เช่า

Explanation

The central idea is paying for the right to use something temporarily without becoming its owner. The usual pattern is เช่า followed by the thing rented, as in เช่าบ้าน “rent a house” and เช่ารถ “rent a car.” ค่าเช่า means “rent” or “rental fee,” ผู้เช่า means “tenant” or “renter,” and ให้เช่า means “to rent something out.” When พระ or พระเครื่อง is the object, the item is not merely being borrowed. In this cultural usage, เช่า is a respectful alternative to saying that a Buddha image or Buddhist amulet is bought.

Usage

It is common in housing and land rentals, car rentals, and the rental of clothing, equipment, or venues. Advertisements often use phrases such as บ้านให้เช่า “house for rent” and ห้องให้เช่า “room for rent.” The cultural expression เช่าพระ is also heard at temples and places dealing in Buddhist amulets.

Caution

เช่า implies payment. Use ยืม for borrowing something without a rental fee. To describe the owner renting something out, use ให้เช่า; to hire a person to do work, normally use จ้าง.

1 rent synonyms

• ยืม

  yʉʉm borrow

  ยืม means to borrow something, normally without paying for its use. เช่า involves paying a rental fee.

• เช่าซื้อ

  เช่าซื้อ is a hire-purchase arrangement in which payments may eventually lead to ownership. เช่า by itself normally gives only temporary use, not ownership.

2 obtain (a Buddha image or Buddhist amulet) in exchange for money synonyms

• ซื้อ

  sʉ́ʉ buy

  ซื้อ is the ordinary verb “to buy.” With Buddha images and พระเครื่อง amulets, เช่า is often used instead as a culturally respectful expression.