subway
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- 1 subway、metro、underground railway
This is the general Thai term for an urban underground railway system or a train operating on it.
subway、metro、underground railway
An urban railway that runs underground, or a train belonging to such a system.
Learning notes
Explanation
The word combines รถไฟ, “railway” or “train,” with ใต้ดิน, “underground” or “below the ground.” Its literal image is therefore an underground railway. It can refer either to the transportation system as a whole or to an individual train. The classifier for trains is ขบวน, as in รถไฟใต้ดินหนึ่งขบวน, “one subway train.” Common patterns include นั่งรถไฟใต้ดิน for traveling by subway, ขึ้นรถไฟใต้ดิน for boarding it, and ลงรถไฟใต้ดิน for getting off it.
Usage
It is used when discussing urban transportation, asking where a subway station is, or talking about routes, fares, and transfers. It is a neutral term suitable for both everyday conversation and transportation information.
Caution
In Bangkok, people often call the system or its lines เอ็มอาร์ที (MRT). The terms are not always interchangeable, however, because the MRT network also has surface and elevated sections. The mainly elevated BTS is normally called รถไฟฟ้าบีทีเอส and is distinguished from รถไฟใต้ดิน.
Differences from similar words
1 subway synonyms
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รถไฟฟ้า broadly refers to an electric urban railway and, in Bangkok, often suggests elevated systems such as the BTS. รถไฟใต้ดิน specifically identifies an underground railway.
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เอ็มอาร์ที (MRT) is commonly used for Bangkok's metropolitan rail network. รถไฟใต้ดิน is the generic term for an underground railway and is not limited to a particular operator or network.