At Unbabel we have a unique approach to translation: each text submitted by a customer is translated by our Machine Translation system, and then corrected by our community of editors in an online platform. By editing the output of the software, the editors ensure the quality of the translations and confirm that the message is accurate (i.e., has the same meaning as the original), fluent (i.e., can be easily understood and sounds natural) and is in line with the style requested by the clients (i.e. respects their register and terminology). In order to help editors do the best job possible, we provide various types of information:

Customer instructions, which include the identification of the client and his requests to personalize the translation, such as the register that must be used to address the recipient of the message. Following these instructions is vital to deliver translations that match the client’s expectations.
Glossaries, which correspond to specific vocabulary and expressions used by the client, and that must be respected by the editors.
Translation Memories, which correspond to stored segments (expressions, sentences or paragraphs) that have previously been translated and accepted for customer usage. They are useful for ensuring consistency across translations.

We also have Smartcheck, which is an application that checks the grammar, morphology, orthography and style of the translations while being edited. By using a large set of rules, Smartcheck flags words or groups of words that may present some kind of issue.

Finally, in order to deliver the best possible translation, we also provide these guidelines about your language specifications. Please, read them carefully and always follow these instructions in your editions.

2. Grammar

2.1. Prepositions

Thai language has a variety of prepositions. Many prepositions may share the same meaning but their proper usages may be different. Choosing the right preposition plays a significant role in conveying the correct message when translating into Thai. On the contrary, the use of incorrect preposition can cause the target text sounds unnatural.

Examples

Source text: He gave a gift to the kid.

✘ เขาให้ของขวัญแด่เด็ก

✓ เขาให้ของขวัญกับเด็ก

Source text: Chinese people eat rice with chopsticks.

✘ คนจีนกินข้าวกับตะเกียบ

✓ คนจีนกินข้าวด้วยตะเกียบ

2.2. Pronouns

Similar to the preposition, Thai language has a vast collection of pronouns. Depending on the degree of politeness, interlocutor relationship and circumstances, the pronouns are used differently. Moreover, the chosen pronouns should be used consistently all over the text.

Examples

Source text: I want more information.

✘ ฉันต้องขอข้อมูลเพิ่มเติม

✓ ดิฉันต้องขอข้อมูลเพิ่มเติม

Source text: I have passed your comments over to our customer service department.

✘ ฉันได้ส่งความคิดเห็นของคุณไปยังฝ่ายบริการลูกค้าของเราแล้ว

✓ ดิฉันได้ส่งความคิดเห็นของคุณไปยังฝ่ายบริการลูกค้าของเราแล้ว

Please note that using ‘ฉัน’ in these two examples isn’t actually wrong, but ‘ดิฉัน’ sounds more natural and is more common to native speakers. Consider using ‘ดิฉัน’ instead of ‘ฉัน’ whenever you deem appropriate, and especially in formal contexts.

2.3. Lexical words

Choosing the right lexical words (nouns, verbs and adverbs) when translating into Thai can be very tricky in some cases. Two similar lexical words might have the same meaning but they cannot be used interchangeably in the same context.

Example

Source text: He has a good image.

✘ เขามีภาพพจน์ที่ดี

✓ เขามีภาพลักษณ์ที่ดี

‘ภาพพจน์’ means ‘figure of speech’ while ‘ภาพลักษณ์’ means ‘image’.

Examples

Source text: Exhibition Program

✘ สูติบัตรงานนิทรรศการ

✓ สูจิบัตรงานนิทรรศการ

Source text: We are grateful that you contacted us.

✘ เรารู้สึกปลื้มปิติที่คุณได้ติดต่อมา

✓ เรารู้สึกยินดีที่คุณได้ติดต่อมา

Source text: He has a spacious house.

✘ เขามีบ้านที่ใหญ่โตมโหฬาร

✓ เขามีบ้านที่ใหญ่โตรโหฐาน

3. Orthography

3.1. Abbreviations

When it comes to translating abbreviations, please refer to the Office of the Royal Society’s website.

