Kratom Meaning: The Name, Pronunciation and Origins

The kratom meaning most people are after is simple: kratom is the Thai name for the Mitragyna speciosa tree and its leaf. Across Southeast Asia the same plant has many other names, and in English even the pronunciation varies. This guide covers where the word comes from, how to say it, and the local names you may come across.

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“Kratom” is the common name used in Thailand, and it is the name that spread into English as the leaf became known internationally. In Thai sources the plant also appears under several related local names, but kratom is the one that stuck abroad.

The plant’s scientific name tells its own story. Mitragyna, the genus, is usually traced to the shape of the flower’s stigma, which resembles a bishop’s mitre. Speciosa is Latin for showy or handsome. Together they give the botanical name Mitragyna speciosa, which is the one used in research, laboratory reports and official documents. Mitragyna speciosa: the kratom tree covers the botany in full.

The tree entered Western botanical writing in the nineteenth century. The Dutch botanist Pieter Korthals first described it in 1839 under the name Stephegyne speciosa, and it was later moved into the genus Mitragyna, where it has stayed. That is why its full name still carries the abbreviations of the botanists involved: Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.) Havil.

Long before those records, the plant had a well-established place in rural communities of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia, which is where most of its local names come from. Modern ethnobotanical research draws on those communities’ knowledge, and it is also where much of today’s scientific interest in the plant began.

There is no single correct English pronunciation, and you will hear more than one in Canada:

• KRAY-tum, which is common in North American English;
• KRAH-tom, with a broader “a” sound, which many speakers use as well;
• A pronunciation closer to the Thai original, which softens the first consonant toward a “g” sound.

All of these are widely understood. If you are searching online or ordering by phone, any of them will get you to the same product. The spelling is consistent, though: k-r-a-t-o-m. Common misspellings include “kratum”, “kraton” and “craton”.

Mitragyna speciosa grows naturally across a wide region, and each country has its own names for it. Published references record, among others:

• Thailand: kratom, kakuam, ithang and thom;
• Malaysia: ketum and biak, sometimes written biak-biak;
• Indonesia: names including keton and kadamba in some sources;
• Myanmar: beinsa;
• The Philippines: mambog and lugub;
• Vietnam: giam.

If you read Malaysian news or research, “ketum” is the word you will see most. It refers to the same plant as kratom.

In shops and online, “kratom” has become an umbrella term for the dried leaf in all its formats: powder, crushed leaf and capsules. It is then combined with other words to make product names, such as a vein colour (red, green or white), a region (Bali, Borneo, Malay) or a grade (Maeng Da).

Those product names are trade conventions rather than botanical categories. Kratom strains explained breaks down how the names are built and how to compare products that carry them.

Because kratom goes by so many names, the scientific name is the most reliable one to look for on paperwork. A proper Certificate of Analysis identifies the material as Mitragyna speciosa, and official documents in Canada and abroad use the same name. If a product or report avoids naming the species at all, that is worth a question before you order.

Local names can also be useful when you research. Searching for “ketum” alongside “kratom” turns up a much larger body of Malaysian research and news, while Thai names appear in older Thai sources. Whatever you search for, the plant is the same. Our COA guide shows where the species name should appear on a report.

A few terms come up alongside kratom but mean something different:

• Mitragynine: the most abundant natural compound in kratom leaf, not a name for the plant. See mitragynine explained;
• 7-OH: shorthand for 7-hydroxymitragynine products, a separate category from natural leaf. See our 7-OH explainer;
• Kava: an unrelated plant from the Pacific Islands, sometimes grouped with kratom only because both are botanicals.

The name travels with different legal meanings. In Thailand, kratom was removed from the country’s narcotics list in August 2021, and a dedicated Kratom Plant Act followed in 2022 to regulate trade in the leaf.

In Canada, kratom is not listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and it is legal to buy and own. Health Canada has not approved kratom for human consumption, so it is sold for research and botanical purposes. Is kratom legal in Canada? explains what that means for buyers.

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