Thai Allergy Card: How to Say Your
Food Allergy in Thai

The exact phrases on a Thai allergy card

These are the five lines AllergyPass prints on a Thai allergy card — not dictionary translations, but the same strings the card builder uses, each paired with its English meaning.

The most-asked-about allergens in Thai

These are the allergens travelers search for most before a Thailand trip, in Thai script with a romanized reading. Packaged labels, menus, and regional dish names may use more specific wording, so use each term as a starting point and confirm the actual recipe:

What other allergens and dietary terms does a Thai allergy card cover?

Direct answer: Beyond the common allergens above, the AllergyPass card builder includes additional allergies, medical conditions, sensitivities, intolerances, and dietary rules in Thai. 71 of AllergyPass's 71 tracked allergens and dietary restrictions currently have a Thai translation; any not yet translated fall back to English on the card until they are. The complete list, grouped by category:

Allergies

Medical conditions

Sensitivities & intolerances

Dietary preferences

Religious dietary rules

Ingredients to avoid

These terms are communication aids. Before relying on any translation, compare it with the label, recipe, or medical wording relevant to your situation, and ask the restaurant or stall how the food is prepared.

Where allergens actually hide in Thai cooking

Thailand's allergen challenge is often in the sauces and pastes, not the dish name. Nam pla (fish sauce) seasons pad thai, fried rice, tom yum, some curries, papaya salad, and many dipping sauces — including plates a menu calls vegetarian, unless the kitchen specifically caters to strict vegetarians. Kapi (shrimp paste) is pounded into curry pastes and chili-based nam prik dips before cooking starts, so it can't be picked out afterward. Peanuts turn up as a visible pad thai and satay garnish, but also as a less visible ingredient in som tam dressing and some sauces, and occasionally as a cooking oil. Oyster sauce, common in Chinese-influenced Thai stir-fries like morning glory (pak boong), is another one travelers often miss because it's added during cooking rather than shown on a short menu description.

None of this means a dish is automatically unsafe — it means the dish name alone doesn't tell you enough. Ask what's in the sauce, the paste, and the garnish, and whether the wok or fryer is shared. For a full ingredient-by-ingredient breakdown, see the hidden allergens in Thai food guide and, for peanut-specific dish risk, the Thailand peanut allergy guide.

What to ask before you order

At a sit-down restaurant, show your card before ordering and ask the server to check with the kitchen — a written card gives them something concrete to relay, which matters when a dish is cooked to order. At a street stall, the calculus is different: woks, grills, oil, and utensils are typically shared across every dish that stall serves, so removing a visible peanut garnish or asking for "no shrimp paste" reduces but doesn't eliminate cross-contact risk. Show the card, name the specific allergen, and ask directly whether the same equipment is used for other orders. If staff can't answer clearly, treat that as your answer and choose a different stall or dish. The Thailand street food guide covers how to read a stall's risk before you order.

How to flag gluten, wheat, or celiac disease in Thai

Gluten is กลูเตน (klu-ten) on the AllergyPass card, and wheat is ข้าวสาลี (khao sali). If you have celiac disease, the card uses โรคซีลิแอค, with a note that even a small amount of gluten must be avoided — important context a single word doesn't carry. There's no separate "gluten-free" phrase in the underlying translation data, so the more reliable approach is to show the gluten or wheat term and ask specifically about soy sauce, noodles, batter, and whether the fryer or wok is shared with wheat-containing dishes.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say food allergy in Thai?

The AllergyPass Thai card opens with the heading บัตรแจ้งการแพ้อาหาร (Food Allergy Card) and states ฉันมีอาการแพ้อาหารรุนแรง กรุณาตรวจสอบว่าอาหารของฉันไม่มีส่วนผสมต่อไปนี้ — "I have a serious food allergy. Please make sure my food does NOT contain the following ingredients." Show it before ordering, then ask staff to confirm the recipe and preparation, since ingredients like nam pla (fish sauce) and kapi (shrimp paste) often show up in dishes whose names don't reveal them.

How do you say gluten, wheat, or celiac disease in Thai?

Gluten is กลูเตน (klu-ten) and wheat is ข้าวสาลี (khao sali) on the AllergyPass Thai card. Celiac disease is โรคซีลิแอค, with a note that even a small amount of gluten must be avoided. There is no separate "gluten-free" phrase in the card data, so pair the gluten or wheat term with a question about soy sauce, noodles, batter, and shared fryers rather than relying on one word alone.

Where do these Thai allergen translations come from?

Every Thai phrase and allergen term on this page comes from the same maintained translation data the AllergyPass card builder uses to print a Thai card, so the guide and the card stay in sync. See how AllergyPass reviews its safety content.