World Calendars
Thai date today
Thailand's calendar has the same months and days as the Gregorian calendar, with Thai month names. Years are counted from the death of the Buddha, so they run 543 ahead.
11 November 2569 BE
11 พฤศจิกายน 2569
- In the Gregorian calendar
- Wednesday 11 November 2026
- This day began
- At midnight, as Wednesday 11 November 2026 begins
- This day ends
- At midnight, as Thursday 12 November 2026 begins
- Year 2026 began
- Thursday 1 January 2026
- Next new year
- Friday 1 January 2027 (in 51 days)
- This year has
- 365 days in 12 months
- Year 1 began
- 543 BC
- Who uses it
- Thailand, where it has been the legal calendar since 1888
- Years count from
- The death of the Buddha; add 543 to the Gregorian year
- New year
- 1 January since 1941; from 1912 to 1940 it was 1 April
- Unusual detail
- Month names ending in -akhom have 31 days; those ending in -ayon have 30
Next holidays in this calendar
51 days
1 January 2027 · Gregorian, Japanese era, Thai solar (Buddhist era), Republic of China (Minguo), Juche, Holocene (Human Era), Discordian, Revised Julian, Soviet work week
How the Thai solar calendar works
Months, days and leap years are the same as in the Gregorian calendar, and the year starts on 1 January. The month names come from Hindu astrological names for the signs of the zodiac. The ending tells you the length. Names ending in -akhom, from the Sanskrit āgama, have 31 days. Names ending in -ayon, from āyana, have 30. Both Sanskrit words mean "arrival of". February ends in -aphan, from bandha, "bound", and in a leap year it gains a day called Athikasurathin.
| No. | Month | Days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | มกราคม (mákàraa-khom), January | 31 |
| 2 | กุมภาพันธ์ (kumphaa-phan), February | 28 or 29 |
| 3 | มีนาคม (miinaa-khom), March | 31 |
| 4 | เมษายน (meesaǎ-yon), April | 30 |
| 5 | พฤษภาคม (phrɯ́tsaphaa-khom), May | 31 |
| 6 | มิถุนายน (míthùnaa-yon), June | 30 |
| 7 | กรกฎาคม (kàrákàdaa-khom), July | 31 |
| 8 | สิงหาคม (sǐnghǎa-khom), August | 31 |
| 9 | กันยายน (kanyaa-yon), September | 30 |
| 10 | ตุลาคม (tùlaa-khom), October | 31 |
| 11 | พฤศจิกายน (phrɯ́tsajìkaa-yon), November | 30 |
| 12 | ธันวาคม (thanwaa-khom), December | 31 |
The Buddhist Era counts from the death of the Buddha as Thai tradition dates it. To convert, add 543 to the Gregorian year. Other Theravada countries date that event differently. In Myanmar, for example, the gap to the Common Era is 543 or 542 years depending on the month. The Thai lunar calendar is still used for religious events, and Songkran, on 13 to 15 April, is a public holiday along with 1 January.
Variants and the method used here
This site takes the Gregorian date and adds 543 to the year, which matches Thai practice for every date from 1 January 1941.
Earlier dates need care. Until 1940 the Thai year began on 1 April, so for a date from 1 January to 31 March before 1941 this site adds 542 instead. Before 1912 years were counted in a different era, and before 1888 the lunar calendar was the legal one, so earlier dates on this page are a modern conversion.
A short history
King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) adopted the solar calendar in 1888 as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar, replacing the lunar calendar as the legal one. In 1889 he moved the year count to the Rattanakosin Era, whose year 1 began on 6 April 1782 with the accession of Rama I.
In 1912, 2455 BE, King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) changed the count to the Buddhist Era and set the start of the year at 1 April. On 6 September 1940 Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram decreed that 2484 BE would start on 1 January 1941, so 2483 BE lasted only nine months, from 1 April to 31 December 1940.
The change still causes errors when older dates are converted. The founding of the Ayutthaya Kingdom is often given as 1350, though the correct year is 1351.
Sources
How this site calculates the date: Gregorian months and days with the Buddhist Era year: Gregorian + 543, or + 542 for January to March before 1941, when the Thai year began on 1 April.