กฎหมาย
law
Native recording
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- 1 law、legislation、statute
This is the basic word for law: official rules set by a state or society that people are expected to follow. It can refer to a specific law or to the legal system in general.
law、legislation、statute
Refers to official rules made or recognized by public authority and binding on people.
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กฎหมายไทย kòt mǎay thay Thai law กฎหมายไทย details
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ทำผิดกฎหมาย tham phìt kòt mǎay to break the law ทำผิดกฎหมาย details
Show more (3)
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ถูกกฎหมาย thùuk kòt mǎay to be legal ถูกกฎหมาย details
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ตามกฎหมาย taam kòt mǎay according to the law ตามกฎหมาย details
Learning notes
Explanation
กฎหมาย is the standard word for “law.” It is common in news, government matters, court issues, visas, labor, taxes, traffic violations, and other topics involving public rules and institutions. Common patterns include ผิดกฎหมาย “illegal,” ถูกกฎหมาย “legal,” ตามกฎหมาย “according to the law,” ออกกฎหมาย “to pass/enact a law,” and บังคับใช้กฎหมาย “to enforce the law.” When counting individual laws, Thai often uses ฉบับ, as in กฎหมายฉบับนี้ “this law” and กฎหมายหลายฉบับ “several laws.”
Usage
Use this word when talking about public rules, legal systems, government procedures, contracts, police matters, or news. It also appears naturally in everyday conversation when asking whether something is legal or saying that something breaks the law.
Caution
For school rules, company rules, game rules, or internal regulations, words like กฎ, ระเบียบ, or ข้อบังคับ may be more natural. Using กฎหมาย can make it sound like you are talking about official law, not just ordinary rules.
Differences from similar words
1 law synonyms
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กฎ is a broad word for rules, such as school rules, company rules, or game rules. กฎหมาย specifically means law in an official legal sense.
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ข้อบังคับ often refers to regulations or binding rules within an organization. กฎหมาย refers to public law with official legal force.
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ระเบียบ means rules, procedures, or order, often in an institutional or administrative setting. It is less specifically legal than กฎหมาย.