ถ่าน
charcoal
A native Thai recording for this word is on the way. Please check back soon.
- 1 charcoal
- 2 battery、dry-cell battery
This word primarily refers to charcoal used as fuel. In everyday Thai, it also commonly means a replaceable battery used in devices such as remotes, clocks, and toys.
charcoal
Charred material, especially wood charcoal, used as a solid fuel. Additional words can specify other carbon-based fuels, such as coal.
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ย่างไก่ด้วยถ่าน yâaŋ kày dûay thàan Grill chicken over charcoal. ย่างไก่ด้วยถ่าน details
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ช่วยเติมถ่านหน่อย chûay təəm thàan nɔ̀ɔy Please add some charcoal. ช่วยเติมถ่านหน่อย details
battery、dry-cell battery
An everyday term for a replaceable dry-cell battery used in devices such as remotes, clocks, flashlights, and toys.
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ถ่านหมดแล้ว thàan mòt lɛ́ɛw The battery is dead. ถ่านหมดแล้ว details
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รีโมตนี้ใช้ถ่านอะไร riimôot níi cháy thàan aray What kind of batteries does this remote use? รีโมตนี้ใช้ถ่านอะไร details
Learning notes
Explanation
The core meaning of ถ่าน is charcoal used as fuel. A following word can identify a particular type, as in ถ่านไม้ (wood charcoal) and ถ่านหิน (coal). In everyday speech, ถ่าน is also commonly used as a shortened form of ถ่านไฟฉาย for a dry-cell battery. Two especially useful expressions are ถ่านหมด, meaning that the battery is dead, and เปลี่ยนถ่าน, meaning to replace the battery. ก้อน is a common classifier for both lumps of charcoal and dry-cell batteries. In a battery context, ถ่านสองก้อน means two batteries.
Usage
For charcoal, the word appears in conversations about charcoal grilling, barbecues, street-food cooking, charcoal stoves, and buying fuel. For batteries, it is common when discussing remotes, clocks, flashlights, and toys, particularly when checking or replacing their batteries.
Caution
ถ่าน by itself can mean either charcoal or a battery, so context matters. References to grilling, fire, or a stove usually indicate charcoal; words such as หมด (run out), เปลี่ยน (replace), or รีโมต (remote) usually indicate a battery. Rechargeable batteries in devices such as smartphones are normally called แบตเตอรี่ or, informally, แบต.
Differences from similar words
1 charcoal synonyms
2 battery synonyms
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แบตเตอรี่, often shortened to แบต, is the broader term for batteries and includes rechargeable phone and car batteries. ถ่าน usually refers to replaceable dry-cell batteries used in small devices.