มหาวิทยาลัย
university
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 university
This is the standard Thai word for a university, an institution that provides higher education and conducts research.
university
It refers to a higher-education institution that teaches advanced subjects, conducts research, and awards degrees.
Learning notes
Explanation
มหาวิทยาลัย is formed from มหา (“great” or “large”) and วิทยาลัย (“college” or “educational institution”), but learners should normally memorize the complete word as “university.” Depending on context, it can refer to the institution, its campus, or the university as an organization. A university student is normally called นักศึกษามหาวิทยาลัย, using นักศึกษา rather than นักเรียน. Universities are commonly counted with the classifier แห่ง, as in มหาวิทยาลัยสองแห่ง (“two universities”).
Usage
It is commonly used when discussing university admission, enrollment, graduation, classes, research, and faculty. It also appears in university names, such as มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่ (Chiang Mai University).
Caution
Do not freely shorten it to วิทยาลัย, which may refer to a college or specialized institution. Also, ไปมหาวิทยาลัย can simply mean “go to the university”; to state that someone is enrolled there, use เรียนอยู่ที่มหาวิทยาลัย….
Differences from similar words
1 university synonyms
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วิทยาลัย usually refers to a college or a more specialized educational institution and is not necessarily a university. มหาวิทยาลัย is the standard term for a degree-granting university.