate all your research and translations.

It is all clear to me now.

On reflection it occurs to me that NAM WAN is being used pretty much in the same way as we use "sugary drinks" in English, with the same rather pejorative overtones. Probably not needed for your purposes.

Dear AyG,

Thank you for those additional comments. I think you are right - not really necessary for the dictionary.

Was reading a drink menu and remembered this thread.

It has one section with: beer / “nam at lom” / water / ice.

If you look at the items, there is “soda” (carbonated water) and a single item named “nam at lom”. I assume this covers whatever brands the restaurant have (pepsi, fanta, etc.).

There is another section for “nam ponlamai soda”, not really sure what we would call this in English, basically just a “freshly made soft drink”.

NAM WAN doesn't appear to be a common term, and it most often appears to be used with respect to some photogenic young woman, not drinks. However, Wikipedia gives us:

<snip>

NAM WAN that's to say various drinks which have added sugar...

My wife uses the phrase quite freely to describe sugar-free squashes.