พนักงาน
employee
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 employee、staff member、attendant・clerk
A general term for someone who works for an organization, business, shop, or facility in an assigned role. Depending on the setting, it can mean an employee, staff member, clerk, or attendant.
employee、staff member、attendant・clerk
A person who works for a company, shop, facility, or other organization and performs an assigned job or service.
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เขาเป็นพนักงานธนาคาร khǎw pen phanákŋaan thanaakhaan He is a bank employee. เขาเป็นพนักงานธนาคาร details
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กรุณาสอบถามพนักงาน karunaa sɔ̀ɔp thǎam phanákŋaan Please ask a staff member. กรุณาสอบถามพนักงาน details
Learning notes
Explanation
พนักงาน is a neutral, widely used noun for a person who works in an assigned role within a business, shop, facility, or other organization. A workplace or job function can follow it to specify the occupation: พนักงานธนาคาร means “bank employee,” while พนักงานขาย means “salesperson.” When counting individual employees, use คน: พนักงานสามคน means “three employees.” พนักงานทุกคน means “all employees” or “all staff members.” The abbreviation พนง. may appear in informal writing, but learners should use the full form พนักงาน in formal or careful writing.
Usage
This word is common when describing someone's workplace or occupation, discussing a company's employees, referring to staff in a shop or hotel, or advertising a job opening. It appears in everyday conversation as well as workplace documents, job advertisements, and public notices.
Caution
Do not interpret พนักงาน only as “office worker” or “company employee.” It can also refer to shop staff, attendants, and other workers. Add the workplace or job function when the role needs to be clear. A career government civil servant is usually called ข้าราชการ instead.
Differences from similar words
1 employee synonyms
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คนงาน commonly refers to a laborer or manual worker, especially at a factory or worksite. พนักงาน is broader and also covers office, sales, and service staff.
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ลูกจ้าง emphasizes being hired by an employer in exchange for wages. พนักงาน is a more neutral term that focuses on a person's role as a member of staff in a company or facility.
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เจ้าหน้าที่ refers to an officer or staff member with a particular duty or authority and is common in government and institutional settings. พนักงาน more broadly refers to someone working for an organization, whether or not they hold official authority.