What Time Is It?

[Paleface]

The "am-pm" time system is quite simple and the 24 hour military system is foolproof.

The Thai time system, now thats another matter! I try learning it, get frustrated and quit, then after awhile try again.

The Thais themselves dont really seem to get it. Countless times, Ive heard Thais mention a certain time and then have to discuss if they are both talking about the same time.

Do most people understand thier system or not?

[Richard W]

I have a suspicion that they're changing to the 12 hour day for the morning. Thus 11 a.m. can be /sip et moong chau/ or /haa moong chau/, and I would not be surprised if /haa moong chau/ sometimes meant 5 a.m.

The North is more advanced. They use a 12 hour clock.

[jayenram]

Up here in Khmer country they use the six hour clock. Counting from midnight, you have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 o'clock. 8 o'clock is then 2 o'clock and so on to 12 midday (or *chang* time). then 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 o'clock. 7 o'clock is then 1 o'clock and so on till midnight.

I cannot understand why 7 o'clock morning is not 1 o'clock but then I'm not Khmer.

[KUKKUK]

In thai traditional time system, we divide 24 hrs into 4 parts.

i will start from midnigt.

1am-5am --> we add prefix "tee" eg 4am--->tee-see

7am-11am --> we sometimes add "moong chau" as suffix,also sometimes we count 7am as the first hour ,thus 8am can be called pad-moong chau or song moong chau

1pm-4pm -->add prefix "bai" eg 3pm= bai sam (moong)

5pm & 6pm -->add suffix "yen" eg 5pm= ha moong yen

7pm-11pm -->add suffix "tum" and also refer 7pm as 1 tum ...11pm as 5 tum

for 6am, we call it 6 moong chau.

12pm tieng

12am tieng-keun

i hope u'll not be confused with my english na

[jayenram]

OK, I'll try it in Thai:

1 am = Tee neung

2 am = Tee sawng

3 am = Tee sam

4 am = Tee see

5 am = Tee ha

6 am = Tee hok

7 am = Jet mong chao

8 am = sawng mong chao

9 am = sam mong chao

10 am = see mong chao

11 am = ha mong chao

12 midday = Sip sawng mong

1 pm = Bai mong

2 pm = Bai sawng mong

3 pm = Bai sam mong

4 pm = See mong yen

5 pm = Ha mong yen

6 pm = Hok mong yen

7 pm = Neung thoom

8 pm = Sawg thoom

9 pm = Sam thoom

10 pm = See thoom

11 pm = Ha thoom

12 midnight = Sawng yam

Now what could be simpler than that?

[iChubbyGirl]

Hi

Can i correct some part of it?

6 am = Tee hok actually we call say Hok mong chao

7 am = Jet mong chao sometimes we say mong chao

12 midday = Sip sawng mong we always say thieng, or thieng wan

4 pm = See mong yen someone says bai see mong

12 midnight = Sawng yam or we say tieng-keun

Take Care,

Chat

Thai_G

[jayenram]

Thanks ichubbygirl.

Now I'm really confused!

[iChubbyGirl]

hey don't be confuse lol

Thai people have many way to say, lol

Chat

[username2004]

I'm embarassed to admit this: I learned that "song mong chua" (8 a.m.) could also mean 8 a.m. (Pad Mong Chua) when I was 12....I should have known this much earlier!

[Neeranam]

I am even more embarrassed to admit that I started using 'baed mong chao', after listening to that Palmy song - "baed mong chao wan angkan".

I thought before it was 'song mong chao'.

I always say 'bai see mong' (4pm), never 'see mong yen'(4pm).

I always use this example when Thais ask me when evening begins in English.

Evening begins in my home(UK) after our evening meal - usually 6pm, regardless of the light.

[RamdomChances]

For 8 o'clock untill 11 o'clock in the morning you can also use bpet moung chao to sip-et moung chao.

For the 24 hour system use the time and Na-lig-ar. i.e 1o'clock in the morning "nung naligar", 1 in afternoon 'sip sam naligar"

1 am = Tee neung

2 am = Tee sawng

3 am = Tee sam

4 am = Tee see

5 am = Tee ha

6 am = Hock mong chao

7 am = Jet mong chao or

8 am = sawng mong chao or bpet mong chao

9 am = sam mong chao or gow mong chao

10 am = see mong chao or sip mong chao

11 am = ha mong chao or sip et mong chao

12 midday = thieng, or thieng wan

1 pm = Bai mong

2 pm = Bai sawng mong

3 pm = Bai sam mong

4 pm = See mong yen or bai see mong

5 pm = Ha mong yen

6 pm = Hok mong yen

7 pm = Neung thoom

8 pm = Sawg thoom

9 pm = Sam thoom

10 pm = See thoom

11 pm = Ha thoom

12 midnight = tieng-keun or Sawng yam

I edited the list a bit never heard midnight as Sawng yam, but left it in.

