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Fish Names in Kham Mueang: Pa Lim, Pa Mong Ka, Pa Bok
In Kham Mueang (Northern Thai), fish is pronounced pa (ปลฯา, Kham Mueang reading pa), with a rising tone, and many fish have names quite unlike central Thai. The snakehead is pa lim, the silver barb is pa mong ka, and the mud carp is pa bok. This article collects the Kham Mueang fish names recorded in the Moradok Lanna dictionary, sorted into groups, with photos.
ปลฯา
ป๋า pa
Say it: pǎa auto (à low · â falling · á high · ǎ rising · no mark = mid · double vowel = long)
fish: a cold-blooded aquatic animal with a backbone, made up of a head, body and tail, with a two-chambered heart, breathing through gills (except lungfishes); the body is covered with scales, slime or bony plates, and it moves with its fins
Moradok Lanna dictionary entry (in Thai) →Snakeheads and long-bodied fish
The first group is the fish Khon Mueang know best: the snakehead used to make pa buang (salted fish), and long-bodied fish such as eels.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Central Thai | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|---|
| pa lim | ปลฯาหิลฯม | ปลาช่อน (snakehead) | a freshwater fish with a long cylindrical body, dark greenish or light brown, with a white belly |
| pa ko | ปลฯากํอฯ | ปลาชะโด (giant snakehead) | shaped like the snakehead but with smaller scales, and paired black stripes along the sides |
| pa kang | ปลฯากั้งฯ | ปลากั้ง (dwarf snakehead) | like the snakehead but much smaller; lives in hill streams |
| pa lat | ปลฯาหลฯาดฯ | ปลากระทิง (spiny eel) | a slender, long fish like an eel, about 30–50 cm long |
| pa laet | ปลฯาแหัลฯด | ปลาหลด (lesser spiny eel) | a long, flattened fish with a long, slender upper snout |
| pa yian | ปลฯาอยฯยฯร | ปลาไหล (swamp eel) | a long, snake-like fish without fins (also pa ian) |
| pa yian pon | ปลฯาอยฯยฯรพอฯร | ปลาไหลเผือก | a white or albino eel |
ปลฯาหิลฯม
ป๋าหลิม pa lim
Say it: pǎa-lǐm auto (à low · â falling · á high · ǎ rising · no mark = mid · double vowel = long)
snakehead, called pa lim in Kham Mueang: a freshwater fish with a long, cylindrical body, long dorsal and anal fins and large pectoral fins; dark greenish or light brown with a white belly
Moradok Lanna dictionary entry (in Thai) →
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Photo: George Chernilevsky / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
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Photo: Florida Museum / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Photo: Obsidian Soul / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Catfish and scaleless fish
These smooth-skinned fish have no scales and have barbels. They range from pond fish such as walking catfish to big river fish such as the black-ear catfish and the Mekong giant catfish.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Central Thai | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|---|
| pa duk | ปลฯาดุก | ปลาดุก (walking catfish) | has barbels and no scales, with spines on the pectoral fins; many kinds |
| pa duk ui | ปลฯาดุกอุ | ปลาดุกอุย | a yellowish-brown catfish with a rounded nape; lives in ditches, canals, ponds and swamps |
| pa duk dong | ปลฯาดุกด้อฯง | ปลาดุกด้าน | a long, dark brown catfish with a small head and saw-toothed pectoral spines |
| pa duk kilo | ปลฯาดุกกิโล | ปลาดุกลำพัน | longer and slimmer than other catfish, with white spots like the marks on a Chinese steelyard |
| pa kot | ปลฯาก฿ดฯ | ปลากด | scaleless, with barbels; like a shark catfish but smaller, e.g. yellow and red-tail catfish |
| pa kaet | ปลฯาแกดฯ | ปลาแขยง | a fairly small fish with 4 pairs of barbels and a sharp spine on each pectoral fin |
| pa to | ปลฯาโทอฯะ | ปลาเทโพ (black-ear catfish) | like a shark catfish, with a clear black spot above the pectoral fin |
| pa buek | ปลฯาบึกฯ | ปลาบึก (Mekong giant catfish) | the largest scaleless fish in the world; lives only in the Mekong and its tributaries |
| pa sawat | ปลฯาสวาฯดฯ | ปลาสังกะวาด | like a shark catfish but very small |
Photo: Mistvan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Photo: Wibowo Djatmiko (Wie146) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Jony Cooper / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo: Cool critter channel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
💡 Did you know?
Pa duk kilo is an easy name to remember. The dictionary explains that this catfish has "white spots in vertical rows along the body, like the marks on a Chinese steelyard", so Khon Mueang named it after the scale (kilo).
Barbs, mud carps and other scaled river fish
Scaled fish of the carp family are common in the Ping River and its tributaries. Their Kham Mueang names are the most different from central Thai.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Central Thai | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|---|
| pa mong ka | ปลฯาโม฿งฯค่าฯ | ปลาตะเพียนขาว (silver barb) | a flattened fish with a high, arched back and silver scales |
| pa mong ka daeng | ปลฯาโม฿งฯค่าฯแดงฯ | ปลาตะเพียนทอง (tinfoil barb) | shiny golden scales tinged red or orange, with bright orange or red fins |
| pa bok | ปลฯาบอฯก | ปลาสร้อย (mud carp) | many kinds of freshwater fish that gather at the end of the flood season and swim upstream to feed |
| pa khao | ปลฯาขาวฯ | ปลาสร้อยขาว (Siamese mud carp) | a small fish of the carp family, slender, 10–20 cm long |
| pa suea | ปลฯฯาเสิอฯอ | ปลายี่สก (Jullien's golden carp) | a large freshwater fish, up to 120 cm long and 40 kg |
| pa kaman | ปลฯฯากะมันฯ | ปลากระโห้ (Siamese giant carp) | a huge fish of the carp family, on average 1.5 m long (also pa sa) |
| pa pon | ปลฯฯาพอฯร | ปลานวลจันทร์ (small-scale mud carp) | a long, cylindrical fish with a large head and small mouth and eyes |
| pa sik | ปลฯาสิกฯ | ปลากระสูบ (hampala barb) | — |
| pa tong | ปลฯาตอฯง | — | a freshwater fish like the clown featherback |
| pa tok to | ปลฯาท฿กฯโท | ปลาดาบลาว | — |
ปลฯาโม฿งฯค่าฯ
ป๋าโมงก้า pa mong ka
Say it: pǎa-moong-kâa auto (à low · â falling · á high · ǎ rising · no mark = mid · double vowel = long)
silver barb: a freshwater fish with a flattened body, a high arched back, a small head and mouth, thin lips and a pointed snout, two pairs of small barbels, silver scales along the lateral line, a darker back and a creamy-white belly
Moradok Lanna dictionary entry (in Thai) →
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💡 Did you know?
The song Khong Kin Khon Mueang sings "lap pa soi" (mud-carp lap), but the dictionary records the mud carp in Kham Mueang as pa bok, and the Siamese mud carp as pa khao. So one fish can have both a central-Thai-style name and a true Kham Mueang name.
Fish of rice fields, ponds and swamps
The small fish of still water in rice fields, ponds and swamps are the ones caught close to home.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Central Thai | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|---|
| pa salit | ปลฯาสิๆลฯด | ปลาสลิด (snakeskin gourami) | like a three-spot gourami but thicker and longer; lives in still water |
| pa pan | ปลฯาพานฯ | ปลากระดี่ (gourami) | fish of the same genus as the snakeskin gourami; many kinds |
| pa salak | ปลฯาสลากฯ | — | a native gourami, like the snakeskin gourami but smaller |
| pa salaet | ปลฯาสแหัลฯด | ปลากระดี่หม้อ (three-spot gourami) | — |
| pa sadet | ปลฯาสเดัดฯ | ปลาหมอไทย (climbing perch) | short and deep-bodied, with a small head and mouth and a saw-edged gill cover |
| pa kat | ปลฯากัดฯ | ปลากัด (fighting fish) | a small fish; the colourful males are aggressive and territorial |
| pa mut | ปลฯามูด | ปลาบู่ (goby) | a fish whose pelvic fins sit in line before the pectoral fins (also pa chak) |
| pa haet | ปลฯาแรดฯ | ปลาแรด (giant gourami) | shaped like the snakeskin gourami but very large, up to 60 cm |
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Fish in the Northern kitchen
Kham Mueang also has many words for fish that has been cooked or preserved. Some are dishes found in other Moradok Lanna articles.
| Kham Mueang | Lanna script | Meaning (from the dictionary) |
|---|---|---|
| pa chi | ปลฯาจี่ | grilled fish: fish laid on red-hot coals until cooked |
| pa buang | ปลฯาบ้วฯง | salted fish: snakehead or giant snakehead scored into strips, salted and dried (also pa kuea) |
| pa som | ปลฯาส้฿มฯ | fresh fish fermented with salt, garlic and cooked sticky rice until sour |
| pa ha | ปลฯาร้า | fermented fish (pla ra): fish salted with roasted rice or roasted bran |
| pa chom | ปลฯาจ่อฯม | small fish such as rasboras, fermented with salt |
| pa bae | ปลฯาแบ | a larger fish such as a barb, split open flat, salted and dried |
| pa ok | ปลฯาอัอฯก | a fish curry (usually with small fish) with little liquid |
| pa aep | ปลฯาแอัปฯ | fish mixed with chilli paste, wrapped in banana leaf and grilled (also aep pa) |
| pa kap | ปลฯากับฯฯ | canned fish |
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Pa buang and pa chi appear in the song Kin Lam Kin Lam, and mud-carp lap and catfish koi in Khong Kin Khon Mueang.
Sea fish, and pa that are not fish
The dictionary also records some sea fish, such as pa puan (ปลฯาพวฯร, barramundi), pa mai (ปลฯาไม, stingray), pa ta diao (ปลฯาตาดยฯว) or pa phak (ปลฯาผากฯ, sole), and pa pao (ปลฯาเปั้า, pufferfish).
⚠️ Watch out
Not every word starting with pa is a fish:
- pa fa (ปลฯาฝา) is the softshell turtle, a reptile like a turtle
- pa muek (ปลฯาหึมฯก) is the squid, which the dictionary describes as a sea animal without a backbone
- pa weni (ปาเวณี) means tradition, e.g. pa weni pi mai, the New Year tradition
- pai doi (ปลฯายดอฯยฯ) means mountain top
- pa fa (ปลฯาฝา) is the softshell turtle, a reptile like a turtle
- pa muek (ปลฯาหึมฯก) is the squid, which the dictionary describes as a sea animal without a backbone
- pa weni (ปาเวณี) means tradition, e.g. pa weni pi mai, the New Year tradition
- pai doi (ปลฯายดอฯยฯ) means mountain top
Photo: Samuel Lee / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Summary
- Fish in Kham Mueang is pa, and many fish have names unlike central Thai, such as pa lim (snakehead), pa ko (giant snakehead) and pa yian (eel).
- The carp family has the most distinctive names: pa mong ka (silver barb), pa bok (mud carp), pa suea (Jullien's golden carp), pa kaman (Siamese giant carp).
- Rice-field fish have Kham Mueang names too: pa pan (gourami), pa sadet (climbing perch), pa mut (goby).
- In the kitchen there are pa chi, pa buang, pa som, pa ha and pa ok.
- Words starting with pa are not always fish: pa fa (softshell turtle), pa weni (tradition).
Look up more fish names in the Moradok Lanna dictionary (in Thai), read more animal names in Bird Names in Kham Mueang and Insects in Kham Mueang, or float down the Ping River with the song in Long Mae Ping.
