Reading Days and Dates in the Thai Written Language

Paul has spent a lifetime traveling and learning many languages. He is now conversant in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, and Thai.

Buddhist Saying in Thai

Dates Using the Thai Written Language

Reading days and dates in the Thai written language can be almost impossible for anyone who doesn't understand the Thai language and culture. For example, how would you interpret the meaning of ศ。22 ก。พ。56？ With a little analysis, most people would identify the ศ as a day of the week, 22 as the date of a month, ก。พ。as a month, and 56 as a year. Without a basic knowledge of the Thai writing system and Buddhism, people could not state the day of the week, month, and year of the date written above. If the visitor to Thailand only stays in international tourist areas, it isn't necessary to know how to read dates written in Thai. Bear in mind, however, that many Thai organizations and people don't employ the western style of writing dates. Consequently, if you happen to be in a Thai school, hospital, or government office, dates will appear in Thai in an abbreviated format. In this article, I will first introduce the Thai alphabet and its pronunciation. Next, I will present the meaning of Thai abbreviations seen in dates.

The Thai Written Language

The Thai language has an alphabet and not characters like the Chinese language. Being derived from the old Khmer alphabet, the Thai alphabet according to tradition was created in 1283 by King Ramkhamhaeng. It has 44 basic consonants; however, only about 30 are regularly used in writing. Thai's 18 vowels and 6 diphthongs using diacritics appear in front of, above or below, or after consonants. Unlike English, Thai is pronounced exactly as it is written. The purpose of this article, however, is not instruction in how to combine consonants and vowels to read words. It is merely an introduction explaining how to recognize Thai letters and their meanings in dates.

The Thai Alphabet Consonants

The Thai alphabet consonants, their pronunciation, and the first sound of representative words where they commonly appear are illustrated in the following table.

Consonants of the Thai Alphabet

Reading Thai

The Thai Days of the Week

The Thai days of the week are derived from Sanskrit words for the sun, moon, and some of the planets. Sunday is from Aditya which means the sun; Monday from Chandra meaning the moon; Tuesday from Angaraka meaning Mars; Wednesday is from Budha meaning Mercury; Thursday from Brihaspati which is Jupiter; Friday from Shukra meaning Venus; and Saturday is from Shani meaning Saturn. The following is a listing of the days of the week with their Thai abbreviation, full Thai writing, and English Romanization.

The Thai Days of the Week

The Thai Months of the Year

The Thai months of the year are derived from Sanskrit and named after the signs of the Zodiac. The Thai word for month เดือน duan often precedes the names of months. Months that have 31 days end in คม khom. Months with 30 days end in ยน yohn. February with 28 days ends in พันธ์ phan. The following table is a listing of the months of the year in English, with Thai abbreviations, full Thai writing, and Romanization of Thai writing.

The Thai Months of the Year

The Traditional Thai Buddhist Year

Although the Western Gregorian year is used in Thailand, the traditional Thai Buddhist year is used in many schools, hospitals, and other private and government organizations. To convert from the Gregorian year to the Buddhist year, you must add 543 years to the Western year. To go from the Buddhist year to the Western year, you must subtract 543 years. Hence, the western year 2013 is 2556 in the traditional Buddhist year. The Buddhist year of 2550 is 2007 A.D.

Converting Traditional Thai Dates to Western Dates

Now that we can recognize the Thai abbreviations for days of the week, months of the year, and understand the relationship between the Thai and Gregorian years, let's try our hand at converting a traditional Thai date to western dates.

26 ก.พ. 56 is equivalent to what western date? Be aware that when Buddhist years are written, the first two digits of the year are omitted because they are generally understood. For example, the year 2467 would be rendered as 67 just like 1966 is rendered as 66 when you know you are talking about the 1900s. Getting back to the date, ก.พ. is the abbreviation for February, and 56 is the Buddhist year of 2556 which is equal to 2013 A.D. by subtracting 543 from 2556.

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Your stay in Thailand will be much more interesting and rewarding by knowing the Thai days of the week and months of the year. Furthermore, if you get into a remote area where there are no western calendars, you will always know the date and day of the week.

Some information used in this hub was derived from the following websites:

www.omniglot.com/writing/thai.htm

www.thai-language.com

Converting Thai Days, Months, and Years into English

For each question, choose the best answer. The answer key is below.

1. ศ. is the abbreviation for what day of the week?
   • Sunday
   • Saturday
   • Friday
   • Monday
2. The Buddhist Year 2543 is equivalent to what Gregorian year?
   • 2000
   • 1999
   • 2001
   • 1980
3. ก.พ. is the abbreviation for what month?
   • July
   • February
   • May
   • January
4. What is the western date for 10 มี.ค. 55?
   • March 10, 1955
   • January 10, 2011
   • March 10, 2012
   • June 10, 2012
5. What is the day and date for อๅ. 24 ก.พ.56?
   • Tuesday, February 24, 2012
   • Sunday, February 24, 2013
   • Tuesday, February 24, 2011
   • Sunday, February 24, 2010

Answer Key

1. Friday
2. 2000
3. February
4. March 10, 2012
5. Sunday, February 24, 2013

Another Hub Related to Learning Thai

• Challenges in Learning Thai
  There are numerous challenges in learning Thai. These challenges are in both listening and speaking and reading and writing. Pronunciation, tones, and alphabet make Thai different from English.

Reading Days and Dates in Thai

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2013 Paul Richard Kuehn

Comments

Paul Richard Kuehn (author) from Udorn City, Thailand on August 03, 2013:

DDE,

Thanks for reading and commenting on this language hub. Although I studied Chinese Mandarin before, Thai is still one of the hardest languages I have learned. If I work at it, maybe one day I will know it as well as Chinese.

Devika Primić from Dubrovnik, Croatia on August 03, 2013:

Informative, interesting and most helpful. You have accomplished an educational hub and you certainly know lots about the language thanks