[Richard W]

12 midnight = tieng-keun or Sawng yam

I edited the list a bit never heard midnight as Sawng yam, but left it in.

Does anyone still use สามยาม /saam yaam/ for 3 a.m.?

[iChubbyGirl]

I edited the list a bit never heard midnight as Sawng yam, but left it in.

Hmm,

at Midnight, Thai people like me always say Tieng tieng-keun but for someone who older such as my dad & mom they always say Sawng yam.

Acutually, I think if u know our (Thai) time telling history u won't be confuse.

It come from 2 of Thai music instruments which are

-bass gong (Khong Mong) used for tell the time in day,

its sounds like "Mong"

7 am hit bass gong 1 time = nueng mong

8 am hit it 2 times = sawng mong

9 am hit it 3 times = sam mong

then so on….

Until 11 am 5 times = haa mong

-For midday I’m not sure I have to find out

but I heard they use gun shooting for tell the time ‘coz we have a proverb say “Klai Puan Tieng” means people who live very far from civilization. May be people at that time tell time at mid day by shooting their gun so people who live far away couldn’t hear the gun shot (It’s my opinion, l )

-drum (klong) used for tell the time in night

its sounds like “Thoom”

7 pm hit drum 1 time = nueng thoom

8 pm hit 2 times = sawng thoom

9 pm hit 3 times = saam thoom

then so on…

Until 11 pm. 5 times = haa thoom

-for midnight we used to call it hock thoom

but now we say tieng keun or song yam

-After midnight we call tee I heard that story before but not sure it’s right or wrong we had guard we called "yam" to tell time after midnight by hitting something. If anyone know pls tell me,

-for 6 am we used to say "tee hock" or "yaum rung" (yaum = step in, rung = dawn)

now we say hock mong chao

[iChubbyGirl]

I always say 'bai see mong' (4pm), never 'see mong yen'(4pm).

Well, Thai people tell the time by our feeling. In day time is relate to weather also.

-at 4pm someone says 'bai see mong' 'coz they think the weather still hot.

but someone say 'see mong yen' 'coz they think the weather cool down and nearly sun set. So don't worry about that.

-more over, in the morning time, may be u can hear us say 'saai' saai= late but for time telling, 'saai' means 10-11 am. if thai people come to say this "poob khun prung nee ton saai saai" = "See you tomorrow around 10-11 am"

[Richard W]

-After midnight we call tee I heard that story before but not sure it’s right or wrong we had guard we called "yam" to tell time after midnight by hitting something. If anyone know pls tell me.

The explanation I've read (in Fundamentals of the Thai Language) is that the night was divided into four watches -

/nueng yaam/ 18.00-21.00

/sOOng yaam/ 21.00-24.00

/saam yaam/ 00.00-03.00

/sii yaam/ 03.00-06.00

This explanation had no mention of any chimes.

I don't know how accurate the account is - it's good enough for explaining /sOOng yaam/ = 24.00 and /saam yaam/ = 03.00.

[Girlfrombar]

In thai traditional time system, we divide 24 hrs into 4 parts.

i will start from midnigt.

1am-5am --> we add prefix "tee" eg 4am--->tee-see

7am-11am --> we sometimes add "moong chau" as suffix,also sometimes we count 7am as the first hour ,thus 8am can be called pad-moong chau or song moong chau

1pm-4pm -->add prefix "bai" eg 3pm= bai sam (moong)

5pm & 6pm -->add suffix "yen" eg 5pm= ha moong yen

7pm-11pm -->add suffix "tum" and also refer 7pm as 1 tum ...11pm as 5 tum

for 6am, we call it 6 moong chau.

12pm tieng

12am tieng-keun

i hope u'll not be confused with my english na

"tee" = hit; tee-see = hit 4 (times) = 4am

"moong chau" = hour-morning; pad-moong chau = 8hrs in the morning, as counting in international time or song-moong chau = 2hrs in the morning, as counting in thai time

"bai" = afternoon; bai-sam = 3pm (15hrs)

"yen" = evening; ha-moonh yen = 5pm (17hrs)

"tum" = evening after 6am (dusk-- KUM in thai); 7am = 1 tum (19hrs)

[Paleface]

Thank you all for clearing that up for me. So, the answer to my question is: no, nobody fully understands it.

