แห่ง (haeng) in Thai: “of” and the counting word for places

แห่งhàeng is the formal “of” in names, like the Bank of Thailand, and the word Thais use to count places.

แห่ง hàeng

of (in formal names); counting word for places preposition

hàeng low

Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.

How to use it

In names and formal phrases แห่งhàeng means "of": ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทยtá-naa-kaan hàeng bprà-têet tai, the Bank of Thailand. แห่งชาติhàeng châat, "of the nation", is how Thai says "national", as in อุทยานแห่งชาติùt-tá-yaan hàeng châat, a national park. For "of" in ordinary sentences, Thais say ของkǎwng.

It's also the everyday counting word for places: สามแห่งsǎam hàeng, three places, and หลายแห่งlǎai hàeng, many places.

Other spellings you'll see

There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:

heng

More formal words in Thai

All formal words

การ gaan Kaan (prefix)
-ing, -tion: turns a verb into a noun (the act of …)
ความ kwaam Kwaam (prefix)
-ness (turns a verb or adjective into a noun)
ผู้ pûu Phu (prefix)
person (who …): makes words for people, like -er
นัก nák Nak (prefix)
-er, -ist: someone who does it (as a job or a passion)
ซึ่ง sûeng Who, which (formal)
which, who (adds information; formal, written)
เมื่อ mûea When (formal)
when, once (formal)

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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones