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15.
Don’t be afraid to start learning to read Thai! Give yourself a few weeks to learn to read Thai following the below steps, and you will be able to read anything in Thai!
Note: This page is better on tablet, laptop and computer’s screen.
Group | Letters | Note |
---|---|---|
Consonants | ก ข ฃ ค ฅ ฆ ง จ ฉ ช ซ ฌ ญ ฎ ฏ ฐ ฑ ฒ ณ ด ต ถ ท ธ น บ ป ผ ฝ พ ฟ ภ ม ย ร ล ว ศ ษ ส ห ฬ อ ฮ | There are 44 written forms of consonant but there are only 21 spoken sounds because some consonants share the same sound. All these consonants are divided into 3 classes which are High, Middle, and Low Classes. Each group has their own 'Tone Rules' |
Vowels | ิ, ึ, เ - ะ, เ -, เเ - ะ, แ-, ึ, ือ, เ-อะ, เ-อ, - ะ, ั-, -า, ุ, ู, โ-ะ, โ-, เ-าะ, -อ, เ ียะ, เ ีย, เ ือะ, เ ือ, ัวะ, ัว, ำ, ไ-, ใ-, เ-า, | All these are the base forms of the vowels. Some vowels are 'Changed Vowels' which means their base form will change when the syllable/word has a final consonant. |
Tone Marks | ่, ้, ๊, ๋ | There are 5 tones in Thai but there are only 4 marks. |
Others | ็, ์, -ๆ, -ฯ, ฯลฯ, ฤ, ฤา, ฦ, ฦา, รร | These other letters have their own functions such as muting a consonant, repeating the word, shortening the word, etc. |
Initial Consonant | Vowel | Tone Mark | Final Consonant | Word |
---|---|---|---|---|
ด | ี | - | - | ดี means good |
ก | แ | ่ | - | แก่ means old |
บ | า | ้ | -น | บ้าน means home |
There are 2 types of syllable in the Thai Language. One is called OPEN SYLLABLE and another is called CLOSED SYLLABLE. Thai people know them as คำเป็น (kham pen) which literally means a live word while คำตาย (kham taay) which means a dead word.
It is a characteristic of the way the word is pronounced. When you pronounce an open syllable, you can prolong the sound, while you cannot do the same thing with the closed syllable.
Open Syllable | Reason | Closed Syllable | Reason |
---|---|---|---|
กา (kaa) | Long vowel | กะ (ka) | Short vowel |
กาน (kaan) | Final sound is 'n' | กาบ (kàap) | Final sound is 'p' |
กำ (kam) | Use ำ vowel | กาด (kàat) | Final sound is 't' |
Now, try to indicate the types following syllables whether it is OPEN or CLOSED, and give the reason why it is so. You can check the correct answers under the table.
Syllable | Reason | |
---|---|---|
มา (maa) | open | use long vowel |
กิน (kin) | ||
จะ (ca) | ||
สาก (sàak) | ||
ลิง (liŋ) | ||
ดีด (dìit) | ||
งีบ (ŋîip) | ||
จำ (cam) | ||
ไป (pay) | ||
เรา (raw) | ||
ใจ (cay) |
Syllable | Reason | |
---|---|---|
มา (maa) | open | use long vowel |
กิน (kin) | open | ends with 'n' |
จะ (ca) | closed | use short vowel |
สาก (sàak) | closed | ends with 'k' |
ลิง (liŋ) | open | ends with 'ŋ' or 'ng' |
ดีด (dìit) | closed | ends with 't' |
งีบ (ŋîip) | closed | ends with 'p' |
จำ (cam) | open | use ำ vowel |
ไป (pay) | open | use ไ- vowel |
เรา (raw) | open | use เ-า vowel |
ใจ (cay) | open | use ใ- vowel |
There are 44 consonants in reading and writing Thai but there are only 21 sounds. It is because some letters share the same sound. The letter ฃ (kh) and ฅ (kh) are no longer used but they are still members of the list. All the consonants are divided into 3 different classes which are called High Class, Middle Class and Low Class.
It is important to know which consonant belongs to which class because each class has their own tone’s rule. In the table below, you will see all consonants divided into 3 groups. You can memorize them all at once but that’s not what I usually suggest my students to do. Learn each class at a time because it will make it easier for you.
This section is just to give you an overall idea of the consonant classes. Later, you will start memorizing the consonants of each class separately.
