Thailand Time

[a2396]

Another mystery of Thailand has been revealed to me tonight, by my one and only Thai GF with a brain. Apparently, there is a local jargon for referring to time used in Issan and perhaps other areas of Thailand. I have often been confused by this during my 4 years here, but never had it explained to me until now. It goes like this: the 7 o'clock hour (AM) is stated as 1 o'clock and goes on until the next 7 o'clock hour (PM). ie. 8 is 2, 9 is 3, etc. It was explained that the starting time, using the number 1, connotes the daylight and dusk hours of the day. I hope I got this correct. I have encountered this half-baked reference to time keeping several times and could never fathom what it was about. I'm glad someone explained it to me after four years. I guess it probably made sense while everyone was "down on the farm" 100 years ago. Now, it's another Thai tradition that should be history.

[MSingh]

I came accross it about 4 years ago, asked the Person who told it to me to repeat it, they did, i listened, then added to my list of things that i won't even bother trying to understand about Thailand & Thai People as it has no logic whatsoever to me & as i'm not in Isaan, it doesn't affect me at all so don't need to understand it, even if i wanted to, either..

[JetsetBkk]

Especially for the two <pejorative deleted> above: http://www.learningthai.com/time.html

Edited June 4, 2008 by Maestro

[DP25]

It's perfectly logical. It's a 6 hour clock, as opposed to a 12, or a 24 hour clock. It not difficult at all.

[surface]

In Bangkok 1 o'clock is 6AM. so 4 would 10AM, etc. That changes again at noon, then again after 5 or 6PM. The Issan way sounds easier to me.

//Edit: wrong! -- Maestro

Edited June 4, 2008 by Maestro

[a2396]

Especially for the two <pejorative deleted> above: http://www.learningthai.com/time.html

I suggest you look in the mirror, if you want to see a <pejorative deleted>. I suppose you like to defend every nit wit, half a$$ed custom that are only useful to SOME Thias in Thailand. This kind of time referencing has no use or place outside of Thailand or in helping Thais deal with foreigners, except for the purpose of confusing them.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Maestro

[samran]

Especially for the two <pejorative deleted> above: http://www.learningthai.com/time.html

I suggest you look in the mirror, if you want to see a <pejorative deleted>. I suppose you like to defend every nit wit, half a$$ed custom that are only useful to SOME Thias in Thailand. This kind of time referencing has no use or place outside of Thailand or in helping Thais deal with foreigners, except for the purpose of confusing them.

um, as a Thai, I can safely say that it is a system used by all Thai's. All 60 odd million of us can't be nit-wits can we?

But, aplogies on behalf of my fellow countrymen that the system of time wasn't designed for you in mind. But, not to worry, we shall get the crayons out for you later and draw some pretty pictures so it is easier for you to understand

[chakatee]

"Now, it's another Thai tradition that should be history."

Nice to meet someone who decides about the contents of Thai history.

Please also advise the nitwits who read Thai Visa when the odd traditions of using yards in stead of meters, lbs in stead of kg, gallons in stead of liters, Fahrenheit in stead of Celcius, driving left in stead of right, ... should be stopped.

The Chinese language also has no use at all outside China, shall we inform these 1,000,000,000 boys and girls to give up this idiot habit and learn some more generally acceptable language? They cannot help tourists visiting China with it either can they?

[redman]

I can't believe some people's insensitivity to other people's cultures, especially if living in Thailand. I would have thought it would be "when in Rome, do as the Romans do". Quaint, I would say, rather than objectionable

[ETC]

Especially for the two <pejorative deleted> above: http://www.learningthai.com/time.html

I suggest you look in the mirror, if you want to see a <pejorative deleted>. I suppose you like to defend every nit wit, half a$$ed custom that are only useful to SOME Thias in Thailand. This kind of time referencing has no use or place outside of Thailand or in helping Thais deal with foreigners, except for the purpose of confusing them.

um, as a Thai, I can safely say that it is a system used by all Thai's. All 60 odd million of us can't be nit-wits can we?

But, aplogies on behalf of my fellow countrymen that the system of time wasn't designed for you in mind. But, not to worry, we shall get the crayons out for you later and draw some pretty pictures so it is easier for you to understand

I have no problem with how Thais choose to keep time and I'm glad someone has explained it to me..not wanting to sound stupid, but how do Thais know when it is 1am (7am farang time)? Do thais have watches with this form of keeping time, or is it more on the sundial method? An honest question..

[DP25]

I have no problem with how Thais choose to keep time and I'm glad someone has explained it to me..not wanting to sound stupid, but how do Thais know when it is 1am (7am farang time)? Do thais have watches with this form of keeping time, or is it more on the sundial method? An honest question..

It's basically the same thing as in the west. If someone tells you to meet them at 7, how do you know if they mean 7am or 7pm? Because they specify which half of the 12 hour clock they are referring to. In Thailand, instead of of dividing the 24 hour day in to 2 parts like they do back home, they divide it into four parts of 6 hours each. It's the same as back home, except you divide each section in half again. You have to learn the words for these, but really it's no more difficult than learning to tell the time in any other language, whether they use a 24 hour clock, a 12 hour clock like back home, or a 6 hour one like here.

[tuky]

I have no problem with how Thais choose to keep time and I'm glad someone has explained it to me..not wanting to sound stupid, but how do Thais know when it is 1am (7am farang time)? Do thais have watches with this form of keeping time, or is it more on the sundial method? An honest question..

Have you never heard the 1 toom, 2 toom etc ?

1am (on the clock) gets one ring of a bell and so forth.

[ETC]

I have no problem with how Thais choose to keep time and I'm glad someone has explained it to me..not wanting to sound stupid, but how do Thais know when it is 1am (7am farang time)? Do thais have watches with this form of keeping time, or is it more on the sundial method? An honest question..

Have you never heard the 1 toom, 2 toom etc ?

1am (on the clock) gets one ring of a bell and so forth.

Not sure what a "toom" is but I do understand what "1 bell..all is well" is about, but in all my travels in The Land of Smiles, I do not recall bells ringing everywhere. 555555555555555

[chakatee]

This "toom" were (or still are) actually no bells, but hits on a sort of gong in the temple I think. But that you cannot hear them in the city but only in the countryside doesn't surprise me a bit.

And ETC, didn't you hear anyone 'ring the bell' during your numerous bar-visits? ;-) Spend some more time of contemplation in the temple and you will hear ...

[PattayaParent]

I believe that historically it's the time kept by the watchmen of the city walls who worked 6 hour shifts and has an equivalent in medieval Europe when watchmen used to call out the time on the castle rampards (4 o'clock and all well etc.) as a means of security.

Of course that could all be &lt;deleted&gt;.

[Alonso's Army]

I've been here 5 years and used to it now but I must admit it was frustrating at first.

Nowadays I think most Thais understand if you told them 7am as 7 in the morning but for night time and afternoon its still preferable to used bai (afternoon), toom (between 6pm-12) and tii(12-6am).

[slapout]

Now I understand why the roosters are crowing at 0200 onward. No, do not understand, but reckon they are confused to, maybe they were imported and do not have Thai time down yet.

[geriatrickid]

Nowadays I think most Thais understand if you told them 7am as 7 in the morning but for night time and afternoon its still preferable to used bai (afternoon), toom (between 6pm-12) and tii(12-6am).

The most useful contribution to this thread and one that I thank you for since I can use it to communicate better with my friends.

I've never experienced the 6 hour system because the only people I deal with operate on a 24 hour system. It's de rigeur for health care, international business services and financial services. Besides, the software that is available is 24 hour based.

My friends all use the am/pm hour notation with me, either because they are considerate or recognize that I have a hard enough time remembering where I am supposed to be at a specific time and don't want to make it worse.

[Marvo]

Do thais have watches with this form of keeping time, or is it more on the sundial method? An honest question..

A good question by ETC. May I ask another honest question...?

Do any Thai-time keeping Thai's use a clock marked in "Thai time"? IS there in fact a time keeping device on which the hour hand makes one revolution every 6 hours or at least has a face marked with "Thai time", or do you have to look at a "standard" clock face and translate the reading it gives into "Thai time"?

"Oh, I'll tell my mate I'll meet him at 1 o'clock (when both my watch and my mate's watch says it's 7 o'clock)", that makes sense.

[ETC]

This "toom" were (or still are) actually no bells, but hits on a sort of gong in the temple I think. But that you cannot hear them in the city but only in the countryside doesn't surprise me a bit.

And ETC, didn't you hear anyone 'ring the bell' during your numerous bar-visits? ;-) Spend some more time of contemplation in the temple and you will hear ...

hmmmm...Actually chakatee, my Thai wife and I do not hang out in bars, so would not know what you are referring to there.:-) However, I do understand the gongs in the temples as I first met my wife in a temple in Bangkok and, since she is Buddhist/Taoist, we go to the temple often.

Back to the Thai form of telling time...I was referring to people in the middle of Isaan, for instance, out in the rice fields and farms etc..

By the way...I think I should mention that even though I may not agree with everything Thai, I do respect there right to believe and live as they please as long as they respect the rights of others in return. I think it is less about how you tell time but how you choose to spend your time. Frankly speaking, I find the Thai way of telling time refreshing and reminds me of simpliar times.

[a2396]

Especially for the two <pejorative deleted> above: http://www.learningthai.com/time.html

I suggest you look in the mirror, if you want to see a <pejorative deleted>. I suppose you like to defend every nit wit, half a$$ed custom that are only useful to SOME Thias in Thailand. This kind of time referencing has no use or place outside of Thailand or in helping Thais deal with foreigners, except for the purpose of confusing them.

um, as a Thai, I can safely say that it is a system used by all Thai's. All 60 odd million of us can't be nit-wits can we?