At least I dont feel so bad that I dont get it.

Thanks again. I find it frustrating but very interesting.

[iChubbyGirl]

So, the answer to my question is: no, nobody fully understands it.

Don't worry guy, i'm Thai, i tell the time by my feelings too. There r many way to say such as 8 am. no metter what u say "paad narikar" or "paad mong chau" or "song mong chua" they r right and we know it's 8am also. or midnight we can say Thieng khaun" or "Song yam" or "Hok Thoom" or "Sibsong Narikar" they are the right way.

Thai Girl Jaaa

[jayenram]

The subject of this thread came up in a discussion in the pub yesterday.

A Polish Australian (mmmm) was adamant that Thai time telling is one hour behind, e.g. 2 am is "tee neung"; 3 am is "tee sawg". A number of farangs told him he was wrong but he wouldn't have it. Advice from a number of Thais in the bar was sought and they confirmed that he was incorrect. Even so, he refused to accept that he was wrong.

Polish Australian is now renamed "<deleted>".

[bina]

thai time is like what we call JPT (jewish people time) that is, my grandmother would say, 6 pm and then everyone wuold show up at around 6:30 7 pm..... never on time , anyway:

after working out the time system, i always double check so:

we all agreed that w we would go and slaughter our very aggressive male ostrich at 5 am. before the customers get to the zoo . then the guys said, no, 6 am. so i went to bed, happy for the extra hour of sleep. at 4 am i get a phone call, where am i , breakfast is ready, and the ostrich is ready to be loaded on the truck., 'reo reo'!... argh....

we always agree on a time , i even write it down in 24 hour clock time; and the event never ever ever ever happens at the time that was agreed upon.... jai yen yen....

[Richard W]

So, the answer to my question is: no, nobody fully understands it.

Don't worry guy, i'm Thai, i tell the time by my feelings too. There r many way to say such as 8 am. no metter what u say "paad narikar" or "paad mong chau" or "song mong chua" they r right and we know it's 8am also. or midnight we can say Thieng khaun" or "Song yam" or "Hok Thoom" or "Sibsong Narikar" they are the right way.

Thai Girl Jaaa

Is /haa moong chau/ ambiguous or not? Can it mean 5 a.m.? If it isn't, we haven't identified any ambiguities! So what is the problem? Is the problem in converting to or from the 24 hour clock, which can cause difficulties, e.g. English people wrongly saying, in English, 'fourteen hundred' instead of 'sixteen hundred' for 4 p.m., and the example above, "sibsong narikar" for 24.00.

It's very helpful to have native speakers here! Thanks for coming.

Incidentally, how often do Thais use 'subtractive time', e.g. อีกสิบนาทีบ่ายสี่โมง /iik sip naathii baai sii moong/ for 15.50ม?

[iChubbyGirl]

I know it's hard for u to understand. I know that feelings 'coz i have a hard time to study Eng. too.

Is /haa moong chau/ ambiguous or not? Can it mean 5 a.m.? If it isn't, we haven't identified any ambiguities!

hmm haa moong chau is not 5 am.

11 am = haa mong chau

5 am = tee haa

ok i think i should clearify again yin dee kha

Thai time telling can be devided in big 5 sections

Let's get start

1 am. - 5 am. we added prefix "tee"

1 am = tee nueng

2 am = tee song

3 am = tee sam

4 am = tee see

5 am = tee haa

at 6 am nowaday we say "hock mong chau"

but the older generation say "tee hock" or "yam rung" (yam = step in, rung = dawn) if u wanna new generation pls say "hock mong chau"

then,

7 am - 11 am we added subfix "mong chao"

7 am = jed mong chao / mong chao

8 am = paad mong chao / song mong chao

9 am = kaow mong chao / saam mong chao

10 am = sib mong (chao) mostly, we don't add chau 'coz our feeling it's late or "sai" / see mong chao

11 am = sib ed mong (chao) same reason / haa mong chao

at 12 we say "tieng" / "tieng waan" / "toon tieng"

then,

1 pm - 3 pm we added prefix "bai" and subfix "mong"

1 pm = bai mong

2 pm = bai song mong

3 pm = bai saam mong

4 pm sometimes we say "bai see mong" or "see mong yen" it's up to the weather, situation and atmostphere. For me i always say "see mong yen" 'coz it' nearly time to finish my work

then

5 pm - 6 pm we added subfix "yen"

5 pm = haa mong yen

6 pm = hock mong yen

then,

7 pm - 11 pm we adde subfix "thoom"

7 pm = nueng thoom or "thoom nueng"

