หวย

Explanation

หวย is a common conversational noun. Depending on context, it can refer to the lottery system, the activity of betting on numbers, or an individual lottery ticket. Common combinations include ซื้อหวย “buy a lottery ticket,” เล่นหวย “play the lottery,” ถูกหวย “win the lottery,” and หวยออก “the lottery results come out.” A single drawing is called a งวด, so งวดนี้ means “this draw.” ใบ is commonly used when counting individual tickets. The formal name of Thailand's government lottery is สลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล.

Usage

It is used when buying lottery tickets, discussing which numbers to choose, checking draw dates or results, and talking about winning or losing. It also appears in conversation and news reports about unofficial numbers games such as หวยใต้ดิน.

Caution

ถูกหวย is the standard expression for “win the lottery.” To say someone did not win, use ไม่ถูกหวย rather than ผิดหวย. Also, หวยใต้ดิน refers to an illegal underground numbers game, not the official government lottery.

1 lottery synonyms

• ลอตเตอรี่

  ลอตเตอรี่ commonly refers to a lottery ticket or the government lottery. หวย is more conversational and can refer more broadly to the lottery or numbers game as an activity.

• สลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล

  สลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล is the official term for Thailand's government lottery. หวย is the everyday term and can also cover other numbers-based lotteries, including unofficial ones.