Percent (formal) in Thai

“Percent (formal)” in Thai is ร้อยละráwy-lá.

ร้อยละ ráwy-lá

per cent (formal: before the number) noun

ráwy high
lá high

High: start high and go a little higher, a bit tense; don’t let it fall.

How to use it

ร้อยละráwy-lá, "per hundred", is how formal Thai writes a percentage, with the number after it: ร้อยละห้าráwy-lá hâa, five percent. Everyday Thai turns it round and uses the English word after the number: ห้าเปอร์เซ็นต์hâa bpoe-sen.

News, reports and textbooks use ร้อยละráwy-lá; shops and conversation use เปอร์เซ็นต์bpoe-sen, and the % sign is read that way too.

Other spellings you'll see

There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:

roi la
roy la
roila

More formal words in Thai

All formal words

การ gaan Kaan (prefix)
-ing, -tion: turns a verb into a noun (the act of …)
ความ kwaam Kwaam (prefix)
-ness (turns a verb or adjective into a noun)
ผู้ pûu Phu (prefix)
person (who …): makes words for people, like -er
นัก nák Nak (prefix)
-er, -ist: someone who does it (as a job or a passion)
ซึ่ง sûeng Who, which (formal)
which, who (adds information; formal, written)
เมื่อ mûea When (formal)
when, once (formal)

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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones