Thai Numbers: How to Count to 999 in Thai

I originally had this as a part of the book in 12 Weeks in Thailand but I realized everyone was skipping that chapter as it isn't something you really need to know or care to learn until you've been in Thailand for a few months.

I still think it's extremely important, especially if you're not living in Phuket or a touristy area and you'll end up getting better deals and not getting ripped off if you know how to say "Tao rai?" which means how much does this cost.  If you ask Tao rai in Thai, naturally expect them to answer in Thai as well, hence the importance of learning the number system.


Counting to 999 in Thai: And up to 5,000

First learn how to count from 1-10, forget zero as I've never had to use it. But “No have” is quite useful and is “Mai Me.”

1 – Neung
2 – Song
3 – Sam
4 – Si
5- Ha
6 – Hok
7 – Chet
8 – Paet
9 – Kao
10 – Sip

If you ever learned the numbers in Cantonese, Chinese you'll notice it sounds almost identical, most likely because southern china is the original home of the first Tai Thais in history.

The easiest way to learn how to count in Thai is to only concentrate on 1-10 for now, and use it everyday when you are counting situps, pushups, or whatever you are doing. Count out loud for maximum learning effect. If you do it everyday for 7 days, I guarantee that it'll become embedded in your brain.

For how to say 11-999 in Thai skip this part for now and come back in a week or two when you memorized the first part. The nice thing about Thai numbers is instead of having special words for eleven, twelve, thirteen and so on most of it you just say “Ten, Two” for twelve The only exceptions are any number that ends in one, such as eleven, twenty one, thirty one, 41, 51, etc.

11 – Sip Et
12 – Sip Song
13 – Sip Sam
14 – Sip Si
15 – Sip Ha
16 – Sip Hok
17 – Sip Chet
18 – Sip Paet
19 – Sip Kao

The only one you really need to memorize is 11, as it is a new word, “Sip Et.” After that, you just say, “10, 2” or “10, 3” making it really easy. The same rule applies in counting in Chinese.

20 – Yi Sip
21 – Yi Sip Et
22 – Yi Sip Song
23 – Yi Sip Sam
24 – Yi Sip Si
25 – Yi Sip Ha
26 – Yi Sip Hok
27 – Yi Sip Chet
28 – Yi Sip Paet
29 – Yi Sip Kao

Twenty is a new word as well, and is “Yi Sip.” Twenty one, would be “Yi Sip Et,” as it follows the rule we learned before that anything ending in 1 uses “Et.” The reason why the rules are like that is because it sounds funny if you try to say “Neung” all the time. 11 can't be “Sip Neung” as it sounds ridiculous, so instead, they invented, “Sip Et” which is a lot easier to say. For the twenties, if you said, “Song Sip Song” for twenty two, people would understand you but they'll promptly correct you as it's wrong and for whatever reason it's “Yi Sip Song”'

Good news is that's really it for rules, it's actually an easier counting system to learn than English and you just need a few weeks to ingrain it in your head.

30 – Sam Sip
31 – Sam Sip Et
32 – Sam Sip Song
33 – Sam Sip Sam
34 – Sam Sip Si
35 – Sam Sip Ha
36 – Sam Sip Hok
37 – Sam Sip Chet
38 – Sam Sip Paet
39 – Sam Sip Kao

40 – Si Sip
41 -Si Sip Et
42 – Si Sip Song
43 – Si Sip Sam
44 – Si Sip Si
45 – Si Sip Ha
46 – Si Sip Hok
47 – Si Sip Chet
48 – Si Sip Paet
49 – Si Sip Kao

50 – Ha Sip
51 – Ha Sip Et
52 – Ha Sip Song
and so on.

Just remember 1-21 and everything else is really easy and just takes a second to think about it and a bit of practice. When your trainer makes you do 200 knees and 300 front kicks after class, use that time to count out loud in Thai and learn it, as it'll be helpful in the long run.

One hundred is “Neung Roi” and two hundred is “Song Roi.” I never learned 1,000 as there's usually nothing you need to buy that's over a few hundred baht, aside from gym fees which they'll speak English and renting a room monthly which either they'll speak English or if they don't, you really should bring along a Thai translator, such as someone from the gym, along with you anyways as there will be a lot of random things they'll need to tell you such as electricity is billed separately, how long you plan on staying for, and so on.

100 – Neung Roi
101 – Neung Roi Et
102 – Neung Roi Song
200 – Song Roi
201 Song Roi Et
202 – Song Roi Song
300 – Sam Roi
301 – Sam Roi Et
302 – Sam Roi Song
400 – Si Roy
401 – Si Roi Et
402 – Si Roi Song
500 – Ha Roi
501 – Ha Roi Et
600 – Hok Roi
601 – Hok Roi Et
700 – Chet Roi
701 – Chet Roi Et
800 – Paet Roi
900 – Kao Roi

That should be everything you really need to get you by in Thailand, and it's been fine for me for the past couple of trips. The only reason why I'm learning a bit more Thai now is because I'm living in Chiang Mai and English isn't as widely spoken here as it is on the islands. Here's some bonus numbers that you won't use very often but it's easy to learn as it follows the same rules.


1,000 – Neung Phan
1,001 – Neung Phan Et
1,002 – Neung Phan Song
2,000 – Song Phan
2,001 – Song Phan Et
2,002 – Song Phan Song
3,000 – Sam Phan
4,000 – Si Phan
5,000 – Ha Phan

Hope you got it, feel free to check back once in a while to refresh your skills.  It took me a few months to really get it, but now that I do, everything is cheaper, buying stuff is a lot easier and I don't feel as much of a retard anymore.

Warm Regards,

Johnny
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