Evening to Midnight

In this Easy Thai lesson, you’ll learn how to tell the time in the evening and at night, from 6 pm until midnight. Discover the traditional Thai way of counting evening hours with ทุ่ม, a word that comes from the sound of a drum: one beat for 7 pm, two beats for 8 pm, and so on up to 11 pm. You’ll also practise saying minutes, half past, and “o’clock” exactly, learn why midnight is now called เที่ยงคืน, and finish with a quiz where you read the clock and answer in Thai.

Thai Vocabulary:
ทุ่ม (thûm) – Evening hour (7–11 pm)
หกโมงเย็น (hòk moong yen) – 6 pm
เที่ยงคืน (thîang khʉʉn) – Midnight
ตีกลอง (dtii glaawng) – To beat a drum
ครึ่ง (khrʉ̂ng) – Half (past)
ตรง (dtrong) – Exactly / o’clock
พระอาทิตย์ตกดิน (phrá-aa-thít dtòk din) – Sunset

Telling the time is one of the most useful skills in everyday Thai. Keep practising and you’ll soon be reading the clock like a local!

Beginner Clock Culture Drum Evening History Night Numbers Quiz Sunset Time

Up next

What do you call this?

In this Easy Thai lesson, you’ll learn how to ask what things are and how to say them in Thai. Starting with อันนี้ (this one) and อันนั้น (that one), the lesson builds up three useful question patterns, practised with everyday objects like a pen and a phone. You’ll then turn English words and phrases into Thai, from “banana” and “coffee” to “I love you” and “I like it,” with both ค่ะ and ครับ versions, before a final review of everything covered. Thai Vocabulary: อันนี้คืออะไร (an níi kʉʉ à-rai) – What is this? อันนั้นเรียกว่าอะไร (an nán rîak wâa à-rai) – What is that called? ภาษาไทยพูดว่ายังไง (paa-sǎa tai pûut wâa yang-ngai) – How do you say it in Thai? ฉันรักคุณ (chǎn rák kun) – I love you ฉันชอบมัน (chǎn chɔ̂ɔp man) – I like it Once you can ask these questions, you can keep learning new Thai words from anyone around you. Keep practising, and enjoy your Thai journey!

Evening to Midnight

Comments (0)