Fortunately, Thai numbers are fairly straightforward to memorize. Learning Thai numbers will be very useful for you to haggle for better prices, order dishes, or impress a pretty Thai girl when you take photos for her and start counting in Thai 😘
Neung…saawng…saam…let’s dive in right now! 🤩
Thai Numbers 1 – 10 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟
| Arabic Numeral | Thai Numeral | Thai Writing | Thai Pronunciation | Thai Tone |
| 0 | ๐ | ศูนย์ | sǔun | rising |
| 1 | ๑ | หนึ่ง / เอ็ด ^ | neùng / èt ^ | low / low |
| 2 | ๒ | สอง / ยี่ ^ | sǎawng / yêe ^ | rising / falling |
| 3 | ๓ | สาม | sǎam | rising |
| 4 | ๔ | สี่ | sìi | low |
| 5 | ๕ | ห้า | hâa * | falling |
| 6 | ๖ | หก | hòk | falling |
| 7 | ๗ | เจ็ด | jèt | low |
| 8 | ๘ | แปด | bpàaet** | low |
| 9 | ๙ | เก้า | gâo*** | falling |
| 10 | ๑๐ | สิบ | sìp | low |
^ Check below for exceptions
*Learn what does 55555 mean in Thai. Given that 5 in Thai is “haa”, you should have some idea now!
**bpàaet uses the consonant between B and P /ป
***gâo is the consonant between G and K / ก
All that is left now is to pair up the numbers the way you do for Chinese (assuming you are a Chinese language speaker). For example, 30 will be “sǎam sìp” , 79 will be “jèt sìp gâo”. And so on.
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Exceptions in Thai Numbers
That said, there are 2 exceptions you need to take note of when pairing up the numbers 0-9 to form numbers up to 99. They are:
- When the number 1 is standing on its own, it is “neùng”.
- So counting 1, 2, 3 would be “neùng, sǎawng, sǎam”
- When the number 1 is at the back, it is “èt”.
- So 11, 31, 41 etc would be สิบเอ็ด sìp èt (11), sǎam sìp èt (31), sìi sìp èt (41)……and so on
- When the number 2 is standing on its own, or at the back, it is “sǎawng”.
- So counting 1, 2, 3 would be “neùng, sǎawng, sǎam”.
- So 12, 32, 42 etc would be sìp sǎawng (12), sǎam sìp sǎawng (32), sìi sìp sǎawng (42)……and so on
- 21, 22, 23 etc – ยี่สิบเอ็ด yêe sìp et (21), yêe sìp sǎawng (22), yêe sìp sǎam (23)……and so on
Here’s a simple – no frills YouTube video I found to teach Thai 1 – 20.
Thai Numbers: Going Beyond 1 to 10
- 💯 ร้อย – rói – high tone (100)
- 💵 พัน – phan – mid/no tone (1,000)
- 💰หมื่น – mèuhn – low tone (10,000)
- 💵💵แสน – săen – rising tone (100,000)
- 💰💰 ล้าน – láan – high tone (1,000,000)
This is fairly straightforward and the rules above applies. So 2162 would be “sǎawng phan neùng rói hòk sìp sǎawng” and 1,300,021 would be “neùng láan sǎam săen yêe sìp et”.
Why you need to learn numbers in Thai language
- Time
This is fairly straightforward. How would you say it’s 5pm now without knowing how to say 5 in Thai? 😂😂5555555 - Money
When you’re asking someone how much something is in Thai, they will naturally reply you in Thai. You then need to know the Thai numbers and what the answer is, or you might as well ask how much is it in English (and pay the foreigner price in some instance 😥) - Counting
The Thai way of saying things is to have a counter and a classifier. So this goes beyond simple Q & A of “how many people are there”/”there are 2 people”. But even when ordering food, the Thai way to say is “khor phat thai caan neung” (I’ll have 1 plate of rice)
Get help with learning to read, write and text in Thai today! 🥰
About the author – see the About page for more information
Joanne Tan is an aspiring polyglot and has so far mastered English, Chinese and Thai languages. She first started learning Thai in 2015 before staying in Bangkok for 5 months, and then continued studying Thai up to Advanced Levels at the National University of Singapore. In 2017, Joanne was awarded ‘Advanced Thai Proficiency’ by the Sirindhorn Thai Language Institute of Chulalongkorn University. Today, Joanne continues to teach her friends basic Thai speaking and helps her Thai friends actively promote Thai culture.
