ฆ่า
kill
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 kill、destroy (germs or pests)
This verb primarily means to cause a person, animal, or other living thing to die. It can also mean to eliminate germs, destroy an effect, or otherwise put an end to something.
kill、destroy (germs or pests)
To cause a person, animal, or other living organism to die, including germs and pests.
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ฆ่าคน khâa khon kill a person ฆ่าคน details
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ห้ามฆ่าสัตว์ hâam khâa sàt Do not kill animals. ห้ามฆ่าสัตว์ details
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แอลกอฮอล์ช่วยฆ่าเชื้อโรค ɛɛnkɔɔhɔɔ chûay khâa chʉ́a rôok Alcohol helps kill germs. แอลกอฮอล์ช่วยฆ่าเชื้อโรค details
Learning notes
Explanation
The basic pattern is ฆ่า followed by the affected object, as in ฆ่าคน “kill a person” and ฆ่าสัตว์ “kill an animal.” With germs or pests, natural translations include “disinfect,” “kill germs,” and “exterminate.” The figurative expression ฆ่าเวลา means “kill time.” In editing, ฆ่า can also mean to cross out text, though ขีดฆ่า makes the action more explicit.
Usage
It is common in discussions of crime, war, hunting, and causing death. It also appears in hygiene and pest-control expressions such as ฆ่าเชื้อ “disinfect,” in the everyday phrase ฆ่าเวลา “kill time,” and in editing contexts where text is crossed out.
Caution
When directed at a person, ฆ่า is blunt and very strong and may sound threatening even as a joke. Do not confuse it with ตาย “die” or the more respectful เสียชีวิต “pass away”: ฆ่า is normally transitive and means causing someone or something to die. Also, ฆ่าเชื้อ commonly means to disinfect or kill germs; it does not necessarily imply complete sterilization in the technical sense.
Differences from similar words
1 kill synonyms
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กำจัด means to eliminate or get rid of something and does not necessarily involve killing it. ฆ่า explicitly indicates causing death.
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สังหาร is a more formal word for killing and is common in news, military, and official contexts. ฆ่า is the basic, broadly used verb.