News and societyRegion in Thai
“Region” in Thai is ภาคpâak; you'll also hear ภูมิภาคpuu-mí-pâak (formal).
region (of Thailand) noun
- pâak falling
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
region (formal) noun
- puu mid
- mí high
- pâak falling
- High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
How to use it
Thailand is divided into regions, ภาคpâak: ภาคเหนือpâak nǔea, the North, ภาคอีสานpâak ii-sǎan, the Northeast, ภาคกลางpâak glaang, the central plains around Bangkok, and ภาคใต้pâak-dtâi, the South, with the East often counted too. Each has its own food and its own dialect.
ภูมิภาคpuu-mí-pâak is the formal word, for a region across countries, like Southeast Asia, or for the provinces outside Bangkok. ภาคpâak also means a sector, as in ภาคเอกชนpâak èek-gà-chon, the private sector.
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:
- phak
- pak
- puumipak
- phumiphak
- phoomipak
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones