What does chang mean?
Chang is a word English speakers encounter mainly as a proper noun with two distinct referents. Most familiarly, it is a Thai pale lager launched in 1995 by Thai Beverage, whose name comes directly from the Thai word chang meaning 'elephant' — hence the twin-elephant emblem on every green bottle. It has become one of Thailand's best-selling beers and a common sight in restaurants and bars serving Southeast Asian cuisine worldwide. Separately, Chang is a long-established romanization of the Chinese surname conventionally rendered Zhang in modern pinyin; borne by enormous numbers of people, it appears in countless anglicized names of individuals from scholars to celebrities. Because both uses are capitalized trademarks or surnames, chang never appears as an ordinary common noun in English prose, and writers should reserve it for those specific references.
nounChang is chiefly a proper noun in English: a brand of Thai pale lager brewed since 1995, whose name comes from the Thai word for elephant, and one of the most common romanizations of the widespread Chinese surname more usually written Zhang.
- A brand of Thai pale lager first brewed in 1995, whose logo features two elephants and whose name derives from the Thai word chang, meaning 'elephant'.
- A romanization of the Chinese surname most commonly spelled Zhang in pinyin, borne by well over a hundred million people.
"He ordered a cold Chang to go with his green curry on the beach at Krabi."
"After a long day of temple-hopping in Chiang Mai, nothing hit the spot like an ice-cold Chang."
"Professor Chang has taught organic chemistry at the university for over twenty years."
Pluralized informally when counting bottles of the beer, e.g. ordering several rounds; surnames are pluralized as 'the Changs' when referring to a family.
"We ordered three Changs and split a plate of som tam."
The name of Thailand's best-selling beer simply means 'elephant' in Thai — which is why its green bottles carry two tusks.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chang
As the name of the beer, chang comes straight from the Thai word ช้าง (cháng), meaning 'elephant', an animal of deep cultural significance in Thailand; the brand adopted the name and the twin-elephant logo when it launched in 1995. As a surname, Chang reflects the older Wade-Giles romanization of the Mandarin family name written 張 in characters and Zhāng in pinyin, a name whose traditional etymology links it to the drawing and stretching of a bow. Related romanizations such as Cheung (Cantonese) and Teo (Hokkien) preserve regional pronunciations of the same character.
How chang is actually used
In English, chang functions almost exclusively as a proper noun — either the trademarked beer brand (usually capitalized) or a personal surname. It is not used as a common noun, and lowercase use outside these contexts would be unusual. When referring to the beer, capitalization follows normal trademark conventions.
Easily confused with chang
A zhang (丈) is a traditional Chinese unit of length of about 3.3 metres, whereas Chang most often refers to the Thai beer brand or the Chinese surname.