Thai translation services
ไทยLEXIGO provides NAATI certified Thai translation across Australia for Thai Australians and the government, health and employer organisations serving them. We translate Thai to English and English to Thai, and certify Thai birth certificates, house registrations, identity cards, marriage certificates and name change certificates for Home Affairs, state road authorities and universities, with Buddhist Era dates converted to the Gregorian calendar.
Thai is a Kra-Dai language and the official language of Thailand, spoken by approximately 60 million people as a first language and understood by the vast majority of Thailand's 70 million population. Thai is closely related to Lao, with speakers of each language having significant mutual intelligibility, particularly in spoken form.
In Australia, Thai speakers number approximately 60,000 according to the 2021 Census. The Thai-Australian community has grown steadily through a combination of skilled migration, family reunion (particularly through Australian-Thai partnerships), student migration, and the hospitality and tourism workforce. Communities are distributed across all major Australian cities, with notable concentrations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.
Thai is written in its own script, an abugida derived from Old Khmer script, which in turn descends from the Indian Brahmi tradition. The Thai script has 44 consonant characters, 15 vowel symbols (which combine to represent 28 vowel forms), and four tonal marks. Notably, Thai is written without spaces between words — spaces appear only between clauses or sentences, which creates challenges for text processing, word-wrapping, and search functionality.
Thai is a tonal language with five distinct tones (mid, low, falling, high, rising), and tone is determined by a complex interaction between the consonant class, vowel length, tone mark, and whether the syllable is "live" or "dead." This tonal complexity means pronunciation is integral to meaning, affecting voice-over work and any audio content.
The language has an elaborate pronoun and particle system that encodes gender, social status, and the relationship between speakers. The politeness particles "khrap" (male) and "kha" (female) are appended to sentences, and pronoun choices signal formality, respect, and social positioning. This system must be navigated carefully in translated content.
For organisations, Thai serves a well-established and distributed Australian community. Healthcare, government services, hospitality industry communications, and community engagement programs benefit from Thai-language provision. The community's geographic spread across Australia, including regional areas with tourism and hospitality workforces, means Thai language needs extend beyond capital cities.
What makes Thai translation different?
Thai Script
Thai uses its own script, an abugida with 44 consonant characters, 15 vowel characters, and 4 tone markers. Vowel marks can appear above, below, before, or after the consonant they modify, creating complex visual layouts. Unicode font support must be verified for the complete character set. Not all fonts render Thai correctly, particularly the stacking of tone marks over vowels over consonants.
No Spaces Between Words
Thai does not use spaces between words, only between clauses or sentences. This creates challenges for line-breaking algorithms, text processing, and search functionality. Modern Thai typography increasingly uses word spacing for digital content, but this remains inconsistent across platforms.
Tonal System
Thai has five tones that are essential for meaning. Tone is partially indicated by the script through tone markers and consonant class, but correct tonal production in audio content requires native speakers. Tonal errors in voiceover immediately undermine credibility.
Formal Register
Thai has elaborate formal and informal registers, with different pronouns, particles, and vocabulary. The royal register (rachasap) uses entirely different vocabulary for actions involving the monarchy. Government and professional communications should use formal register consistently.
NAATI Certification
NAATI certified Thai translators are available in Australia, with a reasonable pool in Sydney and Melbourne. Medical, legal, and community translation specialisations are accessible.
Frequently asked questions about Thai translation
Is a NAATI certified Thai translation accepted by Home Affairs?
Yes. Home Affairs, state road authorities, universities and AHPRA accept NAATI certified translations of Thai documents. Birth certificates, house registration books, identity cards, marriage and divorce certificates, name change certificates and police clearances are the most common, often for partner and family visas.
Are Buddhist Era dates converted on a certified translation?
Thai documents carry dates in the Buddhist Era, 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, so a document dated 2560 was issued in 2017. A certified translation gives the Gregorian equivalent alongside the original so Australian authorities can read it.
Why does Thai need special typesetting?
Thai is written without spaces between words, so software that doesn't understand Thai breaks lines in the wrong place and changes the meaning. Translated Thai needs to be typeset with correct word segmentation and Thai fonts, which is why brochures, posters and forms go through desktop publishing after translation.
How much does Thai translation cost?
NAATI certified translation of personal documents starts from $69 per page. Campaigns, websites and longer documents are quoted on word count, subject matter and turnaround. Upload your file for a free quote.
Where are Australia's Thai-speaking communities?
The 2021 Census recorded about 60,000 Thai speakers at home, spread across every capital city. Sydney's Thai Town around Haymarket is the best-known hub, with communities across Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Hospitality, tourism and wellness employers are frequent clients for workplace safety and employment content in Thai.