Thai Police and Military Ranks Explained (With English Equivalents)

Thai police and
 army ranks…

Thai newspaper reports contain many abbreviations of police & army ranks and these can be difficult to understand at first. They are, however, quiet simple and just need a little practice to master. This article presents a summary of the most common ranks, the handful of words needed to understand them and a chart of commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the Thai army, navy, air and police forces.

The English rank equivalents used here are based on UK & Commonwealth standards and the wording for other countries may differ. The English language translations and transliterations are from Mary Haas’ Thai-English Student’s Dictionary.

Officer Ranks at a Glance

Before working through how the abbreviations are built, here’s the full commissioned-officer ladder side by side, from the four armed services down to the equivalent grade.

Grade	Army	Navy	Air Force	Police
Field Marshal / Fleet Admiral	จอมพล	จอมพลเรือ	จอมพลอากาศ	(not used)
General	พลเอก	พลเรือเอก (Admiral)	พลอากาศเอก (Air Chief Marshal)	พลตำรวจเอก
Lieutenant General	พลโท	พลเรือโท (Vice Admiral)	พลอากาศโท (Air Marshal)	พลตำรวจโท
Major General	พลตรี	พลเรือตรี (Rear Admiral)	พลอากาศตรี (Air Vice-Marshal)	พลตำรวจตรี
Colonel	พันเอก	นาวาเอก (Captain)	นาวาอากาศเอก (Group Captain)	พันตำรวจเอก
Lieutenant Colonel	พันโท	นาวาโท (Commander)	นาวาอากาศโท (Wing Commander)	พันตำรวจโท
Major	พันตรี	นาวาตรี (Lt. Commander)	นาวาอากาศตรี (Squadron Leader)	พันตำรวจตรี
Captain	ร้อยเอก	เรือเอก (Lieutenant)	เรืออากาศเอก (Flight Lieutenant)	ร้อยตำรวจเอก
Lieutenant	ร้อยโท	เรือโท (Lt. Junior Grade)	เรืออากาศโท (Flying Officer)	ร้อยตำรวจโท
Second Lieutenant	ร้อยตรี	เรือตรี (Sub-Lieutenant)	เรืออากาศตรี (Pilot Officer)	ร้อยตำรวจตรี

Notice that the navy and air force column labels aren’t literal translations of the army column: a navy พันเอก-equivalent (นาวาเอก) is anglicised as Captain, not Colonel, and a navy ร้อยเอก-equivalent (เรือเอก) is anglicised as Lieutenant, not Captain. This follows the same UK naval convention that gives “Captain” a different seniority in the navy than in the army.

Commissioned Officer (CO) Ranks…

CO ranks are split into four main classes. The highest is for the individual who heads the organisation and is translated as Field Marshall, Air Marshall or Admiral, depending on which force the role relates to:

Thai rank: จอมพล /jom pon/
English translation: highest, supreme; head of.
English rank equivalent: Field Marshall, Air Marshall, Admiral

Note: the police do not use this top rank.

There are three lower CO ranks, each of which has three has three numerical classes (explained below):

Thai rank: พล /pon/
English translation: 1 n. troops, forces 
2 n. soldier; member of military or police force
English rank equivalent: General

Thai rank: พัน /pan/ *
English translation: n. thousand
n.
English rank equivalent: Colonel


Thai rank: นาวา /naa waa/ **
English translation: vessel; boat
English rank equivalent: 
Commander

Thai rank: ร้อย /rói/ *
English translation: n. hundred
n.
English rank equivalent: Captain

Thai rank: 
เรือ /reua/ **
English translation: boat; ship
English rank equivalent: Captain

* Police & Army only
** Navy & Air Force only

The พัน (thousand) and ร้อย (hundred) ranks simply relate to the approximate number of subordinates commanded at that rank (although these may be out-of-date with the size of the modern-day forces).

Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Ranks…

NCO ranks are split into two main classes, each also with three numerical classes (explained below) plus a rank for the lowest-level private/constable rank:

Thai rank: จ่า /jàa/ *
English translation: n. leader
English rank equivalents: Sergeant


Thai rank: 
พันจ่า /pan jàa/ **
English translation: 
n. warrant officer
English rank equivalents: Flight Sergeant, Chief Petty Officer

Thai rank: สิบ /sìp/ *
English translation: n. ten
English rank equivalents: Sergeant


Thai rank: 
จ่า /jàa/ **
English translation: 
n. leader
English rank equivalents: Sergeant, Petty Officer

Advertisement

Thai rank: พลทหาร /pon tá-hăan/
English translation: n. private
English rank equivalents: Private, Airman, Seaman

Thai rank: 
พลตำรวจ /pon dtam-rùat/
English translation: 
n. constable
English rank equivalents: Constable (Police)

* Police & Army only
** Navy & Air Force only

Classes…

Each of the CO and NCO ranks above, except the highest (Marshall etc) and lowest (Private, Constable) ranks have three classes which are used in the same way for all the forces. They are numerical (eg. 1, 2, 3) and based on Sanskrit numbers:

No: 1
Class: เอก /èek/
Abbreviation: อ.

