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ชุมชนจีนในประเทศไทย : หลากหลายส� ำเนียงจีน The Journal of the Royal lnstitute of Thailand Volume 36 No. 4 Oct-Dec 2011 552 Abstract Chinese Communities in Thailand: Variety of Chinese Dialects Prapin Manomaivibool Associate Fellow of the Academy of Arts, The Royal Institute, Thailand Chinese people stated coming to Thailand in the Sukhothai Period. Most of them ware merchants transporting goods on board their junks for trading, In the Ayutthaya Period some Chinese traders settled in Ayutthaya and played a role in the Thai junk trade. In the Thon Buri Period a large number of Chinese came to trade and reside in Thailand. The Chinese who had settled in Thailand from the Thon Buri to the Rattanakosin Periods usually came from Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan provinces. Chinese communities in Thailand can be divided into five groups according to the dialects they speak, namely Teochew, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, and Hainanese. Among these five groups, the Hokkiens and Cantonese came to Thailand in the Ayutthaya Period. But after the fail of Ayutthaya to the Early Rattanakosin Period a large number of Teochew Chinese migrated until they formed the biggest group in Bangkok, followed by Hainanese and Hakkas. Key words : Chinese communities in Thailand, Teochew, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Hainanese