พัน
1,000
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 1,000
- 2 wrap around、wind around、become tangled、bandage
- 3 field-officer rank element
This word can express the number one thousand, wrapping or tangling something around another object, or a field-officer rank used in military and police titles. Its meaning and part of speech depend heavily on context.
1,000
Expresses the number 1,000 and is widely used with prices, populations, quantities, and other measurements.
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หนึ่งพันบาท nʉ̀ŋ phan bàat one thousand baht หนึ่งพันบาท details
wrap around、wind around、become tangled、bandage
Describes winding something such as rope or cloth around an object. It also covers things becoming wrapped around something or tangled together.
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พันเชือกรอบกล่อง phan chʉ̂ak rɔ̂ɔp klɔ̀ɔŋ Wrap a rope around the box. พันเชือกรอบกล่อง details
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เธอพันผ้าพันคอรอบคอ thəə phan phâa phan khɔɔ rɔ̂ɔp khɔɔ She wrapped a scarf around her neck. เธอพันผ้าพันคอรอบคอ details
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สายไฟพันกัน sǎay fay phan kan The wires are tangled. สายไฟพันกัน details
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พยาบาลพันแผลให้เขา pháyaabaan phan phlɛ̌ɛ hây khǎw The nurse bandaged his wound. พยาบาลพันแผลให้เขา details
field-officer rank element
Functions as part of military and police rank titles for field officers. In this sense, it normally appears together with ตรี, โท, or เอก rather than standing alone.
Learning notes
Explanation
พัน has four main uses. As a numeral, it means “one thousand.” หนึ่งพัน is 1,000 and สองพัน is 2,000. In clear contexts, especially when discussing money, หนึ่ง may be omitted: พันบาท means “1,000 baht.” As a verb, its core image is winding rope, cloth, or another flexible object around something. พันผ้ารอบคอ means “wrap a cloth around the neck,” while พันแผล means “bandage a wound.” With กัน, พันกัน describes wires, hair, thread, or similar things becoming tangled together. In rank titles, พันตรี, พันโท, and พันเอก mean “major,” “lieutenant colonel,” and “colonel,” respectively. For example, เขาได้รับการเลื่อนยศเป็นพันเอก means “He was promoted to colonel,” and พี่ชายของเขาเป็นพันโท means “His older brother is a lieutenant colonel.” Police ranks insert ตำรวจ, as in พันตำรวจตรี, พันตำรวจโท, and พันตำรวจเอก.
Usage
As a numeral, พัน occurs in everyday discussions of prices, populations, income, distance, and other quantities of 1,000 or more. As a verb, it is common when wrapping scarves or cloth, winding rope around an object, bandaging injuries, or describing tangled wires and hair. The rank-related use is common in military and police news, official documents, biographies, and historical stories.
Caution
Do not confuse พัน with พันธุ์, which means a breed, variety, lineage, or biological stock. They sound similar but differ in spelling and meaning. Also distinguish พันกัน, “be tangled together,” from พันรอบ…, “wrap around….” Rank titles such as พันเอก and พันโท should be learned as complete units meaning “colonel” and “lieutenant colonel,” not translated word by word.
Differences from similar words
2 wrap around synonyms
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ม้วน means to roll something such as paper or fabric into a cylindrical or coiled shape. พัน focuses on winding something around another object.