No: 2
Class: โท /toh/
Abbreviation: ท.

No: 3
Class: ตรี /trii/
Abbreviation: ต.

For example, in the army, there are three rank divisions for a General:

General: พลเอก /pon èek/
Lieutenant General: พลโท /pon too/
Major General: พลตรี /pon trii/

The police, navy and air force also add the name of the force into the rank, so the air force the equivalent of the above army ranks are:

Air Chief Marshall: พลอากาศเอก /pon aakàat èek/
Air Marshall: พลอากาศโท /pon aakàat too/
Air Vice Marshall: พลอากาศตรี /pon aakàat trii/

Abbreviations…

The rank abbreviations are formed by combining the initial consonant from columns 2, 3 (except for the army), and 4 from the table below:

CO…

Rank (English): Chief/Admiral
Rank (Thai): จอมพล
Force: (บก) อากาศ เรือ

Rank (English): General
Rank (Thai): พล
Force: ตำรวจ (บก) อากาศ เรือ
Class: อ ท ต

Rank (English): Colonel/Cmdr
Rank (Thai): พัน (Police, Army)
Force: ตำรวจ, (บก)
Class: อ ท ต

Rank (English): Colonel/Cmdr
Rank (Thai): นาวา (Air, Navy)
Force: อากาศ, เรือ
Class: อ ท ต

Rank (English): Captain
Rank (Thai): ร้อย (Police, Army)
Force: ตำรวจ, (บก)
Class: อ ท ต

Rank (English): Captain
Rank (Thai): เรือ (Air, Navy)
Force: อากาศ, เรือ
Class: อ ท ต

NCO…

Rank (English): Sergeant Major, Flight Sergeant, Chief Petty Officer, etc
Rank (Thai): ดาบ, จ่าสิบ (Police)
Force: ตำรวจ
Class: See Note 2

Rank (English): Sergeant Major, Flight Sergeant, Chief Petty Officer, etc
Rank (Thai): จ่าสิบ (Army)
Force: (บก)
Class: อ ท ต

Rank (English): Sergeant Major, Flight Sergeant, Chief Petty Officer, etc
Rank (Thai): พันจ่า (Air, Navy)
Force: อากาศ, เรือ
Class: อ ท ต

Rank (English): Sergeant,
 Petty Officer
Rank (Thai): สิบ (Police, Army)
Force: ตำรวจ (บก)
Class: อ ท ต

Rank (English): Sergeant, 
Petty Officer
Rank (Thai): จ่า (Air, Navy)
Force: อากาศ เรือ
Class: อ ท ต

Rank (English): Private, Constable
Rank (Thai): พลฯ
Force: ตำรวจ 
ทหาร
 ทหารอากาศ ทหารเรือ

The police, navy and air force also add the name of the force into the rank, so the air force the equivalent of the above army ranks are:

Air Chief Marshall: พลอากาศเอก /pon aakàat èek/
Air Marshall: พลอากาศโท /pon aakàat too/
Air Vice Marshall: พลอากาศตรี /pon aakàat trii/

Notes: (บก) indicates the rank is used for the army, but the word บก is not written in the rank.

The upper-level NCO police ranks are irregular, having just two ranks:
ดาบตำรวจ (“sword officer”) = Police Senior Sergeant Major
จ่าสิบตำรวจ = Police Sergeant Major

For example:
Police Sergeant = สิบตำรวจเอก = ส.ต.อ.
Army Sergeant = สิบเอก = ส.อ.
Air force Sergeant = จ่าอากาศเอก = จ.อ.อ.

Usage & Exceptions…

When reading newspapers etc, it’s necessary to remember:

1. The main ranks (พล general, พัน colonel etc)
2. Each force (except the army) add their name into the rank
3. The “1, 2, 3” class suffix.

For general reading and comprehension, just these three rules are sufficient for understanding the seniority of an officer. For more formal translations etc, the equivalent English language ranks (and foreign equivalents) would need to be checked too.

Examples:

พล.อ. เปรม ติณสูลานนท์
literal rank translation: General 1st class
translation: General Prem Tinsulanonda

พ.อ. โมอัมมาร์ กัดดาฟี่
literal rank translation: Colonel 1st class
full translation: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

พ.ต.ท. ทักษิณ ชินวัตร
literal rank translation: Colonel Police 2nd class
full translation: Police Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra

Note that previously-held ranks are often used even if the person is no longer serving in the force, as is the case with the last example and this is also true for other positions (eg. Prime Minister). Academic titles, either from higher degrees (eg. Doctor) or academic positions (eg. Professor) may also be listed too.

Referring to the accompanying chart (PDF) will make visualisation of this information a lot easier. It shows the ranks of each force aligned to each other with full titles and abbreviations in Thai and UK equivalents. It also includes a few additional ranks not included in this article such as archaic or honourary ones. Print it out, and keep a copy in your dictionary! For other rarely used ranks refer to the references listed below.

Common Rank Abbreviations in Thai News

Beyond individual ranks, Thai news headlines lean on a second set of abbreviations for the top job in each service. These use ผบ. (phu banchakan, “commander”) plus a code for the branch, and they show up constantly in political and crime coverage.

Abbreviation	Full Thai	Meaning
ผบ.ตร.	ผู้บัญชาการตำรวจแห่งชาติ	Commissioner-General, Royal Thai Police
ผบ.ทบ.	ผู้บัญชาการทหารบก	Commander-in-Chief, Royal Thai Army
ผบ.ทร.	ผู้บัญชาการทหารเรือ	Commander-in-Chief, Royal Thai Navy
ผบ.ทอ.	ผู้บัญชาการทหารอากาศ	Commander-in-Chief, Royal Thai Air Force
ผบ.ทสส.	ผู้บัญชาการทหารสูงสุด	Chief of Defence Forces (Supreme Commander)

These job titles are separate from personal rank. A serving ผบ.ตร. still holds the rank of Police General (พลตำรวจเอก) alongside the job title, the same way a company has both a job title (“CEO”) and a person’s name.

Further Reading…

The information in this article is a summary of two Wikipedia articles which contain a lot more information including trainee/cadet ranks, archaic & honourary ranks, NATO Code equivalents etc.

Wikipedia (English): Military Ranks of the Thai armed forces

Wikipedia (Thai): ยศทหารและตำรวจในประเทศไทย (Army and Police Ranks in Thailand) 


Vocabulary Summary…

จอม: highest, supreme; head of
พล: troops, soldier, member of the armed forces
พัน: 1000
นาวา: vessel (eg. boat, plane)
ร้อย: 100
เรือ: boat (also combined with ~อากาศ for plane)
ดาบ: sword
จ่าสิบ: leader
จ่า: leader
สิบ: 10
ตำรวจ: police
ทหาร: soldier (general term)
ทหารบก: soldier (army)
ทหารอากาศ: airman
ทหารเรือ: sailor
เอก: one (Sanskrit)
โท: two (Sanskrit)
ตรี: three (Sanskrit)
ยศ: Rank

Why This Matters for Expats

You’ll see these ranks in more places than the newspaper. Immigration officers, including the staff who process visa extensions and 90-day reports at offices like Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok, hold police ranks, since Immigration is a bureau of the Royal Thai Police. Traffic police at checkpoints do too.

Being able to read a name tag or an ID card, even roughly, tells you whether you’re dealing with a constable or a senior officer. It also helps when reading Thai news coverage of traffic, visa, or crime stories that name officials by rank rather than job title.

FAQ

What does พล.ต.อ. mean?

พล.ต.อ. is short for พลตำรวจเอก (Pon Tamruat Ek), the rank of Police General. It’s the highest police rank in regular use and is held by the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police.

What is the highest rank in the Royal Thai Police?

Police General (พลตำรวจเอก, พล.ต.อ.) is the highest rank the Royal Thai Police uses day to day. The five-star Field Marshal-equivalent rank that the army, navy, and air force each have has never existed in the police force.

Why do Thai military ranks use words for “one,” “two,” and “three”?

The เอก (one), โท (two), and ตรี (three) suffixes are Sanskrit-derived ordinal markers, not counts of people or units. They simply mark seniority within a tier, so พันเอก (Colonel) outranks พันโท (Lieutenant Colonel), which outranks พันตรี (Major), the same pattern used across every tier and every service.

What’s the difference between ร้อยเอก and ร้อยตำรวจเอก?

ร้อยเอก is an Army Captain. ร้อยตำรวจเอก (usually abbreviated ร.ต.อ.) is the equivalent Police rank, also translated as Police Captain. The police simply insert ตำรวจ (“police”) into the army’s rank structure rather than using a separate naming scheme.

What does ผบ.ตร. mean in a news headline?

ผบ.ตร. stands for ผู้บัญชาการตำรวจแห่งชาติ, the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, the officer who heads the entire police force. It’s a job title, separate from the officer’s personal rank (which is Police General while they hold the post).

How do Thais address someone by their police or military rank?

The rank (full or abbreviated) is placed before the first name, similar to how “General” or “Colonel” works in English. Police Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra, for example, is พ.ต.ท. ทักษิณ ชินวัตร in Thai. For general social titles unrelated to rank, see TSK’s guide to common Thai honorifics.

Are Thai officials still called by rank after they retire or leave the force?

Yes. Thai convention keeps a person’s highest-held rank as part of how they’re addressed, even long after they’ve left active service or moved into politics. This is why former officials are still referred to by military or police rank decades later.