Jingjok
It is 2569 here: the Buddhist calendar
paaw-sǎaw
Thailand counts years in the Buddhist Era (พ.ศ.), 543 years ahead of the Western calendar, so 2026 is 2569. Your visa stamps, bank documents, lease and hospital card all use it, and so do expiry dates on food, often shortened to two digits: 69 means 2026. To convert, subtract 543. Months have a built-in hint: names ending in -คม have 31 days, names ending in -ยน have 30, and กุมภาพันธ์ is the odd one out. In writing, months shrink to initials like ม.ค. or ธ.ค. Dates go day, month, year: 5 มี.ค. 69. The new year is celebrated on 1 January and again at Songkran in April.
Try this today
Find the expiry date on something in your fridge and convert the year.
The words that carry it
- มกราคมJanuary
- กุมภาพันธ์February
- มีนาคมMarch
- เมษายนApril
- พฤษภาคมMay
- มิถุนายนJune
- กรกฎาคมJuly
- สิงหาคมAugust
- กันยายนSeptember
- ตุลาคมOctober
- พฤศจิกายนNovember
- ธันวาคมDecember
- วันที่date (day of the month)
- พ.ศ.Buddhist Era year (B.E.)
- ค.ศ.Common Era year (A.D.)
Learn this in “Big numbers, dates, money 2” →
Your first 90 days of Thai
Culture cards in Jingjok are tied to the words that carry them, each ending in one thing to try today.
- WEEKS 1–2 · SURVIVEGreet anyone, pay, and order food and 7-Eleven exactly how you like it.
- WEEKS 3–6 · SETTLE INGet around by taxi, Grab and skytrain, find anything, and handle your landlord.
- WEEKS 7–12 · RUN YOUR LIFEPharmacy, bank, SIM and apps, how you feel, and a weekend away, all in Thai.
The first week is free.