Dates in Thailand are often written with Thai numerals - play Thai Numerals Zip to practise reading them. Days of the Week
The seven-day week traces back to the same ancient Babylonian roots as the Western one, so the two line up: each day is named after a planet and its associated deity, in the same order.
Each day also carries a color. The color belongs to the deity rather than to the day itself, and some Thais still like to wear it on the matching day. Note that there are nine astrological deities in all; only the ones tied directly to a day name are shown here. Months of the Year
Thailand kept a lunisolar calendar until King Rama V put the country on the solar calendar in 1888, the new reckoning taking effect the following April. The twelve month names were coined for it by his half-brother, Prince Devawongse Varopakar, from the old zodiac names that had come in with Hinduism and Buddhism: each month is named after the sign the sun passes through.
Those are basically the same twelve signs the West uses - both traditions inherited them from Babylonian astronomy by way of the Greeks. The ending also tells you how long the month is: months ending in -āļāļĄ [āļāļĄ] have 31 days, months ending in -āļĒāļ [āļĒāļ] have 30 days, and āļāļļāļĄāļ āļēāļāļąāļāļāđ [āļāļļāļĄ-āļāļē-āļāļąāļ], ending in -āļāļąāļāļāđ [āļāļąāļ], has 28 - or 29 in a leap year. In speech the ending is often dropped, keeping just the front of the name: āļĄāļāļĢāļē, āļāļļāļĄāļ āļē, āļĄāļĩāļāļē ... āļāļąāļāļ§āļē. Seasons of the Year
Thailand runs on three seasons rather than four. In speech you will hear āļŦāļāđāļē [āļāđāļē] more often than the formal āļĪāļāļđ [āļĢāļķ-āļāļđ]. The dates below are the Meteorological Department's official ones; in practice the rains arrive when they arrive. In the south there are practically only two seasons, hot and rainy - the cool season barely registers.
The Buddhist Era
The Buddhist Era counts from the year of the Buddha's passing, so converting is simple: C.E. + 543 = B.E. The Thai year used to begin in April; it was only moved to 1 January in B.E. 2484 (1941).
Key PhrasesA quick reference for talking about dates - the examples all use today's date.
To drill the weekday and month names, use the practice calendar near the top of the page - its âRandom Dateâ link hides the answer so you can test yourself.
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