Insufficiently motivated to write out a lengthy Thai word? Perhaps now is the time to enlighten yourself on Thai abbreviations. That way, you can breeze through any form you need to fill out!
By the way, do you know that the longest name of the city in the world belongs to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand? The Thai name for Bangkok is กรุงเทพมหานคร (grung têep má hǎa ná kɔɔn om-rá-rát-ná-goo-sǐn ), and the full version is กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยา มหาดิลกภพ นพรัตนราชธานีบูรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์ (grung-têep-má-hǎa-ná-kɔɔn má-hǐn-tá-ra-a-yút-yaa má-hǎa-din-gà-póp nóp-rát-ná-râat-taa-nii-buu-rii-rom ù-dom-râat-ní-wêet-má-hǎa-sà-tǎan à-mɔɔn-pí-maan-à-wá-dtaan-sà-tìt sàk-gà-tát-dtì-yá-wí-sà-nú-gam bprà-sìt).
Do you dare to attempt pronouncing them? If not, you can simply shorten it in three ways. First, กรุงเทพมหาคร (grung-têep-má-hǎa-ná-kɔɔn). The next one is กรุงเทพฯ (grung-têep), and lastly, กทม. (gɔɔ tɔɔ mɔɔ). Now, it’s much less complicated. So, don’t you think we should learn more about Thai abbreviations?
We’ve covered Thai month abbreviations before, but in this blog, we’ll teach you more about how Thai people shorten words. Of course, there are more than simply putting dots between each consonant, such as ก.ย., which is กันยายน (gan-yaa-yon), September in English. So let’s look at the primary methods of Thai abbreviation together!
1. Add Dots In Between Consonants
To get started, let’s look at the simplest kind of Thai word shortening. Dots between consonants are the most famous and straightforward method, as we’ve already discussed. So, let’s have a look at the examples below.
Abbreviations For Thai Months And Days
| Thai Abbreviations | Full Version | Pronunciation | English Definition |
| ว.ด.ป. | วัน เดือน ปี | wan dʉan bpii | Day Month Year |
| พ.ย. | พฤศจิกายน | prʉ́t sà jì gaa yon | November |
| มี.ค. | มีนาคม | mii naa kom | March |
| เม.ย. | เมษายน | mee sǎa yon | April |
| จ. | จันทร์ | jan | Monday |
| อา. | อาทิตย์ | aa tít | Sunday |
Abbreviations For Career, Location, And Others
| Thai Abbreviations | Full Version | Pronunciation | English Definition |
| พ.ต.อ. | พันตำรวจเอก | pan dtam rùat èek | Police colonel |
| ต.ช.ด. | ตำรวจตะเวนชายแดน | dtam rûat dtà ween chaai dɛɛn | Border police |
| ส.ส. | สมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎร | sà maa chík sà paa pûu tɛɛn râat dɔɔn | Member of the House of Representatives |
| ร.พ. | โรงพยาบาล | roong pá yaa baan | Hospital |
| ร.ร. | โรงเรียน | roong rian | School |
| พ.ร.บ. | พระราชบัญญัติ | prá râat chá ban yàt | An act of legislation |
| ห.จ.ก. | ห้างหุ้นส่วนจำกัด | hâang hûn sùan jam gàt | Limited partnership |
| ธ. | ธนาคาร | tá naa kaan | Bank |
| จ. | จังหวัด | jang wàt | Province |
| อ. | อำเภอ | am pəə | District |
| ต. | ตำบล | dtam bon | Sub-district |
| ถ. | ถนน | tà nǒn | Road |
2. Add One Dot At The End
The practice of some Thai abbreviations will differ from the most common above terms. For example, if you want to shorten the word title, position, or specific name, such as the city, you should put a dot at the end, as in the following example.
| Thai Abbreviations | Full Version | Pronunciation | English Definition |
| นพ. | นายแพทย์ | naai pɛ̂ɛt | Male medical doctor |
| พญ. | แพทย์หญิง | pɛ̂ɛt yǐng | Female medical doctor |
| ผอ. | ผู้อำนวยการ | pûu am nuai gaan | Principal |
| รฟท. | การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย | gaan rót fai hɛ̀ng bprà têet tai | The State Railway of Thailand |
| สน. | สถานีตำรวจ | sà-tǎa-nee-dtam-rùat | Police station |
| สนง. | สำนักงาน | sǎm nák ngaan | Office |
| ตร. | ตำรวจ | dtam rùat | Police |
| นร. | นักเรียน | nák rian | Student |
| นศ. | นักศึกษา | nák sʉ̀k sǎa | Student (university) |
| อ. | อาจารย์ | aa jaan | Teacher |
| ศจ. | ศาสตราจารย์ | sàat sà dtraa jaan | Professor |
| รศ. | รองศาสตราจารย์ | rɔɔng sàat sà dtraa jaan | Associate Professor |
| จนท. | เจ้าหน้าที่ | jâo nâa tîi | Authority |
| รมว. | รัฐมนตรีว่าการ | rát tà mon dtrii wâa gaan | Minister |
| กม. | กฎหมาย | gòt mǎai | Law |
| รธน. | รัฐธรรมนูญ | rát tà tam má nuun | Constitution |
| ครม. | คณะรัฐมนตรี | ká ná rát tà mon dtrii | Cabinet |
3. Add “ฯ” At The End
“ฯ” is ไปยาลน้อย (bpai yaan nɔ́ɔi) or เปยยาลน้อย (bpəəi yaan nɔ́ɔi). It’s an abbreviation marker that is placed at the end of the specific term, such as กรุงเทพฯ (grung-têep), as we mentioned earlier. Let’s explore the following examples.
| Thai Abbreviations | Full Version | Pronunciation | English Definition |
| กรุงเทพฯ | กรุงเทพมหานคร | grung têep má hǎa ná kɔɔn | Bangkok |
| ห้างฯ | ห้างสรรพสินค้า | hâang sàp pá sǐn káa | Department store |
| สหรัฐฯ | สหรัฐอเมริกา | sà hà rát à mee rí gaa | The United States of America |
In Summary
You probably already know that there are a lot of really long terms in Thai, which can frustrate those learning the language. In addition, even Thai individuals have trouble with the form’s lack of writing room. As a result, they create a ton of Thai abbreviations that is super convenient for everyone!
Knowing standard Thai abbreviations can help you save time when writing. For example, you can shorten your titles and birth date because it is not always necessary to write the full version of the term, such as when filling out the form. Therefore, understanding Thai abbreviations is helpful and will save you a ton of time. Simply put, you need to learn the above Thai abbreviations and start using them immediately.
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If you want to make the most of your time in Thailand, beyond just the abbreviations you learned, you should consider expanding your knowledge of the Thai language. In such a case, we have just the app to suggest!
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