คนต่างชาติ

Explanation

คนต่างชาติ is made from คน, “person,” and ต่างชาติ, “foreign” or “of another nation.” In Thailand, it usually means a non-Thai person. It can refer not only to tourists, but also to foreign residents, workers, students, and others. When counting people, use the classifier คน, as in คนต่างชาติหนึ่งคน “one foreigner” and คนต่างชาติหลายคน “many foreigners.”

Usage

It is commonly used in contexts involving nationality or origin, such as travel, immigration, visas, work permits, schools, workplaces, news, and services for foreigners.

Caution

Because it groups people by being non-local, a more specific word can sound more natural when the person’s nationality or role is known, such as คนญี่ปุ่น “Japanese person,” นักท่องเที่ยว “tourist,” or เพื่อนชาวอเมริกัน “American friend.”

1 foreigner synonyms

• คนต่างด้าว

  คนต่างด้าว is more legal or administrative, similar to “alien” or “foreign national” in official language. คนต่างชาติ is the more natural everyday word for “foreigner.”

• ชาวต่างชาติ

  ชาวต่างชาติ also means “foreigner” and is common in news and general descriptions. คนต่างชาติ feels like a straightforward “person from another country” and works naturally in both conversation and official contexts.

• ฝรั่ง

  faràŋ Westerner

  ฝรั่ง usually refers to Westerners, especially white foreigners, and is more colloquial. คนต่างชาติ is the broader and safer word when you mean foreigners in general, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and other non-Thai people.