ชำระ
pay (a bill, fee, or amount)
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 pay (a bill, fee, or amount)、repay (a debt)、settle (an account)
- 2 cleanse、purify、wash clean
- 3 take revenge、avenge a grievance
This verb expresses clearing away something unresolved or unwanted, such as an unpaid balance, dirt, errors in a text, or a grievance. Its most common modern use is for formally paying a bill, fee, or debt.
pay (a bill, fee, or amount)、repay (a debt)、settle (an account)
Describes formally paying an amount or clearing a financial obligation, especially on bills, payment screens, and in banking or business contexts.
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ชำระเงิน chamrá ŋən make a payment ชำระเงิน details
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กรุณาชำระเงินภายในวันที่ 10 karunaa chamrá ŋən phaaynay wan thîi sìp Please make payment by the 10th. กรุณาชำระเงินภายในวันที่ 10 details
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เขาชำระหนี้หมดแล้ว khǎw chamrá nîi mòt lɛ́ɛw He has paid off all his debts. เขาชำระหนี้หมดแล้ว details
cleanse、purify、wash clean
Describes removing physical dirt or figurative impurity to leave something clean or pure. This use is generally more formal than ordinary everyday washing verbs.
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ชำระร่างกายให้สะอาด chamrá râaŋ kaay hây sà àat wash the body clean ชำระร่างกายให้สะอาด details
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น้ำช่วยชำระสิ่งสกปรกออกไป náam chûay chamrá sìŋ sòkkapròk ɔ̀ɔk pay Water helps wash away dirt. น้ำช่วยชำระสิ่งสกปรกออกไป details
take revenge、avenge a grievance
Expresses settling a deep grievance through revenge. It occurs mainly in the fixed expression ชำระแค้น and has a dramatic, story-like tone.
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แค้นนี้ต้องชำระ khɛ́ɛn níi tɔ̂ŋ chamrá This grudge must be avenged. แค้นนี้ต้องชำระ details
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เขากลับมาเพื่อชำระแค้น khǎw klàp maa phʉ̂a chamrá khɛ́ɛn He came back to take revenge. เขากลับมาเพื่อชำระแค้น details
Learning notes
Explanation
The central idea of ชำระ is removing something unwanted or unresolved and bringing the matter to a proper conclusion. Its most important use is financial. The object follows the verb, as in ชำระเงิน “make a payment” and ชำระหนี้ “repay a debt.” On bills or website buttons, ชำระ may appear by itself when the payment context is already clear. In ชำระแค้น, a grievance is figuratively “settled” through retaliation. The expression means “take revenge” and carries a strong, dramatic tone; ชำระ alone is not normally used for a minor act of getting even. There is also a traditional legal sense involving the judgment of a case, but modern general usage normally favors พิจารณาคดี. Learners rarely need to use that older, specialized sense actively.
Usage
It is especially common in formal payment contexts such as stores, banks, hospitals, utility bills, contracts, and online checkout pages. The cleansing sense appears in formal descriptions and contexts involving physical, spiritual, or ritual purification. The revision sense occurs in publishing and scholarly work on dictionaries or historical texts. ชำระแค้น is common in novels, films, dramas, and historical narratives about revenge.
Caution
In casual conversation, จ่าย is usually more natural than ชำระ for simply saying that someone will pay. For taking a shower or bathing, use อาบน้ำ; for ordinary washing, ล้าง is generally the natural choice. ชำระแค้น suggests serious revenge and is too dramatic for playful or minor retaliation.
Differences from similar words
1 pay (a bill, fee, or amount) synonyms
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จ่าย is the ordinary everyday verb for paying. ชำระ sounds more administrative and emphasizes formally settling an amount or obligation.
2 cleanse synonyms
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ล้าง is the common everyday verb for washing dishes, hands, cars, and similar things. ชำระ is more formal and suggests cleansing something of dirt or impurity.
3 take revenge synonyms
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แก้แค้น is the most common expression for taking revenge. ชำระแค้น means much the same thing but sounds more dramatic and literary, making it common in fiction, films, and historical narratives.