หมอ
doctor
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 doctor、physician
- 2 specialist、practitioner
This is the everyday Thai word for a doctor. It also combines with other words to refer to practitioners or specialists in particular fields.
doctor、physician
The ordinary everyday term for a medical professional who examines and treats patients.
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หมอคนนี้ใจดีมาก mɔ̌ɔ khon níi cay dii mâak This doctor is very kind. หมอคนนี้ใจดีมาก details
specialist、practitioner
When combined with another word, it can label a practitioner or specialist in a particular field, including fields unrelated to medicine.
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เขาเป็นหมอนวด khǎw pen mɔ̌ɔ nûat He is a massage therapist. เขาเป็นหมอนวด details
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หมองูตายเพราะงู mɔ̌ɔ ŋuu taay phrɔ́ ŋuu Those who live by the sword die by the sword. หมองูตายเพราะงู details
Learning notes
Explanation
Used by itself, หมอ normally means “doctor” and is one of the most common everyday words for a medical professional. It is gender-neutral. When speaking directly to a doctor, คุณหมอ is a common polite form of address. หมอ also combines with words describing a skill or field to form names for different practitioners. For example, หมอนวด means “massage therapist,” while หมอดู means “fortune teller.” People described by such compounds are not necessarily licensed medical doctors. As with people generally, the usual classifier is คน: หมอสองคน means “two doctors.”
Usage
It is used constantly when seeking medical care or talking about doctors in hospitals and clinics. Common patterns include ไปหาหมอ (“go to the doctor”), ถามหมอ (“ask the doctor”), and หมอบอกว่า… (“the doctor says/said that…”). It also appears in common occupational terms for various practitioners.
Caution
หมอ does not mean an academic “doctor” in the general sense of someone with a doctoral degree. Also, the presence of หมอ in words such as หมอดู and หมอนวด does not imply that the person is a medical doctor.
Differences from similar words
1 doctor synonyms
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แพทย์ is the formal professional term for a physician and is common in official or written contexts. หมอ refers to the same profession but is the more natural everyday word.