Thai numerals (, , ) are a set of numerals traditionally used in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, although the

Arabic numerals The ten Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are the most commonly used symbols for writing numbers. The term often also implies a positional notation number with a decimal base, in particular when contrasted with Roman numera ...

are more common due to extensive westernization of Thailand in the modern Rattanakosin period. Thai numerals follow the

Hindu–Arabic numeral system The Hindu–Arabic numeral system (also known as the Indo-Arabic numeral system, Hindu numeral system, and Arabic numeral system) is a positional notation, positional Decimal, base-ten numeral system for representing integers; its extension t ...

commonly used in the rest of the world. In Thai language, numerals often follow the modified noun and precede a measure word, although variations to this pattern occur.

Usage

The Thai language lacks

grammatical number In linguistics, grammatical number is a Feature (linguistics), feature of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verb agreement (linguistics), agreement that expresses count distinctions (such as "one", "two" or "three or more"). English and many other ...

. A

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

is usually expressed in the form of an uninflected noun followed by a number and a classifier. "Five teachers" is expressed as "teacher five person" ( or with the numeral included .) "person" is a type of

referent A referent ( ) is a person or thing to which a name – a linguistic expression or other symbol – refers. For example, in the sentence ''Mary saw me'', the referent of the word ''Mary'' is the particular person called Mary who is being spoken o ...

noun that is also used as the Thai part of speech called in English a linguistic classifier, or measure word. In Thai, counting is ''kannap'' (; ''nap'' is "to count", ''kan'' is a prefix that forms a noun from a verb); the classifier, ''laksananam'' ( from ''laksana'' characteristic, form, attribute, quality, pattern, style; and ''nam'' name, designation, appellation.) Variations to this pattern do occur, and there really is no

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy ...

among Thai classifiers. A partial list of Thai words that also classify nouns can be found in Wiktionary category: Thai classifiers

Main numbers

Zero to ten

Thai sūn (zero) is written as oval 0 (number) when using Arabic numerals, but a small circle when using traditional numerals, and also means '' centre'' in other contexts. It is from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

'' śūnya'', as are the (context-driven) alternate names for numbers one to four given below; but not the counting

1 (number) 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to ...

. Thai names for ''N'' +1 and the regular digits 2 through 9 as shown in the table, below, resemble those in Chinese varieties (e.g.,

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

and Min Nan) as spoken in Southern China, the homeland of the overseas Chinese living in South East Asia. In fact, the etymology of Thai numerals 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 is

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese language, Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expande ...

, while the etymology of Thai numeral 5 is

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

, as illustrated in the table below.

Numerical digit A numerical digit (often shortened to just digit) or numeral is a single symbol used alone (such as "1"), or in combinations (such as "15"), to represent numbers in positional notation, such as the common base 10. The name "digit" origin ...

characters, however, are almost identical to

Khmer numerals Khmer numerals ០ ១ ២ ៣ ៤ ៥ ៦ ៧ ៨ ៩ are the Numerical digit, numerals used in the Khmer language. They have been in use since at least the early 7th century. Numerals Having been derived from the Hindu–Arabic numeral sy ...

. Thai and Lao words for numerals are almost identical, however, the numerical digits vary somewhat in shape. Shown above is a comparison between three languages using

and Minnan characters and pronunciations. Shown below is a comparison between three languages using

: Thai, Khmer, and Lao. The Thai

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

uses the Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS).

Ten to a million

Sanskrit

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

designates the place value of a digit (''tamnaeng khong tua lek'', ตําแหน่งของตัวเลข), which are named for the powers of ten: the unit's place is ''lak nuai'' (หลักหน่วย); ten's place, ''lak sip'' (หลักสิบ); hundred's place, ''lak roi'' (หลักร้อย), and so forth. The number one following any multiple of ''sip'' becomes ''et'' (Cantonese: 一, yat¹; Minnan: 一, it⁴). The number ten (''sip'') is the same as Literary Hokkien 十 (si̍p). Numbers from twenty to twenty nine begin with ''yi sip'' (Cantonese: 二十 (yi⁶sap⁶); Hokkien: 二十 (lī-cha̍p / jī-cha̍p / gī-cha̍p); Teochew: 二十 (jĭ tsa̍p)). Names of the ''lak sip'' for 30 to 90, and for the ''lak'' of 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000 and million, are almost identical to those of the like

. For the numbers twenty-one through twenty-nine, the part signifying twenty: ''yi sip'' (ยี่สิบ), may be colloquially shortened to ''yip'' (ยีบ). See the alternate numbers section below. The hundreds are formed by combining ''roi'' with the tens and ones values. For example, two hundred and thirty-two is ''song roi sam sip song''. The words ''roi'', ''phan'', ''muen'', and ''saen'' should occur with a preceding numeral (''nueng'' is optional), so two hundred ten, for example, is ''song roi sip'', and one hundred is either ''roi'' or ''nueng roi''. ''Nueng'' never precedes ''sip'', so ''song roi nueng sip'' is incorrect. Native speakers will sometimes use ''roi nueng'' (or ''phan nueng'', etc.) with different tones on ''nueng'' to distinguish one hundred from one hundred and one. However, such distinction is often not made, and ambiguity may follow. To resolve this problem, if the number 101 (or 1001, 10001, etc.) is intended, one should say ''roi et'' (or ''phan et'', ''muen et'', etc.).

Numbers above a million

Numbers above a million are constructed by prefixing ''lan'' with a multiplier. For example, ten million is ''sip lan'', and a trillion (10¹², a long scale billion) is ''lan lan''.

