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Days & Dates
How to say the date and the day of the week, plus the Thai Buddhist calendar.
Days of the week
Every day of the week begins with วัน (wan, “day”), as in วันจันทร์Monday. “What day is it today?” is วันนี้วันอะไร (wan-níi wan a-rai).
Dates: วันที่ + number + month
Say วันที่date; day of the month (wan-thîi), then the number of the day, then the name of the month.
- วันที่ห้า มกราคม (wan-thîi hâa mók-gà-raa-khom) = January 5
- วันที่ยี่สิบเอ็ด ตุลาคม (wan-thîi yîi-sìp-èt dtù-laa-khom) = October 21
Month names are long, so calendars often abbreviate them, as in ม.ค. (January) and ต.ค. (October). For a list of month names, see Dates.
Years: the Thai Buddhist calendar
Thailand uses the Buddhist Era (พ.ศ.), which is the Common Era year + 543. The year 2026 is 2569 BE. You will often see it on receipts, documents, and expiration dates.
Quick quiz
Check this page with 5 questions. Choose an answer to see the result and explanation right away.
Q1Which means “Monday”?
วันจันทร์ (wan jan) is Monday. วันอาทิตย์ is Sunday, วันเสาร์ is Saturday, and วันศุกร์ is Friday.
Q2Which means “January 5”?
The order is วันที่ + day + month.
Q3What is 2026 CE in the Thai Buddhist calendar?
The Buddhist Era year is the CE year + 543. 2026 + 543 = 2569.
Q4Which means “what day is it today?”
วันนี้วันอะไร asks for the day of the week. วันนี้วันที่เท่าไหร่ asks for the date, and พรุ่งนี้ means “tomorrow.”
Q5Which word begins every day of the week?
Days of the week are วัน (wan, “day”) + the name of the day. เดือน means “month” and ปี means “year.”