Months and Days
in Thai

The months in Thai each pair a zodiac name with an ending that quietly tells you how long the month is. January is mók-gà-raa-khom (มกราคม), and every month that ends in -khom has 31 days. Learn that one pattern and you can work out any month's length on the spot.

If you are just starting out, this is the kind of everyday vocabulary I cover in the first month with a new student. It sits right next to greetings and counting, and it is one of the friendliest corners of the language, because the calendar hides a pattern that does half the memorizing for you. Here is how I lay it out for someone learning Thai as a beginner. In the video below I say every day and month out loud, so you can hear the tones before you read them.

The Days of the Week

Every day of the week in Thai begins with the word wan (วัน), which just means "day". Add the name onto it and you are finished. Say them out loud a few times and you will notice most of them are short and easy.

Each day also carries a traditional color, handed down from old astrology. Sunday is red, Monday is yellow, and the pattern runs on down the week. Thai people know the day they were born on and treat its color as lucky, which is why you see so much yellow on royal occasions: the late King Bhumibol was born on a Monday. For the color words themselves, see my guide to colors in Thai.

The Twelve Months

The months look scarier than the days because the names are longer, but do not let that put you off. Each one is a zodiac sign plus a fixed ending, and that ending is the interesting part, which I get to in the next section. Here they are in order.

One small note on January: Thais say the first syllable both ways, mók or má, and you will hear both on the street.

The Month-Ending Secret

This is the part I love teaching, because it turns twelve scary names into a simple rule. The ending of a Thai month name tells you how many days that month has. If the name ends in -khom (คม), the month has 31 days. If it ends in -yon (ยน), it has 30. February is the one that breaks the mold, ending in -phan (พันธ์), and it is the short month at 28 or 29 days.

The endings come from old Sanskrit roots, and plenty of Thai people lean on this exact trick when they cannot remember whether a month is long or short. So do not memorize each month's length one by one. Learn the ending and let it do the work.

Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday

Once you can name the days, a handful of time words let you actually talk about them. The building block is níi (นี้), meaning "this", and nâa (หน้า), which literally means "front" and doubles as "next".

To point at the past, swap in thîi-láew (ที่แล้ว), "last". So last week is sàp-daa thîi-láew and last month is duean thîi-láew. The month word on its own is duean (เดือน) and week is sàp-daa (สัปดาห์).

Saying Dates and Birthdays

A Thai date is built as wan thîi (วันที่), meaning "the date", followed by the number, then the month. So the fifth of April comes out as wan thîi hâa may-sǎa-yon. The order goes day number first, then month, then year, matching most of the world and running opposite to the US month-first habit. You will lean hard on your counting here, so keep my guide to Thai numbers open while you practice. A birthday is wan gèrt (วันเกิด), literally "birth day".

Why Thailand Lives in 2569

Look at a Thai ID card or the expiry date stamped on a carton of milk, and you will see a year like 2569 where you expected 2026. Thailand counts years in the Buddhist Era, written พ.ศ. and read phaw sǎw. To convert, add 543 to the Western year: 2026 plus 543 gives you 2569. You will also meet these BE years on official forms, on coins, and along the top of Thai newspapers. The Western year has its own label, ค.ศ. (khaw sǎw), which turns up on international paperwork.

Asking About the Day

These are the questions that earn you real practice, because Thai people love asking a newcomer which day they were born on. Add your polite particle at the end of any of them: khráp if you are a man, khá if you are a woman asking a question.

Four Quick Questions

Time to check yourself. Answer each one out loud, then check the answers below.

1. Which ending marks a 30-day month, and which marks a 31-day month?
2. Today is Monday. What color might people be wearing?
3. Say "April 5th" in Thai.
4. The Western year is 2026. What is the Thai Buddhist year?

Answers:

1. -yon (ยน) marks 30 days, -khom (คม) marks 31 days
2. Yellow, the color of Monday
3. wan thîi hâa may-sǎa-yon (วันที่ห้า เมษายน)
4. 2569, because 2026 plus 543 is 2569

Days and dates come up in your very first week living or traveling here, far sooner than most textbooks let on. Dates lean on two things, numbers and tones, and that is exactly where my Speaking Thai A1 course starts: the five tones first, then numbers and age, with my voice on every example so you can copy it. Get those two right and the calendar above stops being a list to memorize.