หัว

Explanation

The core meaning is the physical “head.” From that comes a broader image of being at the top, front, beginning, or center, which appears in many compounds: หัวแถว “front of a line,” หัวหน้า “person in charge,” and หัวข้อ “topic or item.” When หัว refers to intelligence or disposition, it is usually found in fixed combinations rather than used alone: หัวดี “bright,” หัวไว “quick-witted,” and หัวแข็ง “stubborn.” The word also likens rounded underground plant parts to heads. It can name a bulb or tuber and serve as the classifier for one: กระเทียมสองหัว means “two bulbs of garlic.” An individual garlic clove is counted with กลีบ instead. In some regional varieties, หัว can mean “to laugh,” but learners of standard Thai should use หัวเราะ.

Usage

In everyday conversation, หัว is frequent in expressions about the body, such as ปวดหัว “to have a headache” and ส่ายหัว “to shake one’s head.” At work and school, important compounds include หัวหน้า “supervisor or person in charge,” หัวหน้าทีม “team leader,” and หัวข้อ “topic or item.” It also appears in location expressions such as หัวแถว “front of a line” and หัวโต๊ะ “head of the table.” In shopping and cooking, it can refer to or count bulbs and tubers. The casual pattern หัวละร้อยบาท “100 baht per person” is also heard when friends divide costs or collect money.

Caution

The normal classifier for people is คน; สามหัว is not the ordinary way to say “three people.” หัวละ is casual and treats people as a head count, so คนละ is better in neutral or polite wording. สระหัว can mean “wash one’s hair” in conversation, but สระผม is the more neutral expression. Describing someone directly as หัวล้าน “bald” may also sound rude.

1 head synonyms

• ศีรษะ

  sǐisà head

  ศีรษะ also means “head,” but it is more formal and respectful. หัว is the ordinary word used widely in everyday conversation.

2 top synonyms

• ยอด

  yɔ̂ɔt top

  ยอด refers specifically to the highest point or tip of something such as a mountain, building, or tree. หัว can also indicate the front or beginning, not just the highest point.

3 [classifier for bulbs, tubers, and similar head-like objects] synonyms

• ลูก

  lûuk [classifier for fruit and round objects]

  ลูก is a broad classifier for separate round objects such as fruit and balls. หัว is used especially for bulbs, tubers, and head-like plant parts.

4 per person synonyms

• คนละ

  khon lá per person

  คนละ also means “per person” and is the general, neutral choice. หัวละ has a more casual head-counting tone and is common when splitting costs or collecting money.