Live (fish, prawns)

[Kanga Japan]

Does anyone know the Thai word for 'live' (as in live fish, live prawns, etc.).

I read that PEN (เป็น) could be used to mean this, although this word has a very wide range of meanings. Could there be another word?

Thank you for your help.

[Brit_Doggie]

Prawns

ปลา สด Fresh fish.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Brit_Doggie

[futsukayoi]

Prawns

ปลา สด Fresh fish.

ปลาสด is fresh fish but would still often be dead

มีชีวิดอยู่ (mee chiiwit yuu) means alive but there are other options depending on context

[Brit_Doggie]

if it dead don't buy as in bacteria gut problems trust me.

[Kanga Japan]

Dear Brit_Doggie,

Thank you for your reply, however as futsukayoi said, in most cases the fish would be dead (but fresh).

[Kanga Japan]

Dear futsukayoi,

Thank you for your reply. You have an interesting Japanese name.

MICHI WITAYU sounds plausible. As you say, it depends on the context. I know of KUNG TEN (กุ้งเต้น) - often referred to as 'dancing shrimp', which is actually a dish, however I was thinking of what word you could use to mean 'live' when perhaps buying fish, prawns, etc., or what is written on the sign where such fish are sold (at fish markets, etc.).

I guess the word PEN is not normally used in this case.

Thanks for your help. If I don't receive any additional suggestions from other members, I will use that.

[Brit_Doggie]

Live or fresh as in dead you asked you got, Japanese eat raw fish right but yes still alive but not laid on a slab to die before eaten, oh nm lol.

[Kanga Japan]

Dear Brit_Doggie,

I am not exactly sure what you mean.

In Japan, prawns and crabs (only occasionally can you buy live fish) are often sold live at fish markets, the seafood section of department stores, etc. - displayed on top of something which looks like wood shavings/dust.

I am not sure what the situation is in Thailand.

Thank you for your help.

[Pla shado]

I believe that the word สด (soht) is typically used by Thai shoppers when asking for live/fresh items. It is the normal Thai word that you would see on a fish market sign. However, to use the word เป็น (bpen) is not uncommon. I recall times when my wife has said "bpen, bpen, soht, soht" to the vendor to emphasize her insistence on absolutely fresh and alive fish. This would typically be when a lot of fish were being purchased for a celebration or big family get-together and the fish would be killed and cooked as needed.

[Kanga Japan]

Dear Pla shado,

Thank you very much for that information.

It seems that SOT (สด) and mean both 'fresh' and 'live' and PEN (เป็น) could mean only 'live' in this context. I guess in Thai that you really have to emphasize this, as your wife does.

Perhaps there is no specific clear cut word in Thai to mean this.

[Kanga Japan]

Just an update on this, which more or less verifies Pla shado's comments.

I received it from a Thai person:

สด 'sot' means fresh, and เป็น 'pen' means live, alive. These two are different, as example below:

-ปลาเป็น Pla pen means a fish that is still alive.

-ปลาสด Pla sod means a fish that is dead not long ago, still fresh.

However, when you buy 'Pla sot' at the market, you might get both Pla Pen and Pla Sot. This can also be applied to prawn, shrimp, squid and crab.

- ผักสด pak sod means fresh vegetable...but there is no word 'ผักเป็น pak pen'

- สด สด เป็น เป็น is an expression to stress the freshness of live seafood, particularly, fish, prawn , shrimp and crab.

- มีชีวิตอยู่ means still alive. This phrase is not used for shopping.

[Richard W]

MICHI WITAYU sounds plausible.

That's MI CHIWIT YU - อ o ang serves to change ย yo yak from a low into a mid consonant in this and three other words, and has no other function in them.

[Kanga Japan]

Dear Richard W,

Thank you very much for that information. Actually, after I posted it I received a private mail advising me that my RTGS was incorrect. I always use thai-language.com to obtain the RTGS readings and occasionally they are incorrect (although a great help usually).

[AyG]

สด 'sot' means fresh, and เป็น 'pen' means live, alive. These two are different, as example below:

-ปลาเป็น Pla pen means a fish that is still alive.

-ปลาสด Pla sod means a fish that is dead not long ago, still fresh.

However, when you buy 'Pla sot' at the market, you might get both Pla Pen and Pla Sot. This can also be applied to prawn, shrimp, squid and crab.

I don't think this is quite right. The opposite of เป็น is ตาย, so dead fish is ปลาตาย (PLA TAI).

In the market in practice you're not going to walk away with PLA PEN. The live fish (and prawns) will be killed as soon as you buy them.

I can't say I've seen live squid in the market, and crabs you take away live.

[Pla shado]

In the market in practice you're not going to walk away with PLA PEN. The live fish (and prawns) will be killed as soon as you buy them.

I think this is usually the case, probably even more so with salt water fish. Most of the time when we purchase fresh water fish at the local market they will kill, gut, clean and score the fish for us. Occasionally we will purchase live fish, typically ปลาดุก (bpla dook) or ปลาช่อน (bpla chon) and put them in a big plastic tub that has a little water and a kind of burlap material to keep the fish moist. These fish are usually bought for a large gathering and will be kept alive until cooked. Sometimes I will purchase live bpla nin or bpla tabtim (tilapia species) at the market and take them home to kill and filet them in my own manner, but not all that often.

[Kanga Japan]

Dear AyG and Pla shado,

Thank you both for your comments and information.

I will just be adding PEN as 'live', which could be used for any type of seafood, such as fish, crabs, prawns, etc. I will not indicate it as PLA PEN, PU PEN, KUNG PEN, etc.

[Mole]

If you say สด when referring to meat or seafood, it only means "fresh", but always "dead".

If you want to say "live" as in still alive, the term is "เป็นๆ". It's pronounced "pen pen". Just saying "pen" is incorrect. It has to be "pen pen".

Such as ปลาเป็นๆ กั้งเป็นๆ etc

[Kanga Japan]

Dear Mole,

I haven't heard from you for a while and hope you are well.

Thank you very much for that information.

[Mole]

I've been travelling a lot lately, India, Malaysia, China, Vietnam. Got discounted tickets from AirAsia, so haven't been much around.

Back in Thailand now and staying home to work now for the tourist high season. My next trip will be to Indonesia in March.

[Kanga Japan]

It's good to hear from you Mole.

I am almost near completion of the dictionary.