Numbers and Punctuation

Thai has its own set of numerals and several special punctuation marks and symbols. While Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3...) are widely used in modern Thailand, Thai numerals appear on official documents, temples, banknotes, and formal texts.

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Thai Numerals

Thai	Arabic	Thai Name	Pronunciation
๐	0	ศูนย์	sǔun
๑	1	หนึ่ง	nʉ̀ng
๒	2	สอง	sɔ̌ɔng
๓	3	สาม	sǎam
๔	4	สี่	sìi
๕	5	ห้า	hâa
๖	6	หก	hòk
๗	7	เจ็ด	jèt
๘	8	แปด	bpɛ̀ɛt
๙	9	เก้า	gâo

Recognising Thai Numerals

Some Thai numerals look similar to each other. Pay attention to these commonly confused pairs:

Numeral	Looks Like	Tip
๑ (1)	Curly stroke	Resembles a stylised "1"
๒ (2)	Similar to ๓	Has 2 curves at the top
๓ (3)	Similar to ๒	Has 3 curves at the top
๔ (4)	—	Distinctive square shape
๕ (5)	—	Resembles Arabic "4" — be careful!
๖ (6)	—	Looks like a curled tail
๗ (7)	—	Similar to Arabic "2" — be careful!
๘ (8)	—	Resembles a stylised "U"
๙ (9)	—	Looks like Arabic "9"

Warning: Thai ๕ looks like Arabic 4, and Thai ๗ looks like Arabic 2. This trips up many beginners!

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Counting in Thai

Thai uses the same decimal place-value system as English:

๒๕๖๙ = 2569

Breakdown:
๒ (2) x ๑๐๐๐ (1000) = 2000
๕ (5) x ๑๐๐ (100)    = 500
๖ (6) x ๑๐ (10)      = 60
๙ (9) x ๑ (1)        = 9
Total: 2569

Place Value Words

Number	Thai Word	Pronunciation
10	สิบ	sìp
100	ร้อย	rɔ́ɔi
1,000	พัน	phan
10,000	หมื่น	mʉ̀ʉn
100,000	แสน	sɛ̌ɛn
1,000,000	ล้าน	láan

Reading Multi-digit Numbers

Number	Thai	Reading
๑๑	สิบเอ็ด	sìp-èt
๒๐	ยี่สิบ	yîi-sìp
๒๑	ยี่สิบเอ็ด	yîi-sìp-èt
๔๕	สี่สิบห้า	sìi-sìp-hâa
๑๐๐	หนึ่งร้อย	nʉ̀ng-rɔ́ɔi
๑,๐๐๐	หนึ่งพัน	nʉ̀ng-phan

Special cases:

• The number 1 when at the end of a number (11, 21, 31...) is เอ็ด (èt), not หนึ่ง (nʉ̀ng)
• The number 2 when at the tens place (20, 21, 22...) is ยี่ (yîi), not สอง (sɔ̌ɔng)

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Buddhist Era Year System