8 pm = song thoom

9 pm = saam thoom

10 pm = see thoom

11 pm = haa thoom

midnight we can say Thieng khaun" or "Song yam" or "Hok Thoom" or "Sibsong Narikar" they are the right way.

it's my fualt we say "yee sib see narikar" forgive me

ok for midnight

nowaday, we say "thieng khuan"

the older generation say "song yaam" or "hock toom"

Incidentally, how often do Thais use 'subtractive time', e.g. อีกสิบนาทีบ่ายสี่โมง /iik sip naathii baai sii moong/ for 15.50ม?

yes i say this way alot and i think most thai love to say this way too

[Paleface]

Oh my! I still am a bit confused(make that alot confused), but Im having fun here.

And ichubbygirl, you mean now I have to learn "old people time" and "young people time". (insert smiley face here)

Well, its paad narikar and I dont feel so well, I have to go now.

Wait! Im feeling better. It must be paad mong chau!

[Johpa]

A Farang once approaced a Thai and asked: "What time is it?"

The Thai answered: "Wat tham duay iit, wat angriit tham duay puun."

[Richard W]

Well, its paad narikar and I dont feel so well, I have to go now.

White man speak with forked tongue?

I think you posted at 8 p.m. - which would by ยี่สิบนาฬิกา /yii sip naalikaa/. (It was at 2 a.m. by the forum's record of your local time!)

Wait! Im feeling better. It must be paad mong chau!

Where are you now? Alaska?

[Paleface]

RichardW,

It was an attempt at humor. The Thai posters here have said sometimes the words they use to relate the time can change depending on thier mood.

Paleface no lie.

[Richard W]

RichardW,

It was an attempt at humor. The Thai posters here have said sometimes the words they use to relate the time can change depending on thier mood.

Paleface no lie.

Just bad luck that your post was sent at 8.02 p.m. by my local time!

[jayenram]

I wish I'd never read or posted in this thread now. I was doing so well at telling the time in my blissful ignorance. Now I'm virtually clueless.

I'm gonna stick to *chang* time, i.e. 2 to *chang*, 4 past *chang*, etc.

[dutch]

Hi Jay,

When I saw you react on a topic about time,I thought you would make a public confession about being always 2-3 minutes ahead!

I was hoping for too much

[fluxweed]

The latest post by iChubbyGirl seems pretty accurate about the time.

Although I want to add some more confusions.

I think nowadays it is more common to use 12 hour clock for the A.M. part of day, and only use 6 hour clock for P.M. part (at least in younger generations and in the northen area) That means, 7 am. is 'jed mong chao'. but 7 p.m is still ' nueng thum'. Therefore, people often omit 'chao' (means morning/early) in the morning times, for example 9 a.m. is just 'kaow mong' (using 12-hour clock), because you can't possibly confuse it with 9 p.m. ('saam thum', using 6-hr clock).

For afternoon times, it is common to omit 'mong' (but only for 2, 3 and 4 p.m. )

i.e. 1pm. = bai mong , 2 pm = bai song, 3 pm = bai saam, 4 pm. = bai see.

also 4 pm. = see mong yen /see mong

5 pm. = haa mong yen /haa mong.

again for 4pm and 5pm then word 'yen' can sometimes be omitted when it is understood in context because 'haa mong' more commonly refers to 'haa mong yen', not 'haa mong chao'

Except for 6 am. and 6 pm. 'chao' and 'yen' are needed to indicate morning and evening times.

Incidentally, how often do Thais use 'subtractive time', e.g. อีกสิบนาทีบ่ายสี่โมง /iik sip naathii baai sii moong/ for 15.50ม?

Richard, actually this is quite common in the context when you telling the current time. So when you ask a person, "what time is it, NOW?" he/she will often say ' iik sip naathii baai sii mong' = 10 to 4pm. for anything up to 15 minutes to the hour. However, when you're not talking about current time, for example you want to arrange a meeting with someone in advance, only 'baai sam haa sib' = 3.50pm is used. But we never say 10 past 4pm. for 4.10pm.

Another interesting point is that telling Thai time can be vague. Some people often round up the time especially when they use analogue clock. it's Thai habit i guess, since we're never on time. So when you ask this kind of people on the street for the time and it's 2.55 or 3.05 p.m. you'll get the same answer, 'baai saam mong' = 3.00pm. When I need to know the exact time I often ask back again if it is 'baai saam mong trong' = exactly 3.00pm. Therefore to avoid confusion you should use 'baai saam mong trong' to emphasize that it is 3.00pm not a few minutes before or after.

Edited March 8, 2006 by fluxweed