Classes | number of letters | members | Note |
---|---|---|---|
High | 11 | ข, ฉ, ถ, ฐ, ผ, ฝ, ศ, ษ, ส, ห | ฃ is no longer used |
Middle | 9 | ก, จ, ด, ต, ฎ, ฏ, บ, ป, อ, | - |
Low | 24 | ค, ฆ, ช, ฌ, ฑ, ฒ, ท, ธ, พ, ภ, ฟ, ซ, ฮ, ง, น, ณ, ม, ย, ญ, ร, ล, ฬ, ว | ฅ is no longer used |
There are 28 vowels in reading Thai and they are divided into 3 categories including single vowel, mixed vowel, and vowel with an ending sound. The length of the vowel sound is also important because it can change the meaning of the word. The same vowel sounds with different length is considered a different sound.
Moreover, the form of some vowels can be changed when the final consonant comes in. But no worries for now, let’s see the table below to make it clearer.
Single Vowel | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Short Vowel | Long Vowel | ||||
Thai Script | Symbols | Sounds | Thai Script | Symbols | Sounds |
ิ | i | ี | ii | ||
เ - ะ / เ ็ | e | เ - | ee | ||
เเ - ะ / แ ็ | æ | แ - | ææ | ||
ึ | ɨ | ือ / ื | ɨɨ | ||
เ - อะ | ə | เ - อ / เ ิ | əə | ||
- ะ / ั | a | - า | aa | ||
ุ | u | ู | uu | ||
โ - ะ / disappear | o | โ - | oo | ||
เ - าะ / ็อ | ɔ | - อ | ɔɔ | ||
Note: There are 7 changed vowels in a Single Vowel group. The vowel form after the / (slash) is the changed form of them. |
MIXED VOWELS (DIPHTHONGS) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Short Vowels | Long Vowels | ||||
Thai Script | Symbols | Sounds | Thai Script | Symbols | Sounds |
เ ียะ | iaʔ | เ ีย | ia | ||
เ ือะ | ɨaʔ | เ ือ | ɨa | ||
ั วะ | uaʔ | ั ว / -ว | ua | ||
Note: There is 1 changed vowel in the Mixed Vowel group. The changed form is shown after a / (slash) |
VOWELS WITH FINAL SOUNDS | ||
---|---|---|
Short Vowel | ||
Thai Script | Symbols | Sounds |
ำ | am | |
ไ - / ใ - | ay | |
เ - า | aw |
This is the introduction of the final consonant in Reading Thai. You will focus on memorizing the rule in the later step. But it is good for you to first know its concept.
There are 44 consonants in Thai. The letters ฃ (kh) and ฅ (kh) are no longer used as both initial consonant and final consonant. And there are 7 letters which are not used as a final consonant including ฉ (ch), ฌ (ch), ผ (ph), ฝ (f), อ (ʔ), and ฮ (h).
Therefore, 35 letters left which can be used as a final consonant. In speaking Thai, there are only 8 final sounds and that means these 35 letters must be divided into 8 groups. See the table below.
Group | Members | Examples |
---|---|---|
- ก (k) | ก (k), ข (kh), ค (kh), ฆ (kh) | มาก (mâak) สุข (sùk), โชค (chôok), เมฆ (mêek) |
- ด (t) | ด (d), ฎ (d), ต (t), ฏ (t) จ (c), ช (ch) ฐ (th), ฑ (th), ฒ (th), ถ (th), ท (th), ธ (th) ศ (s), ษ (s), ส (s), ซ (s) | บาด (bàat), กฎ (kòt), จิต (cìt), นาฏ (nâat) กาจ (kàat), เวช (wêet) รัฐ (rát), ษัฑ (sàt), วัฒ (wát), รถ (rót), บาท (bàat), โกรธ (kròot) กาศ (kàat), โทษ (thôot), รส (rót), ก๊าซ (káat) |
- บ (p) | บ (b), ป (p), พ (ph), ภ (ph), ฟ (f) | จับ (càp) บาป (bàap) ภาพ (phâap), โลภ (lôop) กราฟ (kráap) |
- น (n) | น (n), ณ (n) ญ (y) ร (r) ล (l), ฬ (l) | กิน (kin), ญาณ (yaan) ปัญ (pan) หาร (hǎan) ผล (phǒn), วาฬ (waan) |
- ง (ŋ) | - | ลุง (luŋ) |
- ม (m) | - | ยาม (yaam) |
- ย (y) | - | โดย (dooy) |
- ว (w) | - | แก้ว (kæ̂æw) |
Note: 1. Although these letters produce different sounds when they are used as the initial sound, they give exactly the same sound when they are used as a final consonant. 2. The letter ญ (y) has a unique rule. When it's used as the initial consonant, it produces 'y' sound, but when it's used as a final consonant, it gives 'n' sound NOT 'y' sound. |
You don’t need to memorize all letters of each group at once. I suggest you learn the 8 main final consonants (ก, ด, บ, น, ง, ม, ย, ว) first.
