woman
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- 1 woman、female person
A common, neutral word for a female person or woman. Depending on the context, it often refers specifically to an adult woman.
woman、female person
Refers to a female person and is widely used in both everyday conversation and general writing.
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ผู้หญิงคนนั้นเป็นครู phûu yǐŋ khon nán pen khruu That woman is a teacher. ผู้หญิงคนนั้นเป็นครู details
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ห้องน้ำผู้หญิงอยู่ที่ไหน hɔ̂ŋ náam phûu yǐŋ yùu thîi nǎy Where is the women's restroom? ห้องน้ำผู้หญิงอยู่ที่ไหน details
Learning notes
Explanation
ผู้หญิง is formed from ผู้, referring to a person, and หญิง, meaning female. Together they describe a female person. The word does not always specify age, but when contrasted with เด็กผู้หญิง (“girl”), ผู้หญิง normally means an adult woman. Its classifier is คน, the usual classifier for people. For example, ผู้หญิงคนหนึ่ง means “a woman,” ผู้หญิงสามคน means “three women,” and ผู้หญิงคนนี้ means “this woman.”
Usage
Use it to state someone's gender, refer to a particular woman, or discuss women in general. It also commonly identifies things intended for women, as in ห้องน้ำผู้หญิง, “women's restroom.”
Caution
ผู้หญิง is not normally used as a third-person pronoun equivalent to “she”; เธอ or another appropriate pronoun is used instead. In a romantic context, expressions such as เขามีผู้หญิงอื่น can imply that a man has another woman or a mistress. Use แฟน when you specifically mean a romantic partner.
Differences from similar words
1 woman synonyms
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ผู้ชาย means “man” or “male person” and is the opposite of ผู้หญิง. The two words are often paired when contrasting genders.
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สตรี also means “woman,” but it is more formal and is common in official or written contexts. ผู้หญิง is the usual everyday term.
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หญิง means “female” or “woman,” but by itself it is more literary than ผู้หญิง and often appears in compounds or paired expressions. ผู้หญิง is more natural for referring to a woman in everyday speech.