Midday to Evening

In this Easy Thai lesson, you’ll learn how to tell the time in Thai from midday through to the evening. Before clocks, people in Thailand told the time by watching the sun, looking at shadows and listening for the gong, and you’ll hear how the number of gong strikes marked each hour of the afternoon. The lesson works through every hour from noon to 6 pm, including 5 minutes past, 15 minutes past and half past. Then you’ll practise reading the times and saying them yourself.

Thai Vocabulary:
เที่ยง (thîang) – Noon / Midday
บ่ายโมง (bàai moong) – 1 pm
ห้าโมงเย็น (hâa moong yen) – 5 pm
ครึ่ง (khrʉ̂ng) – Half (past)
ตรง (trong) – Exactly / o’clock
ฆ้อง (khóng) – Gong

Keep practising, and soon you’ll be telling the time in Thai without needing to think about it!

Beginner Afternoon Clock Culture Evening History Numbers Time

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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!

Midday to Evening

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