Decimal and fractional numbers

Colloquially, decimal numbers are formed by saying ''chut'' (จุด, dot) where the

decimal separator FIle:Decimal separators.svg, alt=Four types of separating decimals: a) 1,234.56. b) 1.234,56. c) 1'234,56. d) ١٬٢٣٤٫٥٦., Both a comma and a full stop (or period) are generally accepted decimal separators for international use. The apost ...

is located. For example, 1.01 is ''nueng chut sun nueng'' (หนึ่งจุดศูนย์หนึ่ง). Fractional numbers are formed by placing ''nai'' (ใน, in, of) between the numerator and denominator or using '' etx suan y'' ( ��ศษx ส่วน y, x parts of the whole y) to clearly indicate. For example, is ''nueng nai sam'' (หนึ่งในสาม) or '' etnueng suan sam'' ( ��ศษ��นึ่งส่วนสาม). The word ''set'' (เศษ) can be omitted. The word ''khrueng'' (ครึ่ง) is used for "half". It precedes the measure word if used alone, but it follows the measure word when used with another number. For example, ''kradat khrueng phaen'' (กระดาษครึ่งแผ่น) means "half sheet of paper", but ''kradat nueng phaen khrueng'' (กระดาษหนึ่งแผ่นครึ่ง) means "one and a half sheets of paper".

Negative numbers

Negative numbers are formed by placing ''lop'' (ลบ, minus) in front of the number. For example, −11 is ''lop sip et'' (ลบสิบเอ็ด).

Ordinal numbers

Ordinal number In set theory, an ordinal number, or ordinal, is a generalization of ordinal numerals (first, second, th, etc.) aimed to extend enumeration to infinite sets. A finite set can be enumerated by successively labeling each element with the leas ...

s are formed by placing ''thi'' (ที่, place) in front of the number. They are not considered a special class of numbers, since the numeral still follows a modified noun, which is ''thi'' in this case.

Alternative numbers

Ai

Ai () is used for "first born (son)" or for the first month, ''duean ai'' (เดือนอ้าย), of the Thai lunar calendar.

Ek

Ek () is from Pali ''ḗka'', "one" ''Ek'' is used for ''one'' (quantity); ''first'' ( rank), more prominent than ''tho'' โท ''second'', in tone marks, education degrees and military ranks; and for the lead actor in a role. In antiquity, a seventh daughter was called ''luk ek'' (ลูกเอก), though a seventh son was ''luk chet'' (ลูกเจ็ด).

Et

Et (, Cantonese: 一, jat¹; Minnan: 一, it⁴), meaning "one", is used as last member in a compound number (see the main numbers section above).

Tho

Tho () is from Pali ''dūā'', "two". ''Tho'' is used for ''two'' and for the ''second-level rank'' in tone marks, education degrees and military ranks.

Yi

Yi (, Cantonese: 二, ji⁶; Minnan: 二, ji⁷) is still used in several places in Thai language for the number two, apart from ''song'' (สอง): to construct twenty (two tens) and its combinations twenty-one through twenty-nine; to name the second month, ''duean yi'' (เดือนยี่), of the traditional Thai lunar calendar; and in the Thai northern dialect ''thin pha yap'' (ถิ่นพายัพ), in which it refers to the Year of the Tiger.

Tri & Trai

Tri () and trai () are from Sanskrit ''trāyaḥ'', "three". These alternatives are used for ''three''; ''third rank'' in tone marks, education degrees and military ranks; and as a prefix meaning ''three(fold)''.

Chattawa

Chattawa () is the

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

numeral four; used for the fourth tone mark and as a prefix meaning fourth in order or quadruple in number.

Lo

Lo () means a dozen or twelve. It is usually used for

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

. It may also mean jar or bottle.

Yip

Yip () in colloquial Thai is an

elision In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run to ...

or contraction of ''yi sip'' (ยี่สิบ) at the beginning of numbers twenty-one through twenty-nine. Therefore, one may hear ''yip et'' (ยีบเอ็ด, ยิบเอ็ด), ''yip song'' (ยีบสอง, ยิบสอง), up to ''yip kao'' (ยีบเก้า, ยิบเก้า). ''Yip'' may have a long vowel (ยีบ) or be elided further into a short vowel (ยิบ).

Sao

Sao () is twenty in the Thai northern dialect and in the Isan language. It is related to ''xao'' (ຊາວ), the word for twenty in the

Lao language Lao (Lao: , ), sometimes referred to as Laotian, is the official language of Laos and a significant language in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Spoken by over 3 million people in ...

Kurut

Kurut () means a dozen dozen or 144. It is usually used for trade. It is a

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

from gross.

Kot

Kot () is ten million used in religious context. It comes from Pali/Sanskrit ''kōṭi''.ORID
(Online Royal Institute Dictionary (1999), select ก enter โกฏิ See also crore.

Tone marks, education degrees and military ranks

The alternate set of numerals used to name tonal marks (ไม้, ''mai''), educational degrees (ปริญญา, ''parinya''), and military rankings derive from names of

numerals.

References

External links

Thai Royal Institute On-line Dictionary
(ORID 1999) H: พจนานุกรม ฉบับราชบัณฑิตยสถาน พ.ศ. ๒๕๔๒
Numerals in many different writing systems
which includes Lao, Khmer and Thai numerals 0-9; retrieved 2008-11-12

of Numerals in many different writing systems, no Unicode required; retrieved 2008-11-12
Thai Numbers
How they are written in their numeral and textual forms and how to pronounce them.
Search result for ''numerative noun''
(11 entries)
"International Reference Library Thread of Thai Classifiers"
(38 entries) {{DEFAULTSORT:Thai Numerals Culture of Thailand Thai language Numerals