ชั่วโมง
chûua-moong/t͡ɕʰua̯˥˩.moːŋ˧/
The Thai word for hour, a time period of sixty minutes, is ชั่วโมง (chûua-moong).
ชั่วโมง is the most common word for an hour as a length of time, as in waiting for an hour or working for two hours.
Meaning: time period of sixty minutes (noun)
Which one should you use?
ชั่วโมง means a sixty minute duration. It is not the word for a time on the clock like at three o'clock. Clock times usually use โมง (moong) instead, and to ask what time it is you say กี่โมง.
How does it change in a sentence?
ชั่วโมง is a count noun. Put a number in front of it to give a duration, so two hours is the word for two followed by ชั่วโมง.
How do you pronounce it?
ชั่วโมง is said chûua-moong, /tɕʰua̯˥˩.moːŋ˧/, in two syllables. The first has a falling tone and the second a mid tone with a long o.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English uses hour for both durations and clock times. In Thai, keep ชั่วโมง for how long something takes and use กี่โมง when you want to know the time.
Did you know?
- Historically, the โมง part of ชั่วโมง refers to the sound of a large gong that was struck to announce the hour in ancient Thailand.
- The word ชั่วโมง is built from ชั่ว, which can also mean 'evil' or 'bad' in different contexts, though it means 'during' or 'occasion' in this specific phrase.
- Thai has different words for 'o'clock' depending on the time of day, but ชั่วโมง always remains the same regardless of whether it is day or night.
Examples in context
- ผมนั่งอยู่ที่นี่มาเกือบชั่วโมงแล้วI've been sitting here for almost an hour.ชั่วโมง here measures how long the speaker has been sitting, almost an hour.Tatoeba #10554252 by Somsak, translation #8403341 by CK
- เรามีการประชุมนานหนึ่งชั่วโมงWe have a meeting for one hour.
- โปรดรอฉันอีกสองชั่วโมงPlease wait for me another two hours.
- กรุณารอสักหนึ่งชั่วโมงPlease wait for one hour.
- รอมาหนึ่งชั่วโมงแล้วro ma nueng chuamong laeoI have been waiting for one hour already.
- หนังเรื่องนี้ยาวสองชั่วโมงnang rueang ni yao song chuamongThis movie is two hours long.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a movie at a cafe.
- ชลสิทธิ์ Cholasitหนังเรื่องนี้ยาวกี่ชั่วโมงครับnang rueang ni yao ki chuamong khrapHow many hours long is this movie?
- สิรินทร์ Sirinประมาณสองชั่วโมงค่ะpraman song chuamong khaAbout two hours.
- ชลสิทธิ์ Cholasitงั้นเราไปดูกันเลยไหมครับngan rao pai du kan loei mai khrapThen shall we go see it now?
- สิรินทร์ Sirinไปกันเถอะค่ะpai kan thoe khaLet's go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hour” translations and entries ชั่วโมง, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
