car
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 car、automobile
A standard word for a road vehicle powered by an engine, electric motor, or another power source—in everyday contexts, usually a car.
car、automobile
A powered road vehicle used to carry people or goods, most often understood as a car in everyday contexts.
Learning notes
Explanation
รถยนต์ combines รถ, meaning “vehicle,” with ยนต์, referring to mechanical power. In modern usage, it normally means an automobile or car. In casual conversation, speakers often shorten it to รถ when the context makes “car” clear. รถยนต์ is common when precision is useful and in news, legal, insurance, sales, and other relatively formal contexts. The classifier for vehicles is คัน: รถยนต์หนึ่งคัน means “one car,” and รถยนต์สองคัน means “two cars.”
Usage
Used when discussing driving, parking, buying or selling cars, traffic, accidents, insurance, repairs, and the automotive industry. It is also used in conversation, especially when the speaker wants to specify that the vehicle is an automobile.
Caution
รถยนต์ does not normally refer to a motorcycle; use รถจักรยานยนต์ or the conversational มอเตอร์ไซค์ instead. When it is necessary to specify a passenger car, รถเก๋ง or รถยนต์นั่ง may be more precise.
Differences from similar words
1 car synonyms
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รถ is a broader, very common word whose meaning depends on context; it can refer to a car or various other vehicles. รถยนต์ specifically identifies a motor vehicle and often sounds more precise or formal.