As you have heard about แผ่นดินไหว (phæ̀n din wǎy), which means an earthquake in Thai, occurring in กรุงเทพฯ (kruŋ-thêep) Bangkok, let’s explore some related words and expressions.
This 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which occurred on March 28th, 2025, was caused by a quake in the Sagaing region of Myanmar. Thai people know Sagaing as สะกาย (sakaay).
รอยเลื่อนสะกาย (rɔɔy lɨ̂an sakaay) the Sagaing Fault
รอยเลื่อนสะกาย (rɔɔy lɨ̂an sakaay) the Sagaing Fault is referred to as the ‘sleeping giant of Myanmar.’ Thai people know it as ยักษ์หลับ (yák làp), which literally means giant sleep. It is one of the most significant active faults in the ASEAN region.
According to Mitrearth, รอยเลื่อนสะกาย (rɔɔy lɨ̂an sakaay), the Sagaing Fault is approximately 1,200 kilometers long and runs north to south, cutting through the heart of Myanmar. Before extending into the Andaman Sea, it passes through nearly every major city, including Myitkyina, Mandalay, Tounggyi, Naypyidaw, Bago, and Yangon.
A few hours after แผ่นดินไหว (phæ̀n din wǎy), นักธรณีวิทยา (nák thɔɔranii wítthayaa) a geologist provided more information about รอยเลื่อนสะกาย (rɔɔy lɨ̂an sakaay) that it causes earthquake every 50-100 years.
In the Thai history, there was an earthquake in Bangkok that was caused by the same รอยเลื่อนสะกาย (rɔɔy lɨ̂an sakaay) in AD 1930. At that time, there was only minor ความเสียหาย (khwaam-sǐa-hǎay) damage.
ความเสียหาย (khwaam-sǐa-hǎay) The damage
This time, it caused ตึกถล่ม (tɨ̀k thalòm) a building to collapse. It is a government building that was still under construction.
Since it happened during the daytime of a working day, it caused ความโกลาหล (khwaa-koolaahǒn) chaos in the city.
People อพยพ (ʔòp-pha-yóp) evacuated from the buildings and were on the street.
รถไฟฟ้า (rót fay fáa) skytrain and รถไฟใต้ดิน (rót fay tâay din) subway stopped providing service.
Lots of people had to walk to their places because การจราจรเป็นอัมพาต (kaan caraacɔɔn pen ʔam-ma-phâat) the traffic was paralyzed.
ขนาดแผ่นดินไหว (khanàat phæ̀n-din-wǎy) Magnitude
Thai people are familiar with the term ริกเตอร์ (rík-tə̂ə) Richter magnitude scale. Some may misuse this term as a measurement unit for the earthquake.
For example,
you may hear some Thai say,
แผ่นดินไหว 7.7 ริกเตอร์
(phæ̀n-din-wǎy 7.7 rík-tə̂ə)
They meant to say that the earthquake measured 7.7 on the Richter scale.
However, to talk about the magnitude correctly, you could use the word ขนาด (khanàat), which means the size, and in the earthquake context, it means the magnitude.
Therefore, you can ask a question like,
แผ่นดินไหวมีขนาดเท่าไหร่
(phæ̀n-din-wǎy mii khanàat thâwrày)
What was the magnitude of the earthquake?
The correct answer would be,
แผ่นดินไหวที่กรุงเทพฯ ครั้งนี้ มีขนาด 7.7
(phæ̀n-din-wǎy thĩi kruŋthêep khráŋ níi mii khanàat 7.7)
The earthquke in Bangkok this time measured 7.7 magnitude.
คำศัพท์ (kham-sàp) Vocabulary
| Thai | English |
|---|---|
| แผ่นดินไหว (phæ̀n din wǎy) | earthquake |
| สะกาย (sakaay) | Sagaing (name of a region) |
| รอยเลื่อน (rɔɔy lɨ̂an) | fault (in earthquake context) |
| ยักษ์หลับ (yák làp) | Sleeping Giant |
| นักธรณีวิทยา (nák thɔɔranii wítthayaa) | geologist |
| ความเสียหาย (khwaam-sǐa-hǎay) | damage |
| ตึกถล่ม (tɨ̀k thalòm) | building collapse |
| ความโกลาหล (khwaa-koolaahǒn) | chaos |
| อพยพ (ʔòp-pha-yóp) | to evacuate |
| รถไฟฟ้า (rót fay fáa) | skytrain |
| รถไฟใต้ดิน (rót fay tâay din) | subway |
|
การจราจรเป็นอัมพาต (kaan caraacɔɔn pen ʔam-ma-phâat) | the traffic was paralysis. |
| ขนาดแผ่นดินไหว (khanàat phæ̀n-din-wǎy) | Magnitude |
| ริกเตอร์ (rík-tə̂ə) | Richter magnitude scale. |
| ขนาด (khanàat) | size, Magnitude (in earthquake context) |