Telling the time…
Telling the time in Thai is complicated by the fact that the hour word
equivalent to “o’clock” in English, varies according to the time of day and,
with it, the position of the hour number :
Hours
dti:+ number 1 a.m.-5 a.m. dti: nùng ตีหนึ่ง
number + mo:ng chá:w 6 a.m.- 11a.m. hòk mo:ng chá:w หกโมงเช้า
bà:y + number +mo:ng 1 p.m.-4p.m. bà:y sǒr:ng mo:ng บ่ายสองโมง
number + mo:ng yen 5 p.m. -6 p.m. hâ:- mo:ng yen ห้าโมงเย็น
number + tûm 7 p.m.-11 p.m. 7pm = núng tûm หนึ่งทุ่ม
tiâng ku:n midnight เที่ยงคืน
tiâng (wan) midday เที่ยง(วัน)
NOTE : dti: and bà:y appear before the number ; dti: and tûm do not occur with mo:ng
Half- hours
Half-past the hour is expressed as Hour time + krûng (half) .For the hours from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., however, the word chá:w is usually omitted.
3.30 a.m. dti: sǎ:m krûng ตีสามครึ่ง
10.30 p.m. sì: tûm krûng สี่ทุ่มครึ่ง
Quarter hours and minutes past/ to the hour
There is no special word for “quarter past” or “quarter to” the hour. Minutes past the hour are expressed as Hour Time + Number + na:-ti:( minutes);
10.15 a.m. sìp mo:ng sìp hâ: na:-ti: สิบโมงสิบห้านาที
Minutes to the hour are expressed as i:k (Further, More) + Number + na:-ti: (minutes)+Hour Time;
10.45 a.m. ì:k sìp hâ: na:-ti: sìp-èt mo:ng อีกสิบห้านาทีสิบอ็ดโมง
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Pook
Thai language Teacher
