สตางค์

Explanation

The core meaning is the Thai currency unit “satang.” One hundred satang equals one baht, and an amount may be written or said as 25 บาท 50 สตางค์ (“25 baht and 50 satang”). A number is placed directly before the unit, as in ห้าสิบสตางค์ (“50 satang”). In everyday conversation, the word can also refer more broadly to money, cash, or small change rather than an exact number of satang. For example, ไม่มีสตางค์ usually means “to have no money,” not specifically “to have no satang coins.” When counting individual coins, เหรียญ is used as the classifier, as in เหรียญหนึ่งเหรียญ (“one coin”). The currency-unit abbreviation is สต. Older references also record specialized units of weight and rainfall under this word, but these meanings are not useful for most modern Thai learners and are therefore omitted here.

Usage

It is used in prices, receipts, and transactions to state amounts smaller than one baht. In everyday conversation, it also appears when talking about money on hand, coins, or change. The common compound กระเป๋าสตางค์ means “wallet.”

Caution

As a currency unit, สตางค์ means exactly one hundredth of a baht, but in conversation it may mean money in general. เงิน is the more neutral choice for money in formal, financial, or business contexts. Also, สตางค์เดียว can mean either “one satang” literally or “a single cent/any money at all” for emphasis, depending on context.

2 money [everyday speech] synonyms

• ตังค์

  taŋ money [casual]

  ตังค์ is a highly informal everyday form meaning “money.” สตางค์ is also the standard spelling of the currency unit “satang,” though it can mean money more generally in conversation.

• เงิน

  ŋən money

  เงิน is the neutral, general word for money and is suitable in both everyday and formal contexts. สตางค์ can refer more casually to money on hand or to small change.