river
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- 1 river
This is the standard Thai word for a river: a large natural stream of water flowing across the land.
river
A relatively large natural stream of water flowing across the land.
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แม่น้ำสายนี้ยาวมาก mɛ̂ɛnáam sǎay níi yaaw mâak This river is very long. แม่น้ำสายนี้ยาวมาก details
Learning notes
Explanation
แม่น้ำ is the ordinary Thai word for “river” and is used in everyday conversation, news reports, and geographical descriptions. It is formed from แม่ (“mother”) and น้ำ (“water”), but the complete word simply means “river”; it should not be interpreted literally as “mother water.” River names normally place แม่น้ำ before the proper name, as in แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา (“the Chao Phraya River”) and แม่น้ำโขง (“the Mekong River”). The usual classifier for rivers is สาย. For example, แม่น้ำสองสาย means “two rivers,” and แม่น้ำสายนี้ means “this river.”
Usage
It is commonly used when describing a river’s location or length, crossing a river, or discussing local geography while traveling. It also appears frequently in news and explanations about flooding, water quality, the environment, and river basins.
Caution
น้ำ by itself normally means “water,” not “river.” Use ลำธาร for a small stream, คลอง for a canal or water channel, and ทะเล for the sea. Also, แม่น้ำ is a common noun meaning “river,” not the name of one particular river.
Differences from similar words
1 river synonyms
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ลำน้ำ refers more broadly to a flowing watercourse and is common in descriptive or geographical contexts. แม่น้ำ is the ordinary, standard word for a river.