But, aplogies on behalf of my fellow countrymen that the system of time wasn't designed for you in mind. But, not to worry, we shall get the crayons out for you later and draw some pretty pictures so it is easier for you to understand

Please issue crayons to the other some 3 + billion people in the world, who might have to interact with Thais in the course of human interactions. Unfortunately, I doubt if I am going to adopt this localized time keeping system, which seems to be unique to Thailand. In contrast to some posters here, I do deal with the world outside the borders of Thailand and have advanced my cultual preferences beyond the 19th century. I find many positive aspects of Thai culture, that are beneficial to the society and the interaction of the country to the world community. This system of time referencing is not one of them.

[PeaceBlondie]

The six hour clock system goes back at least to New Testament (Roman-Greek) times, and possibly long before that.

The Thai system was perfected long before wall clocks or wrist watches.

I am grateful that so many Thais accommodate us farang and learn the 12-hour and 24-hour systems.

In tropical climates, where the sun reaches the zenith of the sky and days only vary between 13.5 and 10.5 hours, some of our Northern (or southern Australian-NZ) time references make no sense. Easier to divide a roughly 12-hour day into two parts, before and after noon.

[samran]

Especially for the two <pejorative deleted> above: http://www.learningthai.com/time.html

I suggest you look in the mirror, if you want to see a <pejorative deleted>. I suppose you like to defend every nit wit, half a$$ed custom that are only useful to SOME Thias in Thailand. This kind of time referencing has no use or place outside of Thailand or in helping Thais deal with foreigners, except for the purpose of confusing them.

um, as a Thai, I can safely say that it is a system used by all Thai's. All 60 odd million of us can't be nit-wits can we?

But, aplogies on behalf of my fellow countrymen that the system of time wasn't designed for you in mind. But, not to worry, we shall get the crayons out for you later and draw some pretty pictures so it is easier for you to understand

Please issue crayons to the other some 3 + billion people in the world, who might have to interact with Thais in the course of human interactions. Unfortunately, I doubt if I am going to adopt this localized time keeping system, which seems to be unique to Thailand. In contrast to some posters here, I do deal with the world outside the borders of Thailand and have advanced my cultual preferences beyond the 19th century. I find many positive aspects of Thai culture, that are beneficial to the society and the interaction of the country to the world community. This system of time referencing is not one of them.

I think you are underestimating the intelligence of 3 billion people there. Not everyone is 4 years slow on the uptake. But the crayons are there for you, and while we are at it, well throw in the teaching of four free words to denote the four periods of the day which Thai's typically use. Either that, or I'll teach you to count to 24 in Thai, so you can use the 24 hour clock used by all government and offical institutions.

[njpski]

Toom is the heavy whack on the gong - suitable for the evening

tii is a quieter tap - suitable for after midnight

the day is split into 4 groups of hours - from dawn to midday, midday to sundown, sundown to midnight, midnight to dawn - sounds logical to me

like most things Thai, the way they do things is related to the rhythms of life.

btw, a great "wizard of id" cartoon , had a sentry calling "4 o'clock and all's well", Sir Rodney says"Clocks haven't been invented, how do you know the time?", the sentry replies, "Same way I know all is well!!"

[PattayaParent]

Nowadays I think most Thais understand if you told them 7am as 7 in the morning but for night time and afternoon its still preferable to used bai (afternoon), toom (between 6pm-12) and tii(12-6am).

The most useful contribution to this thread and one that I thank you for since I can use it to communicate better with my friends.

Then you'd better also learn what morning is (between 6 am and noon) and what 4pm to 6pm is.

[pattayaheaven]

Samran,

well done in your post.I found a2396 has a very bad mouth and i am impressed with your put down without reverting to bad manners.My thoughts to this post are,we are in thailand and to repsect all kinds of different things from the western world and not to critisise them.

[soundman]

But, aplogies on behalf of my fellow countrymen that the system of time wasn't designed for you in mind. But, not to worry, we shall get the crayons out for you later and draw some pretty pictures so it is easier for you to understand

^^^

well.... anyway on with the thread....

Time systems different to standard Western time systems are used in many different countries throughout the world, not just Thailand. Why do some people have such a hard idea getting their heads around it???

[Marvo]

I'm all for different cultures having their different "ways". The world would be a pretty dull place if we all did things the same way, and don't start me on the merrits of the proven superior Thai WC hygeign , which have been posted at great length on TV.

But I am curious about this "time" thing here in LOS. I am full of respect for the historical reasons behind why things are the way they are here and I would like to understand how it happened. Is it that this (4x 6 hour) system of time-keeping dates back to the first introduction of clocks to Thailand or does this system predate the "modern" clock? Can someone brighter than I please enlighten us!

[5tash]

Here you go. Thai Time.

[JetsetBkk]

Samran,

well done in your post. I found a2396 has a very bad mouth and i am impressed with your put down without reverting to bad manners. My thoughts to this post are, we are in Thailand and to respect all kinds of different things from the western world and not to critisise them.

Seconded!