Telling The Time In Thai: 7+ Best Ways

Time In Thai

Telling time in Thai is not as simple as you likely thought, unfortunately. There are a few pieces of vocabulary you need to learn, and likely an entirely new system. Remembering the different vocabulary and this system may be a challenge at first.

This is a skill that can make you feel much more fluent in the language, yet often gets overlooked. Every time you look at a clock you can practice this skill and very soon you will be able to do it with no second thoughts.

Continuing our look into all number-related things in Thai, we will today cover how to tell the time in Thai.

Remember Thai Numbers?

As you may expect, the foundation you need to learn Thai time vocabulary is the number system. We have covered Thai numbers and counting in a previous post, so I suggest you check that one out before reading this one.

Once you have a basic understanding of Thai numbers, then you can start to look into this new skill. Ready? Let’s get started.

How To Tell Time In Thai

This is the point that I should mention that, in Thailand, they generally split the day up into five four hour periods, and two one hour periods. Each of these time frames is given a specific word that changes at certain times of the day. Think of these as classifiers for the time of day.

Midnight In Thai

Midnight is ‘tiang keun’ (เที่ยงคืน). This is the time between 00:00 and 00:59.

EnglishThai ScriptThaiPronunciation
12 amเที่ยงคืนtiang keun

Early Morning In Thai

Tell time in Thai Early Morning

Early morning is ‘dtee’ (ตี). This is the time between 01:00 and 05:00.

EnglishThai ScriptThaiPronunciation
1 amตีหนึ่งdtee neung
2 amตีสองdtee song
3 amตีสามdtee sam
4 amตีสี่dtee sii
5 amตีห้าdtee ha

Daytime In Thai

Daytime is ‘mong chao’ (โมงเช้า). This is the time between 06:00 and 11:00. (The ‘chao’ is optional in this case, and should not be said when not on the hour).

EnglishThai ScriptThaiPronunciation
6 amหกโมงเช้าhok mong (chao)
7 amเจ็ดโมงเช้าjet mong (chao)
8 amแปดโมงเช้าbpaed mong (chao)
9 amเก้าโมงเช้าgao mong (chao)
10 amสิบโมงเช้าsip mong (chao)
11 amสิบเอ็ดโมงเช้าsip et mong (chao)

Midday In Thai

Midday is ‘tiang’ (เที่ยง). This is the time between 12:00 and 12:59.

Early Afternoon In Thai

EnglishThai ScriptThaiPronunciation
12 pmเที่ยงtiang
Tell time in Thai Early Afternoon

Early afternoon is ‘bai’ (โมง). This is the time between 13:00 and 16:00. (‘mong’ can be left off where noted).

EnglishThai ScriptThaiPronunciation
1 pmบ่ายโมงbai mong
2 pmบ่ายสองโมงbai song (mong)
3 pmบ่ายสามโมงbaai saam (mong)

Late Afternoon In Thai

Late afternoon is ‘yen’ (เย็น). This is the time between 16:00 and 18:00. (There is some overlap here – 16:00 can count as either ‘bai’ or ‘yen’. Also, the ‘yen’ is not said when not on the hour).

EnglishThai ScriptThaiPronunciation
4 pmสี่โมงsii mong yen
5 pmห้าโมงha mong yen
6 pmหกโมงhok mong yen

Night Time In Thai

Tell time in Thai Night Time

Nighttime is ‘thoom’ (ทุ่ม). This is the time between 19:00 and 23:00. (Here the numbering differs – the ‘thoom’ starts its own counting from one).

EnglishThai ScriptThaiPronunciation
7 pmหนึ่งทุ่มneung thoom
8 pmสองทุ่มsong thoom
9 pmสามทุ่มsam thoom
10 pmสี่ทุ่มsii thoom
11 pmห้าทุ่มha thoom

Confused? It is understandable. The changing of time frame length, the situation of 16:00, the use of ‘mong’ sometimes but not others, and the weird ordering of numbers make it much less simple.

Other Ways To Tell Time In Thai

Let’s jump right into how to start reading the clock. There are a couple of words that you should learn.

Minute in Thai is ‘na thee’ (นาที), and is used in the same way as in English.

Half in Thai is ‘kreung’ (ครึ่ง). It can be used to mean half past the hour.

  • 15:30 would be ‘bai sam kreung’ (บ่ายสามครึ่ง).
  • 17:24 would be ‘ha mong yii sip sii na thee’ (ห้าโมงยี่สิบสี่นาที).
  • 07:45 would be ‘jet mong sii sip ha na thee’ (เจ็ดโมงสี่สิบห้านาที).

What You Need To Know When Telling Time In Thai

Unfortunately, telling time in Thailand is not as straightforward as one may think. There are a few weird quirks that make it just a bit harder to get used to and master. Knowing the Thai number system is a great start for learning the time. From there, you will need to apply this structure and these pieces of vocabulary to get going with this. As with anything, time and dedication will help you to perfect this new skill. You won’t regret it.

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Does Thailand Have 2 Time Zones?

No. Thailand only has one timezone where they observe UTC+07:00. Originally, Thailand observed UTC+06:00 until 1920. Moreover, Thailand does not observe Daylight Savings Time.

Learn More About Thai With The Ling App

The best way to learn Thai time? Try the Ling app. It is a great way to really learn the vocabulary and get used to using it in different sentences and scenarios. With the Ling app, you’ll get 200+ lessons filled with writing Thai script, and pronunciation with an AI chatbot and enjoy grammar lessons with short conversations. It’s a worthwhile app to use while you’re learning on your own or need a supplement resource material when you’re having Thai language classes.

Give it a try today. Download the Ling app on the Play Store and App Store and start your language learning journey.  

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