Thai six hour clock



         


Thais use two systems for telling the time: the 24-hour clock and the traditional Thai six hour clock.

The latter system has been used in some form since the days of the Ayutthaya kingdom, but was codified in its present form in 1901 by King Chulalongkorn (in Royal Gazette 17:206); it is now used in colloquial speech only. It works by dividing the day into four equal parts, then counting the hours within each part. However most commonly used nowadays is a combination of the traditional six hour counting with a twelve hour counting, where the second quarter is counted as in the 12-hour clock. In the traditional system, the hours are named as follows:

12-hourPronunciationThaiNotes
1 amti neungตีหนึ่งti = strike
2 amti songตีสอง
3 amti samตีสาม
4 amti siตีสี่
5 amti haตีห้า
6 amhok mong chaoหกโมงเช้าchao = morning
7 amjet mong chaoเจ็ดโมงเช้าmong = chime
8 amsong mong chao สองโมงเช้า
9 amsam mong chao สามโมงเช้า
10 amsi mong chao สีโมงเช้า
11 amha mong chao ห้าโมงเช้า
12 noonthiang wanเที่ยงวัน
1 pmbai mong บ่ายโมงbai = slant, i.e. setting sun
2 pmbai song mong บ่ายสองโมง
3 pmbai sam mong บ่ายสามโมง
4 pmsi mong yen สี่โมงเย็นyen = cool, i.e. late afternoon
5 pmha mong yen ห้าโมงเย็น
6 pmhok mong yen หกโมงเย็น
7 pmneung thum หนึ่งทุ่มthum = drumbeat
8 pmsong thum สองทุ่ม
9 pmsam thum สามทุ่ม
10 pmsi thum สี่ทุ่ม
11 pmha thum ห้าทุ่ม
12 midnightthiang kheun เที่ยงคืน

In addition, midnight is sometimes referred to as song yaam(สองยาม); this is a relic of the pre-codified system.





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