พระมหากษัตริย์
king
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- 1 king、sovereign
A formal and respectful term for a country's sovereign, especially a king.
king、sovereign
Refers formally and respectfully to the sovereign of a country, particularly a king.
Learning notes
Explanation
The word is formed from พระ + มหา + กษัตริย์ and respectfully denotes the country's highest-ranking sovereign. Learners should normally treat it as a single established term. It is highly formal and frequently appears in royal news, history, politics, constitutional language, and official communication. The classifier for a sovereign is พระองค์, not คน. When the sovereign is the subject, royal-language forms such as ทรง before certain verbs may also be required.
Usage
It is common in royal news, history and civics education, discussions of politics or constitutional law, official documents, and state ceremonies. It can also be used in ordinary conversation when referring to the sovereign formally and respectfully.
Caution
Use พระองค์, rather than the ordinary human classifier คน. พระเจ้าอยู่หัว is closer to an honorific such as “His Majesty the King,” so it is not always interchangeable with พระมหากษัตริย์ when discussing the office or institution. References to the Thai monarchy call for respectful, careful wording rather than jokes or casual metaphors.
Differences from similar words
1 king synonyms
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กษัตริย์ is the basic word for a king or monarch. พระมหากษัตริย์ is more explicitly respectful and formal, and is common in official contexts.
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ราชา means “king” and is common in stories and literary language. พระมหากษัตริย์ is the more appropriate term for formal references to an actual sovereign.