The position of the dot is very crucial and it requires a particular attention. If the abbreviation regards a business or organization name, please refer to their official websites or reliable sources.

Examples

Source text: Dr. Surin Pitsuwan

✘ ด.ร.สุรินทร์ พิศสุวรรณ

✓ ดร.สุรินทร์ พิศสุวรรณ

Source text: PTT Public Company Limited

✘ บริษัท ป.ต.ท. จำกัด (มหาชน)

✓ บริษัท ปตท. จำกัด (มหาชน)

3.2. Capitalization

There’s no capitalization in Thai. You should keep the capitalization as it appears in the source text if you choose to keep the original text's alphabet neither translated nor transliterated.

Example

Source text: Dear Somchai Sae, We have limited set of surveys per month.

✘ เรียน คุณ somchai sae, เราจำกัดจำนวนแบบสำรวจต่อเดือน

✓ เรียน คุณ Somchai Sae, เราจำกัดจำนวนแบบสำรวจต่อเดือน

In this case, we don't translate or transliterate the name 'Somchai Sae' into Thai as we couldn't find a reliable reference for the Thai version of the name. When the original text's alphabet is kept, do not change the capitalization of the source text.

Example

Source text: You will also have the access to an Analytics Suite, which will provide some useful information.

✘ คุณจะสามารถเข้าถึง analyrics suite ได้, ซึ่งจะให้ข้อมูลที่เป็นประโยชน์

✓ คุณจะสามารถเข้าถึง Analyrics Suite ได้, ซึ่งจะให้ข้อมูลที่เป็นประโยชน์

3.3. Foreign words

Please employ the following steps for the use of foreign words in Thai:

For the proper names (such as business or organizations), check with their websites if they provide the Thai version of their names.

Example

Source text: Facebook

✘ เฟสบุ๊ก

✘ เฟซบุ๊ค

✓ เฟสบุ๊ค

If it’s not a proper name or there’s no official website for reference, check the online Office of the Royal Society Dictionary, as well as this official guidelines for the correct use of foreign words.

Examples

Source text: office

✘ ออฟฟิซ

✓ ออฟฟิศ

Source text: clinic

✘ คลินิค

✘ คลีนิค

✓ คลินิก

For technical terms, please check the Office of the Royal Society Technical Terms database or the National Science and Technology Development Agency’s Thai words repository.

If you couldn’t find the correct Thai version of the foreign word in the above sources, please refer to any other reliable sources or use the most popular Thai version of the words citing the number of hits by trusted search engines.

3.4. Numerals

Regarding numerals format (written in numbers or words), you must always respect the source text: if they are written as digits in the source text, this should be maintained in the translation; on the other hand, if they are written as words, they should be translated to the target language.\

Thus, you should follow the steps below:

do not translate numbers into Thai numbers;
similar to English, Thai uses a comma (,) to punctuate large numbers indicating the groups of thousands, and uses a dot to indicate the decimal place;
a whitespace is needed preceding and following numbers.

Example

Source text: There are 30 dogs in the house.

✘ มีแมว ๓๐ ตัวอยู่ในบ้าน

✓ มีแมว 30 ตัวอยู่ในบ้าน

3.5. Symbols

Please refer to the following guidelines for the use of whitespace with symbols.

English symbols

No preceding or following whitespace is needed for the dash (-), percent sign (%) and slash (/).

Example

Source text: He is working at Thai-Japanese association.

✘ เขาทำงานที่สมาคมไทย - ญี่ปุ่น

✓ เขาทำงานที่สมาคมไทย-ญี่ปุ่น

Thai symbols

The symbols ฯลฯ (et cetera) or ๆ (repetition) must be preceded and followed by whitespaces.

The symbol ฯ (abbreviation) must be followed by a whitespace.

Examples

Source text: In Bangkok, you’ll live your life happier.

✘ ที่กรุงเทพฯคุณจะมีความสุขกับชีวิตมากกว่า

✓ ที่กรุงเทพฯ คุณจะมีความสุขกับชีวิตมากกว่า

Source text: As for importing components from other emails, this isn't something we offer at the moment.

✘ ส่วนเรื่องการนำเข้าส่วนประกอบจากอีเมลอื่นๆ นั้น ยังไม่สามารถทำได้ในตอนนี้

✓ ส่วนเรื่องการนำเข้าส่วนประกอบจากอีเมลอื่น ๆ นั้น ยังไม่สามารถทำได้ในตอนนี้

4. Punctuation

4.1. How to use punctuation marks

Whitespacing

Whitespace plays a crucial role in conveying clear and accurate translations from English to Thai. Since Thai lacks dedicated punctuation for sentence boundaries, strategic use of whitespaces enhances both readability and comprehension. The following use of whitespaces is recommended in most cases:

When writing mixed-language text, use a whitespace to separate English characters from Thai characters:

Source text: According to Google, the transaction status is currently pending.
✘ ข้อมูลของGoogleระบุว่าขณะนี้สถานะของธุรกรรมรายการนี้กำลังอยู่ระหว่างรอดำเนินการ
✓ ข้อมูลของ Google ระบุว่าขณะนี้สถานะของธุรกรรมรายการนี้กำลังอยู่ระหว่างรอดำเนินการ

To end a sentence or separate between clauses within a compound sentence and a conditional sentence:

Source text: If there’s anything else I can help you with, please let me know.
✘ หากมีเรื่องที่เราสามารถช่วยคุณได้อีกโปรดแจ้งให้เราทราบ
✓ หากมีเรื่องที่เราสามารถช่วยคุณได้อีก โปรดแจ้งให้เราทราบ

For a list that has more than two items, use whitespace to separate items in a list:

Source text: A screenshot, video, or log file of the issue will let us get to the root of the problem much faster.
✘ ภาพถ่ายหน้าจอ วิดีโอหรือล็อกไฟล์ของปัญหาจะช่วยให้เราทราบต้นตอของปัญหาได้เร็วขึ้นมาก
✓ ภาพถ่ายหน้าจอ วิดีโอ หรือล็อกไฟล์ของปัญหาจะช่วยให้เราทราบต้นตอของปัญหาได้เร็วขึ้นมาก

Before and after the 'menu name’.

Source text: click the Settings
✘ คลิกการตั้งค่า
✓ คลิก การตั้งค่า

Important: For additional guidelines on mandatory whitespace usage, use the search function within this document. Press Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac) and enter 'whitespace' to locate relevant sections.

Comma (,)

To punctuate large numbers indicating the groups of thousands (for example, 1,000).

Not commonly used after a name, except when there are many names and it is difficult to tell them apart, at which point the comma acts as a separator.

Dot (.)

To indicate the decimal place (for example, 3.56).
As a separator between hours and minutes (for example, 15.35 น.).
Used in abbreviations.

Exclamation point (!)

Preceded and followed by whitespaces (for example, สวัสดีครับ ! คุณลูกค้า).
Used to indicate agitation, interjection, onomatopoeia, and short commands or warnings. The exclamation mark is applicable in both formal and informal settings. However, due to the nature of formal writing, instances of agitation, interjection, and onomatopoeia, which typically warrant an exclamation mark, are seldom present in formal texts.

Question mark (?)

To indicate queries (for example, ใช่จริง ๆ เหรอ?).
Note: the formation of interrogative sentences often involves the use of specific expressions, including WH question words (e.g., ‘ใคร’ for "who", ‘ที่ไหน’ for "where") or markers for yes/no questions (e.g., ‘ไหม’). This linguistic feature typically obviates the need for question marks.
The use of the question mark is accepted in informal settings and can also be appropriately used in formal settings in certain cases where emphasis or attention is required, such as in standalone texts, headings, or titles.

Hyphen (-)

No whitespace needed following and preceding the hyphen in Thai.
Used in hyphenation.
Use to hyphenate spans or estimates of time, distance or other quantities (for example, นักเรียน 300-500 คนi).

Dash (‒)

There are no ‘en dash(–)’ or ‘em dash(—)’ in Thai, only a normal dash.
No whitespace needed following and preceding the dash in Thai.
Used to indicate the word ‘และ’ or ‘กับ’ (for example, การแข่งขันฟุตบอลระหว่าง เยอรมัน‒บราซิล).

Double quotation marks (“ ”)

Opening quotation marks must be preceded by a whitespace while closing quotation marks must be followed by a whitespace.
To set off a direct quotation, speech or a phrase that was said/written by somebody else.
Used for emphasis.

Single quotation marks (‘ ’)

Single quotes are used for quotes within quotes.
Opening quotation marks must be preceded by a whitespace while closing quotation marks must be followed by a whitespace.

Round brackets ( )

Opening round brackets must be preceded by a whitespace while the closing round brackets must be followed by a whitespace.
To include optional information.
To introduce an abbreviation or explain a term.

4.2. Punctuation in greetings and closings

There’s no standard for punctuation in greetings and closings in Thai. But the source text format can be kept if deemed appropriate by the editor.

Example

Source text: Good morning!

✓ อรุณสวัสดิ์ค่ะ or อรุณสวัสดิ์ค่ะ !

5. Register

5.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers

Register refers to the level of formality used in the text. It shows how our clients address their customers and contributes to the voice of the brand itself. Register may vary depending on the company, the brand, the service they offer, the customers, and the target language.

We make a first main distinction between grammatical and lexical register: the first one regards the the use of pronouns and verb person (for the languages to which this morphological feature is applied), while the latter is related to lexical choices, since some words and expressions also have a degree of formality or colloquialism.

Both these registers can be divided into formal and informal.

5.2. Polite Particles

Regardless of the register, in Thai, the text should always have polite forms. So, the polite particles “ครับ” and “คะ, ค่ะ”, followed by a whitespace, should always be used when necessary.

Example

Source text: Hi Oliver,

✘ เฮ้ Oliver,

✓ สวัสดีครับ คุณ Oliver,

Note: The formality or informality of a translation can be primarily determined by other elements, such as the overall tone. In instances where the gender of the speaker is not clear or when it is preferable to avoid gender-specific pronouns, using the inclusive pronoun "เรา" (we) is a suitable alternative. This approach allows for maintaining politeness while avoiding gender-specific language.

5.3. Level of formality

As Thai is an isolating language, it has only the lexical register. By adding or varying the vocabularies used, the degree of formality of the text can change.

	LESS FORMAL <------	-----------------	------> MORE FORMAL
Greetings	สวัสดี	เรียน	กราบเรียน
Closings	ด้วยความนับถือ	ขอแสดงความนับถือ	ขอแสดงความนับถือเป็นอย่างสูง/เป็นอย่างยิ่ง
Expressing gratitude	ขอบคุณ	ขอบพระคุณ	ขอขอบพระคุณเป็นอย่างสูง/เป็นอย่างยิ่ง
Expressing apology	ขอโทษ	ขออภัย	ขออภัยเป็นอย่างสูง/อย่างยิ่ง
Intivings	ขอเชิญ...	เรียนเชิญ...	ใคร่ขอเรียนเชิญ...

Example

Source text: Thanks for contacting us. [Register: Informal]

✘ ขอขอบพระคุณที่โปรดติดต่อเรา

✓ ขอขอบคุณที่ติดต่อเรา

Moreover, in some cases, the use of foreign word can decrease the degree of formality. Please check with the following link if there’s a Thai word that can be used interchangeably with the foreign word (http://www.royin.go.th/?ebook=ศัพท์ต่างประเทศที่ใช้คe).

Example

Source text: Please confirm your information back to us.

✘ กรุณาคอนเฟิร์มข้อมูลกลับมาหาเราด้วยครับ

✓ โปรดยืนยันข้อมูลกลับมาหาเราด้วยครับ

6. Localization challenges

6.1. Proper nouns

Proper nouns refer to unique entities, such as persons, places, organizations, brands, events, etc. As foreign proper nouns are concerned, languages may adopt different rules regarding whether they should be translated or kept in the original language. When editing a text, you should follow your languages rules for all different types of proper nouns listed below. However, please note that if there is a glossary provided by the client that includes these types of units, you should always apply the glossary items.

To some extent, Thai speakers can read English names. In general, to prevent confusion, proper nouns should be kept untranslated or untranscribed, unless otherwise instructed by clients, or if there is a Thai version of the proper nouns provided by a very reliable source (such as government bodies/agencies or official websites) related to those proper nouns. Also, check the sections Foreign Words under Orthography for the use of foreign words.

6.1.1. Persons

Generally, the person name should be kept untranslated. But for specific cases, such as the name of public figures, the Thai version of the name might be available from some sources. Only choose the very reliable source, such as Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Examples

Source text: Queen Elizabeth II

✘ ควีนเอลิซาเบธที่ 2

✓ สมเด็จพระราชินีนาถเอลิซาเบธที่ 2

Source text: Dear Somchai Sae, We have limited set of surveys per month.

✘ เรียน คุณสมชาย แซ่, เราจำกัดจำนวนแบบสำรวจต่อเดือน

✓ เรียน คุณ Somchai Sae, เราจำกัดจำนวนแบบสำรวจต่อเดือน

6.1.2. Places

In general, the names of places should remain as they appear in the source. Only translate or transcribe the place name when the Thai version of the name is made available by a reliable source. Also check the following lists of places transcribed by Office of the Royal Society.

List of countries and capital cities: http://www.royin.go.th/?page_id=639

List of seas: http://www.royin.go.th/?page_id=635

Example

Source text: Riyadh is the capital city of Saudi Arabia.

✘ เมืองหลวงของซาอุดีอาระเบีย คือ ริยาด

✓ เมืองหลวงของซาอุดีอาระเบีย คือ ริยาด

6.1.3. Organizations

Editors should broadly keep the names of organization as the occur in the source text. Only translate or transcribe the organization name when the Thai version of the name is made available by a reliable source, such as the official website of the organization itself, or government bodies.

Example

Source text: World Health Organization

✘ Incorrect: World Health Organization

✓ Correct: องค์การอนามัยโลก

6.1.4. Brands and products

Names of brands and products should be left untranslated unless there are Thai version of the names made available by the brands or products’ owners on their official press materials or websites.

Examples

Source text: Sony

✘ โซนี

✓ โซนี่

Source text: Apple

✘ แอปเปิ้ล

✓ Apple

6.1.5. Other entities

Other entities such as art (paintings, etc.), events (festivals, theatre plays, etc.), name of boats (e.g. Titanic, etc.) should be kept untranslated or untranscribed unless the Thai version of the names are available via a very reliable sources.

Example

Source text: “War” by Le Douanier (Le Douanier Rousseau)

✓ “War” โดย Le Douanier (Le Douanier Rousseau)

✓ “สงคราม” โดย เลอดู อานีเยร์ (นายด่านรูโซ)

It’s acceptable to leave the title of the painting and the artist name untranslated. However, in case you find the Thai translated version available from a very reliable source (in this case, a journal by Office of the Royal Society), you could also proceed to the translation.

6.2. Acronyms and initials

If the target acronyms exist in Thai language, editors should translate it. But if it’s not, please keep the source abbreviation.

Example

Source text: NASA

✓ NASA

✓ นาซา

NASA is a well-known acronym among Thai people and has a transcribed version in Thai. Editors could either keep the source or transcribed as ‘นาซา’.

6.3. Date format

Thai use the date format as dd/mm/yy, in general. Thus, the references to date need to be changed into this format when translating into Thai. No need to change from the Christian era to Buddhist era (for example, use ‘year 2018’ and not ‘พ.ศ. 2561’).

Example

Source text: Please respond back to us by 03/13/18.

✘ กรุณาตอบกลับหาเราภายในวันที่ ที 03/13/18

✓ โปรดตอบกลับหาเราภายในวันที่ ที 13/03/18

6.4. Time format

In Thai, time is expressed in the 24-hour notation. Thus, the references to time need to be change into this format, and followed by ‘น.’ Please also note that the separator between hours and minutes is a dot (.) and not a colon (:) as in English.

Example

Source text: check-in time 3:00 PM

✘ เวลาเข้าพัก 3:00 PM

✓ เวลาเข้าพัก 15.00 น.

6.5. Measures

Measures should always keep the format of the source text and should never be converted. You should only translate them when they have an equivalent term in your language.

Please check the following link from the Office of the Royal Society for the unit of measurement in Thai. However, note that abbreviations should be kept (e.g. 2 ft, 20 cm).

Examples

Source text: 20 kg.

✘ 20 กิโลกรัม

✓ 20 กก.

Source text: Capacity 1.5L, 51 oz

✘ ความจุ 1.5 ล., 51 อซ.

✓ ความจุ 1.5 ล., 51 ออนซ์

6.6. Currency

Currency values should be left as they are in the source text. Only translate the currency which is written in full name (e.g. US dollars, Singapore dollars, etc.) but not the currency initials (e.g. USD, SGD, etc.) nor currency symbols (€, $, £, etc.). The currency should be preceded and followed by a whitespace only when it’s written as currency initials. Please adhere to the following guidelines from Office of the Royal Society for translating the currency.

Examples

Source text: 100 Singapore dollars

✘ 100 สิงคโปร์ดอลลาร์

✓ 100 ดอลลาร์สิงคโปร์

Source text: SGD 100

✘ 100 ดอลลาร์สิงคโปร์

✓ SGD 100

Source text: $100

✘ 100 ดอลลาร์

✓ $100

7. Tricky cases

How to translate ‘I’m sorry’?

Thai people will say ‘I’m sorry’ only when addressing seriously big matters (e.g. losing someone). Generally, in customer servicing context, ‘I’m sorry’ means ‘I apologize’. So, consider translating ‘I’m sorry’ as ‘ผม/ดิฉันต้องขอโทษ/ขออภัย’ whenever you deem appropriate.

Example

Source text: I am sorry that you have had this issue.

✘ ขอแสดงความเสียใจสำหรับปัญหาที่ท่านพบ

✓ ผมต้องขออภัยสำหรับปัญหาที่ท่านพบ

Passive structure

In some cases, the passive marker can subtle alter the meaning of the text. If the overall sense of the context is not negative, try to avoid using the passive marker “ถูก”. Also, consider changing the passive to active structure if you deem appropriate.

Examples

Source text: You are invited to join our community.

✘ คุณถูกเชิญให้เข้าร่วมกับชุมชนของเรา

✓ คุณได้รับเชิญให้เข้าร่วมกับชุมชนของเรา

Source text: He was invited by the university to be a guest lecturer.

✘ เขาถูกมหาวิทยาลัยเชิญให้ไปเป็นอาจารย์พิเศษ

✓ มหาวิทยาลัยเชิญเขาให้ไปเป็นอาจารย์พิเศษ

Source text: This shop is closed.

✘ ร้านนี้ถูกปิดแล้ว

✓ ร้านนี้ปิดแล้ว

‘Dummy’ subject

Pay more attention to a ‘dummy’, or an artificial, subject in English, as it doesn’t actually have any intrinsic meaning.

Example

Source text: It’s so beautiful.

✘ มันสวยมาก

✓ สวยมาก

8. Most frequent errors

Missing polite particles

The polite particles (ครับ/คะ, ค่ะ) are almost always needed in Thai as they indicate the politeness of the text, whether the register is formal or informal.

Example

Source text: Thank you very much.

✘ ขอบคุณมาก

✓ ขอบคุณมากครับ

Orthography of foreign words

The spelling of foreign words in Thai is very tricky as there might be countless ways of transcribing one foreign word into Thai. Please, always check with these reliable resources to make sure you’re spelling them correctly: