ชั่ง

Explanation

The core meaning is to weigh something. In everyday Thai, ชั่งน้ำหนัก is especially important: with people it usually means to weigh oneself, and with objects it means to measure their weight. A scale can be called เครื่องชั่ง or ตาชั่ง. Figuratively, the idea of weighing things becomes ชั่งใจ, meaning to deliberate or weigh your options. ชั่ง also exists as an old unit of weight or currency, but that use is not important for ordinary modern conversation.

Usage

Use this word when checking weight in markets, supermarkets, cooking, health tracking, or medical settings. In decision-making contexts, ชั่งใจ and ชั่งข้อดีข้อเสีย are useful when considering whether to change jobs, buy something, or tell someone something.

Caution

ชั่ง is normally connected with weight. Do not use it for measuring time, length, or temperature. Also do not confuse it with ช่าง, which is a different word meaning things like craftsman or skilled person, and also appears in expressive phrases.

1 weigh synonyms

• ตวง

  tuaŋ measure (liquids, powders, grains)

  ตวง means to measure by volume, such as with rice, water, or sugar. ชั่ง is used when measuring weight, not volume.

• วัด

  wát measure

  วัด is a broad verb for measuring length, height, temperature, and other quantities. ชั่ง is specifically for measuring weight with a scale.

2 deliberate synonyms

• พิจารณา

  phícaaranaa consider

  พิจารณา is a somewhat formal word meaning to consider or examine. ชั่งใจ is more everyday and suggests personally weighing a decision.

• ลังเล

  laŋlee hesitate

  ลังเล focuses on hesitation or uncertainty. ชั่งใจ emphasizes mentally comparing options before deciding.