ชน
collide with
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 collide with、crash into、hit
- 2 people、folk、ethnic group
The core idea is “to hit or collide.” It is commonly used for vehicles, people, or objects crashing into something, and it can also extend to ideas or interests clashing. As a noun, it means “people,” but it is mostly seen in compounds and formal vocabulary.
collide with、crash into、hit
Used when a person, vehicle, or object hits or crashes into something. It is especially common when talking about traffic accidents.
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รถชนกัน rót chon kan The cars collide. รถชนกัน details
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เขาขับรถชนเสา khǎw khàp rót chon sǎw He drove into a pole. เขาขับรถชนเสา details
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เดินชนโต๊ะ dəən chon tó bump into a table while walking เดินชนโต๊ะ details
people、folk、ethnic group
Means “people” as a group. It is not the normal everyday word for “person”; learners will most often meet it in compounds such as ประชาชน.
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ประชาชน pràchaachon the people; citizens ประชาชน details
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ชนกลุ่มน้อย chon klùm nɔ́ɔy an ethnic minority ชนกลุ่มน้อย details
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ชนทุกชาติทุกเผ่า chon thúk châat thúk phàw people of every nation and tribe ชนทุกชาติทุกเผ่า details
Learning notes
Explanation
As a verb, ชน can take the thing hit directly after it, as in ชนเสา “hit a pole” or ชนรถคันอื่น “crash into another car.” The form ชนกัน clearly means “collide with each other.” As a noun, ชน is best learned through compounds such as ประชาชน, ชนชาติ, and ชนกลุ่มน้อย rather than as a standalone everyday word.
Usage
In everyday speech, it is common for traffic accidents, bumping into objects, or vehicles hitting people or things. News reports also use it for crashes and confrontations. The noun use appears often in social, political, historical, and media contexts.
Caution
Do not use ชน as the normal everyday word for “person”; use คน. When a vehicle hits a person, English may use “hit” or “run over” depending on the situation, but Thai can simply use รถชนคน.
Differences from similar words
1 collide with synonyms
2 people synonyms
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คน is the normal everyday word for a person or people. ชน sounds formal or literary by itself and is mostly used in social, political, or historical compounds.
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ประชาชน is a very common word for citizens or the general public. ชน is the element meaning people, but by itself it is much less common in everyday speech.