ยี่สิบ
yîi-sìp/jiː˥˩.sip̚˨˩/
The English number twenty is ยี่สิบ (yîi-sìp) in Thai.
ยี่สิบ is the cardinal number for twenty.
Meaning: cardinal number (num)
Which one should you use?
While the number two is สอง (sǒng), the number twenty uses the special prefix ยี่ (yîi) instead of สอง (sǒng) to avoid confusion in the tens place.
How does it change in a sentence?
The number twenty is expressed as ยี่สิบ (yîi-sìp) rather than using the standard number two (สอง – sǒng) as the prefix.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced as yîi-sìp. It has two syllables.
Did you know?
- Thai shares a numerical root for twenty with the Zhuang and Nùng languages spoken in Southern China and Northern Vietnam. The words ยี่สิบ and ngeih cib are cognates from the same ancestral language family.
- The prefix ยี่ (yîi) functions as a 'linguistic fossil', a remnant of an ancient counting system that has been almost entirely replaced by the modern สอง (sǒng) in all other contexts.
- If you say สองสิบ (sǒng-sìp) instead of ยี่สิบ (yîi-sìp), you are grammatically 'correct' but will sound like a foreigner or a textbook. It is a common mistake for learners to apply the general rule of 'two' to the tens place.
Examples in context
- ยี่สิบปีผ่านไปแล้วTwenty years already passed.Tatoeba #8692307 by pastelite, translation #51900 by CM
- มันทำให้เจนใช้เวลายี่สิบชั่วโมงในการบินไปญี่ปุ่นIt took Jane twenty hours to fly to Japan.Tatoeba #7784203 by pastelite, translation #53842 by CP
- ผมต้องการซื้อหนังสือยี่สิบเล่มI want to buy twenty books.
- วันนี้คือวันที่ยี่สิบเจ็ดเดือนพฤศจิกายนToday is the twenty-seventh of November.
- มันจะใช้เวลายี่สิบนาทีIt will take twenty minutes.
- เขามีเงินยี่สิบบาทkhao mi ngoen yisip bahtHe has twenty baht.
Example conversation
At a small street food stall.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritจานนี้ราคาเท่าไหร่ครับchan ni ra-kha thao-rai khrapHow much is this dish?
- ณิชา Nichaยี่สิบบาทค่ะyisip baht khaIt is twenty baht.
- ธนกฤต Thanakritนี่ครับ เงินยี่สิบบาทni khrap ngoen yisip bahtHere is the twenty baht.
- ณิชา Nichaขอบคุณค่ะkhop khun khaThank you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “twenty” translations and entries ยี่สิบ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ยี่สิบ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
