Your name in Thai

Type it in the box at the top of this page. Thais write foreign names by how they sound, not letter by letter, so the tool works from the English pronunciation: Michael becomes ไมเคิลmai-koen and Sarah ซาร่าsaa-râa. If your name is pronounced in an unusual way, type it the way it sounds.

Thai has several letters for some sounds (ทtaw, ธtaw and ถtǎw all sound like t) and everyday spelling of foreign names isn't fixed. The Royal Institute publishes rules for transcribing English words, but shops, newspapers and passports don't always follow them. Sarah, for example, is written both ซาร่าsaa-râa and ซาราห์saa-raa.

No. Thai script has no upper and lower case, so names look like any other word. Thai writes a space between a first name and a surname, but not between the syllables of one name.

Thais themselves use short nicknames every day, and Thai friends often give foreigners one. Our guide to Thai nicknames explains how they work, and Thai names explained covers first names and surnames.