How do you convert a Gregorian year to the Thai Buddhist Era?

For any date from 1 January 1941 onward, add 543 to the Gregorian (Christian Era) year. 2026 CE is 2569 BE. To go the other way, subtract 543.

What does พ.ศ. mean?

พ.ศ. (phɔɔ sɔɔ) is short for พุทธศักราช, phút-tà-sàk-gà-ràat, 'Buddhist Era'. It counts years from the passing of the Buddha. The Gregorian year is written ค.ศ. (kɔɔ sɔɔ), คริสต์ศักราช, 'Christian Era'.

Why is the Thai Buddhist year different from the one used in Sri Lanka or Myanmar?

Thailand counts the first year after the Buddha's passing as year 1, giving CE + 543. Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Cambodia count the year of the passing itself as year 1, so their Buddhist year is usually one higher, CE + 544.

Tool

Buddhist Date Calculator

Convert dates between the Gregorian calendar (CE) and Thai Buddhist Era (BE). See both calendar dates in English and Thai.

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Choose a conversion direction and enter your date and time. The converted date appears first, with both calendars shown in English and Thai.

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Today's date

Written as a Thai official document or newspaper would write it — day name, the ordinal ที่ (thîi, "the …th"), month, then the Buddhist year.

Thailand · วันนี้ wan-níi

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A monk in saffron robes stands with palms pressed together in front of a row of enormous seated Buddha images, gold and white, against a blue sky. — The Buddhist Era counts forward from the Buddha's passing — the event these images commemorate.

Where the Buddhist Era came from

A gilded seated Buddha in the meditation posture on a temple terrace at sunrise, with tiered Thai temple roofs, a white chedi and bougainvillea behind it. — Year one of the Buddhist Era begins at the Buddha's *parinibbāna* — his final passing — traditionally placed at 543 BCE in the Thai reckoning. Every date on a Thai form still counts forward from that moment.

The Buddhist Era — พุทธศักราช, phút-tà-sàk-gà-ràat, abbreviated พ.ศ. and read aloud as phɔɔ sɔɔ — counts forward from the parinibbāna, the death and final release of the Buddha, which Theravada tradition places in 543 BCE. Thailand treats the first full year after the passing as year 1, which is why its Buddhist year runs one behind Sri Lanka's, Myanmar's and Cambodia's.

None of this is a temple curiosity — it is the year your paperwork is dated in. ID cards, driving licences, title deeds, work permits, tax returns and contracts all count in พ.ศ., as does Thai law itself, which is why the Civil and Commercial Code is cited as B.E. 2468 and a 2562 amendment means 2019. Only things aimed at foreigners — air tickets, hotel bookings, passport stamps — stay in ค.ศ. Get a licence or contract date wrong by 543 years and the mistake is funny; get it wrong by one year because you converted the wrong way and it is expensive.

The era is much older than its use as the state calendar. For most of Siamese history dates were kept in other systems — the Burmese-derived จุลศักราช (Chunlasàkkàràat), the มหาศักราช (Greater Era), and from 1889 the รัตนโกสินทร์ศก, counted from the founding of Bangkok. พ.ศ. appeared in temple inscriptions long before it appeared on a government form.

543 BCE · Year 0

The traditional date of the Buddha's parinibbāna. The count begins the following year.
1888–89 CE

King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) introduces the Rattanakosin Era, dating from the founding of Bangkok, to standardise a patchwork of competing systems.
1912 CE · B.E. 2455

King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) replaces it with the Buddhist Era for all official use, aligning the state calendar with the country's religion and its Theravada neighbours.
1940–41 CE

Until then the Thai year began on 1 April. Plaek Phibunsongkhram moved New Year's Day to 1 January. B.E. 2483 was consequently a stub of a year — April to December 1940 — and the modern rule has held ever since.
Today

พ.ศ. is the calendar of Thai law, banking, ID cards, newspapers and school terms. ค.ศ. (kɔɔ sɔɔ, "Christian Era") is used alongside it in international business and on anything aimed at foreigners.