People are competitive. We always need to compete. We need to be first in line. Win first in a competition. Be the first to finish. The first to the moon. Second place is as good as last, no?

We also rank things in numerical order: first, second, third, etc. And that’s what you’ll learn today, how to rank things in Thai.

 

The word tee3 ที่ means ‘place’, ‘location’, or ‘at’. You put this before a number and you get a ranking.

ที่สอง        tee3 sawng5      2^nd

ที่สาม        tee3 saam5         3^rd

ที่สี่            tee3 see2            4^th

ที่สิบ          tee3 sib2              10^th

ที่ยี่สิบ        tee3 yee3 sib4   20^th

ที่หนึ่งร้อย   tee3 neung2 roi4              100^th

 

There is one exception to this list, and that is for 1^st. When it comes to ranking, such as the winner of a competition, you must use the word raek3 แรก to mean first.

 

แรก          raek3     1^st (as in 1^st place, the first to invent the airplane, the first female Prime Minister, etc.)

 

Now, this isn’t always the case. If there is a list of something that isn’t ranked in any particular order, and you just want to refer to the first item on that list, then you can use tee3 neung2 ที่หนึ่ง.

ที่หนึ่ง        tee3 neung2      first (as in the first house on the street, first name on the list, etc.)

 

Examples:

โลกที่สาม   lok3 tee3 saam5               the 3^rd world

สงครามโลกครั้งที่สอง  song5kraam1 lok3 krang4 tee3 saam5     World War II

รถคันแรก   rot4 kan1 raek3                 first car

คนรักแรก   kon1 rak4 raek3                 first love

คนรักคนที่สอง             kon1 rak4 kon1 tee3 sawng5       second love

หน้าแรก     naa3 raek3          first page

ตอนแรก    dtawn1 raek3    at/in the beginning

ฟังเพลงแรก               fang1 pleng1 raek3          listen to the first song

แฟนที่สาม  faen1 tee3 saam5            third girl/boyfriend