Just for your information, Thai kids call each group of final consonant as แม่ (mæ̂æ) which means a mother. They would call
But it is not important for you to learn the groups’ names.
There are 5 tones in speaking and reading Thai but there are only 4 tone marks. The tone is another essential part in learning Thai because when the tone of a word changes, the meaning of the word changes as well.
Each tone mark has its own name. It is not a must to remember the name of each tone mark, but It is very important that you know the sound of each mark.
First, let’s get familiar with each of the tones and then listen to the example words. And then practice pronouncing them. The important point here is that you ‘recognize’ the differences among these 5 tones. Do not worry about the tone marks yet at this stage.
Names of Tones in English | Symbols used in Transcription | Example words | How it sounds |
---|---|---|---|
Middle Tone | maa | ||
Low Tone | ![]() | màa | |
Falling Tone | ![]() | mâa | |
High Tone | ![]() | máa | |
Rising Tone | ![]() | mǎa |
Secondly, after you get the idea of these 5 different tonal sounds, start learning the tone marks written in Thai letter. There are 4 tone marks used in writing Thai and they have their own names.
Name | Tone Marks | How to Use It |
---|---|---|
ไม้เอก (máay ʔèek) | ่ | ก่า |
ไม้โท (máay thoo) | ้ | ก้า |
ไม้ตรี (máay trii) | ๊ | ก๊า |
ไม้จัตวา (máay càttawaa) | ๋ | ก๋า |
Note: The tone mark is always put above the main (initial) letter of the word. Just like the examples on the right column from row 1-4. And it is put above the vowel if that word has a top vowel. See the example on the right column of this row. Therefore, the tone marks are always on top of any letters. | กี่, กี้, กี๊, กี๋ |
The reason that I do not attach a specific tonal sound to to each mark is because one tone mark can produce more than one tonal sound. When a tone mark is put on a ‘Middle Class’ consonant, it gives one tone. But if you put the same tone mark on a ‘Low Class’ consonant, it gives a different tone.
Let’s see how the tone marks work with different classes of consonant.
Tonal Sounds | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Class | Syllable | Middle Tone | Low Tone | Falling Tone | High Tone | Rising Tone |
High | Open | - | ข่า | ข้า | - | ขา |
Closed | - | ขะ | ข้ะ | - | - | |
Middle | Open | กา | ก่า | ก้า | ก๊า | ก๋า |
Closed | - | กะ | ก้ะ | ก๊ะ | ก๋ะ | |
Low | Open | คา | - | ค่า | ค้า | - |
Closed (Long Vowel) | - | - | คาบ | ค้าบ | - | |
Closed (Short Vowel) | - | - | ค่ะ | คะ | - |
From the table above, you can see that when ไม้เอก (máay ʔèek) ่ is put above ข (kh) letter which belongs to High Class consonant, it produces a Low Tone. On the other hand, when this same tone mark is put above ค (kh) letter which belongs to Low Class Consonant, it gives a Falling Tone.
Looking at this table you will notice that there are 3 factors that have an effect on the tone.
The Low Class Consonant has an additional rule for its Closed Syllable. You can see from the table that the length of the vowel also affect the tone as well.
Now, you may feel like there are so many rules to learn. It is true if you try to learn everything at once. Give yourself a little more time and be a little more patient to learn to read Thai.
Go to the next section ‘Start Reading Thai Now!’ to start reading your first word in Thai.
1. MIDDLE CLASS / OPEN SYLLABLE (i)
2. MIDDLE CLASS / OPEN SYLLABLE (ii)
3. MIDDLE CLASS / OPEN SYLLABLE / FINAL CONSONANT
4. Middle class / closed syllable (i)
5. Middle class / closed syllable (iI)
6. HIGH class / OPEN AND closed syllable (i)
7. HIGH class / OPEN AND closed syllable (iI)
8. HIGH class / OPEN AND closed syllable (iII)
11. the only อย- words in thai
14. LOW CLASS / closed SYLLABLE
15. LOW CLASS / open & closed syllable
20. FINAL CONSONANTS (IRREGULAR)