ฝูง
herd
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 herd、flock、swarm、school (of fish)、pack (of animals)
- 2 [classifier for groups of animals]
ฝูง refers to a collection of animals moving or staying together as a group. It also serves as a classifier for counting such groups.
herd、flock、swarm、school (of fish)、pack (of animals)
A collection of animals or other living beings gathered or moving together as one group.
Show more (1)
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ฝูงปลาว่ายผ่านไป fǔuŋ plaa wâay phàan pay A school of fish swam past. ฝูงปลาว่ายผ่านไป details
[classifier for groups of animals]
A classifier used to count separate herds, flocks, swarms, or other groups of animals rather than individual animals.
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นกสองฝูง nók sɔ̌ɔŋ fǔuŋ two flocks of birds นกสองฝูง details
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มีวัวสามฝูง mii wua sǎam fǔuŋ There are three herds of cattle. มีวัวสามฝูง details
Learning notes
Explanation
The core image of ฝูง is a number of living beings gathered or moving as a single unit. It commonly appears before the members of the group, as in ฝูงนก “a flock of birds,” ฝูงปลา “a school of fish,” and ฝูงวัว “a herd of cattle.” English uses different collective nouns such as flock, herd, swarm, school, and pack depending on the animal. Thai ฝูง covers many of these categories. As a classifier, it counts whole groups rather than individual animals. นกสองฝูง means “two flocks of birds,” while นกสองตัว means “two birds.” For people, the established compound ฝูงชน means “crowd.”
Usage
It is common in descriptions of wildlife, farms, and animal movement when animals are viewed as one group. In news reports and descriptions of public events, ฝูงชน is used for a crowd of people.
Caution
Using ฝูง directly for people can sound disparaging because it may portray them as a herd or pack. For a neutral reference to a gathering of people, use the established ฝูงชน or the general expression กลุ่มคน.
Differences from similar words
1 herd synonyms
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กลุ่ม is a neutral, general word for a group of people, things, or animals. ฝูง is especially common for a mass of animals staying or moving together.
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โขลง is used especially for a herd of elephants and certain other large animals. ฝูง is the more general term and can be used with many kinds of animals.