Key takeaways
- Thai numbers 1 to 10 are nueng, song, sam, si, ha, hok, chet, paet, kao and sip; zero is sun.
- One becomes et at the end of a larger number (11 is sip et), and two becomes yi in the twenties (20 is yi sip).
- Thai has single words for 10,000 (muen) and 100,000 (saen), so big numbers group differently from English.
- Thai has its own digits, ๐ to ๙, though Wikipedia notes Arabic numerals are more common today.
- The baht is divided into 100 satang; ask the price with thao rai, 'how much?'.
Thai numbers are among the most regular parts of the language: learn ten words, three special cases and a handful of place-value words, and you can say any price in the country. This reference covers counting, the Thai digits, big numbers and money. Romanisations follow RTGS, which Wikipedia's article on Thai lists as an official romanisation standard; it does not mark tone, so pair each word with audio.
Zero to ten
| Number | Thai digit | Thai word | RTGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ๐ | ศูนย์ | sun |
| 1 | ๑ | หนึ่ง | nueng |
| 2 | ๒ | สอง | song |
| 3 | ๓ | สาม | sam |
| 4 | ๔ | สี่ | si |
| 5 | ๕ | ห้า | ha |
| 6 | ๖ | หก | hok |
| 7 | ๗ | เจ็ด | chet |
| 8 | ๘ | แปด | paet |
| 9 | ๙ | เก้า | kao |
| 10 | ๑๐ | สิบ | sip |
Wikipedia notes that several of these words resemble the numbers of southern Chinese varieties such as Cantonese and Min Nan, and that Thai, Lao and Khmer numbers are quite similar, though the numerals vary somewhat in shape and pronunciation.
The two special cases: et and yi
One becomes et. Used alone, one is nueng. At the end of a larger number it becomes et (เอ็ด): 11 is sip et, 21 is yi sip et, 101 is roi et. Wikipedia notes that the Royal Thai Navy mandated nueng in every case, as in sip nueng, but everyday Thai uses et.
Two becomes yi in the twenties. As the tens digit, two is yi (ยี่), so 20 is yi sip and 22 is yi sip song. Everywhere else it is song: 32 is sam sip song, 200 is song roi. In casual speech, Wikipedia says, yi sip can be shortened to yip from 21 to 29, as in yip et for 21.
Tens to a million
| Number | Thai word | RTGS |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | สิบ | sip |
| 100 | ร้อย | roi |
| 1,000 | พัน | phan |
| 10,000 | หมื่น | muen |
| 100,000 | แสน | saen |
| 1,000,000 | ล้าน | lan |
Thai has single words for 10,000 and 100,000, so large numbers group differently from English. Above a million, put a multiplier before lan: ten million is sip lan.
Wikipedia gives three rules for building numbers. Roi, phan, muen and saen take a number in front, though nueng is optional, so 100 is roi or nueng roi. Nueng never goes before sip: 210 is song roi sip. And the parts simply run in order, so 232 is song roi sam sip song.
A worked example: three numbers
- 45,250: 4 × 10,000, 5 × 1,000, 2 × 100 and 5 × 10, so si muen ha phan song roi ha sip.
- 1,280,000: one million plus 2 × 100,000 and 8 × 10,000, so nueng lan song saen paet muen.
- 121: roi yi sip et, with both special cases at once.
Thai digits
Thailand has its own digits, ๐ ๑ ๒ ๓ ๔ ๕ ๖ ๗ ๘ ๙, which follow the same positional system as Arabic numerals: ๒๕ is 25. Wikipedia notes that Arabic numerals are more common today, so the Thai digits are worth learning to recognise rather than to write.
Decimals, fractions and order
- Decimals use chut, "dot": 1.01 is nueng chut sun nueng.
- Fractions use nai, "in": ⅓ is nueng nai sam.
- Half is khrueng; one and a half sheets of paper is kradat nueng phaen khrueng.
- Negatives use lop, "minus": −11 is lop sip et.
- Ordinals put thi first: thi nueng, first; thi song, second.
Counting things
Thai nouns do not change for plural. Wikipedia explains that a count is usually noun, then number, then a classifier: "five teachers" is khru ha khon, literally "teacher five person". Thai classifiers covers the common ones.
Prices in baht
The baht (บาท, sign ฿) is divided into 100 satang. Wikipedia lists banknotes of ฿20, ฿50, ฿100, ฿500 and ฿1,000 in use, and coins of 25 and 50 satang and ฿1, ฿2, ฿5 and ฿10. To ask a price, use thao rai (เท่าไร), "how much?", spelled เท่าไหร่ in casual writing. A price of ฿350 is sam roi ha sip baht, and ฿1,250 is phan song roi ha sip baht.
Learning Thai numbers
Regal - Learn Thai Language teaches numbers and time in its grammar lessons and groups travel phrases by situation, including shopping and restaurants. It is one of our language-learning apps. For a neighbouring system, compare Lao numbers and prices.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
How do you count to ten in Thai?
Why is eleven sip et in Thai?
How do you say 20 in Thai?
How do you ask how much something costs in Thai?
Sources
- Thai numerals (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Thai baht (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Thai language (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- เท่าไร (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
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