subordinate
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- 1 subordinate、henchman
This word refers to someone who works or acts under another person’s direction, such as a subordinate at work or a henchman in a criminal group.
subordinate、henchman
A person who works or acts under the authority of a boss, leader, or other person in charge.
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หัวหน้าต้องดูแลลูกน้อง hǔanâa tɔ̂ŋ duulɛɛ lûuk nɔ́ɔŋ A boss must take care of their subordinates. หัวหน้าต้องดูแลลูกน้อง details
Learning notes
Explanation
ลูกน้อง is an everyday noun for someone under another person’s authority or direction. In an ordinary workplace, it means a subordinate or someone on a boss’s team. When used with a gang leader, crime boss, or powerful figure, it can mean a henchman or underling. These are contextual shades of the same core idea rather than separate senses. The word is formed from ลูก (“child”) and น้อง (“younger sibling or younger person”), but learners should treat ลูกน้อง as a single word. Since it refers to people, it is counted with คน, as in ลูกน้องหนึ่งคน (“one subordinate”) and ลูกน้องหลายคน (“several subordinates”).
Usage
It is commonly used in everyday conversations about bosses and the people working under them in offices, shops, and other workplaces. It also appears in movies, fiction, and news reports when referring to the followers or henchmen of a gang leader or crime boss.
Caution
Because the word explicitly places someone below another person in a hierarchy, directly emphasizing that someone is your ลูกน้อง can sound patronizing or domineering. Do not use it for an equal colleague; เพื่อนร่วมงาน is the appropriate word for a coworker without an implied difference in rank.
Differences from similar words
1 subordinate synonyms
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ผู้ใต้บังคับบัญชา is a formal term for a subordinate, especially in official or administrative contexts. ลูกน้อง is the more natural everyday term.
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สมุน usually means a follower or henchman and often carries a negative tone. ลูกน้อง can have that meaning too, but it is also commonly used for an ordinary workplace subordinate.