Not just the leading consonant that has a hidden -ะ (-a) accompanies it. The hidden -ะ (-a) is also accompanies a single letter in the middle of the word which does not have any vowels attached to it.

For example:

สนทนา (sǒn-tha-naa) = to have a conversation, to talk

นนทบุรี (non-thá-burii) = Nonthaburi Province in Thailand

วาตภัย (waa-ta-phay) = windstorm

It also happens with the compound words as the linking sound between the first word and the second word.

For example:

ผลไม้ (phǒn-la-máay) = fruit

ธุรกิจ (thú-rá-kìt) = business

กิจกรรม (kìt-ca-kam) = activity

However, when there is a rule, there is an exception. There are words which are the compound words but there is no hidden a between them.

For example:

สุภาพบุรุษ (sù-phâap-bu-rùt) = gentleman

The word สุภาพ (sù-phâap) means polite and บุรุษ (bu-rùt) means a man, so it becomes the word ‘gentleman’.

Reading 1 Words with meaning