The Low Class Consonant
Lesson 6
The biggest group of consonants is the low class. Any consonants that are not middle class and high class belong here.
You will spend some time to remember all of them, but take your time!
First, we will start with the tone rule of low class consonants. Here I put the tone rules for middle class and high class consonants for you so you can see the differences.
Tone rules for middle class consonant
- Open syllable:
– Syllables ending with n, ŋ (ng), m, w, or y sounds, or a long vowel is a middle tone
– Syllables with ำ (-am), เ-า (-aw), ไ- (ay), or ใ- (ay) vowels is a middle tone - Closed syllable:
– Syllables ending with k, t, or p sounds, or a short vowel is a low tone - Tone marks:
– ่ = low / ้ = falling / ๊ = high / ๋ = rising
Tone rules for high class consonant
- Open syllable:
– Syllables ending with n, ŋ (ng), m, w, or y sounds, or a long vowel is a rising tone
– Syllables with ำ (-am), เ-า (-aw), ไ- (ay), or ใ- (ay) vowels is a rising tone - Closed syllable:
– Syllables ending with k, t, or p sounds, or a short vowel is a low tone - Tone marks:
– ่ = low / ้ = falling
Tone rules for low class consonant
- Open syllable:
– Syllables ending with n, ŋ (ng), m, w, or y sounds, or a long vowel is a middle tone
– Syllables with ำ (-am), เ-า (-aw), ไ- (ay), or ใ- (ay) vowels is a middle tone - Closed syllable:
– Syllables ending with k, t, or p with/or a short vowel have a high tone sound
– Syllables ending with k, t, or p with a long vowel have a falling tone sound - Tone marks:
– ่ = falling / ้ = high
The tone of closed syllable with a short vowel is different from when it has a long vowel. And the tone marks become one step higher. This tone mark ่ becomes a falling tone and the this tone mark ้ becomes a high tone.
That’s it! This is all about the tone rules in reading and writing Thai. If you like to see this rule in a table format, click here.
Take the quiz to check your understanding
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Lesson 7
In this lesson, we will break the low class consonants into three small groups. Starting from the most commonly used to the least ones.
Take your time memorizing all of the following consonants. Once you know all the consonants and their rules, the rest will be easy.
First group
| LETTER | SOUND | NAME | MEANING OF THE NAME | AUDIO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| น | nɔɔ | หนู (nǔu) | a mouse | |
| ม | mɔɔ | ม้า (máa) | a horse | |
| ง | ŋɔɔ | งู (ŋuu) | a snake |
|
| ย | yɔɔ | ยักษ์ (yák) | a giant | |
| ร | rɔɔ | เรือ (rɨa) | a boat |
|
| ล | lɔɔ | ลิง (liŋ) | a monkey | |
| ว | wɔɔ | แหวน (wæ̌æn) | a ring |
Practice reading
| นอน | นะ | แนบ | นั่ง | น้อง |
| มี | มัก | มาก | แม่ | มื้อ |
| เงิน | เงาะ | งอก | โง่ | ง้อ |
| ยุง | เยอะ | ยาก | ยุ่ง | ย้าย |
| เร็ว | รัก | รีบ | เริ่ม | รู้ |
| เล | ลึก | โลก | ลู่ | โล้น |
| วัน | แวะ | วาด | ว่าย | แว้บ |
Can you read all the above words correctly? If not yet, that’s not your fault. You need more time to work on it. But if you are ready, let’s move to the next group.
Second group
| LETTER | SOUND | NAME | MEANING OF THE NAME | AUDIO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ค | khɔɔ | ควาย (khwaay) | a buffalo | |
| ช | chɔɔ | ช้าง (cháaŋ) | an elephant | |
| ท | thɔɔ | ทหาร (tháhǎan) | a soldier | |
| พ | phɔɔ | พาน (phaan) | a tray with pedestal | |
| ภ | phɔɔ | สำเภา (sǎmphaw) | a barque | |
| ฟ | fɔɔ | ฟัน (fan) | a tooth | |
| ซ | sɔɔ | โซ่ (sôo) | a chain |
Let’s read it
| คน | คุก | คอก | ค่า | ค้อน |
| ชา | เช็ด | ชืด | ช่อง | ช้าง |
| ซอ | ซบ | ซีด | ซี่ | ซ้าย |
| ทาง | ทึก | แทบ | ที่ | ท้อง |
| โพ | แพะ | เพิก | พ่อ | แพ้ |
| ฟัน | เฟอะ | ฟาด | ฟู่ | ฟ้า |
| ภู | ภัก | ภาก | ภ่า | เภ้ |
Are you ready for the last group of consonants? If yes, let’s rock it!
Last group
| LETTER | SOUND | NAME | MEANING OF THE NAME | AUDIO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ณ | nɔɔ | เณร (neen) | a novice monk | |
| ญ | yɔɔ | หญิง (yǐŋ) | a woman | |
| ฆ | khɔɔ | ระฆัง (rákhaŋ) | a bell | |
| ฌ | chɔɔ | เฌอ (chəə) | a tree | |
| ฑ | thɔɔ | มณโฑ (monthoo) | a name of a lady character in a Thai novel. | |
| ฒ | thɔɔ | ผู้เฒ่า (phûu-thâw) | an elderly | |
| ธ | thɔɔ | ธง (thoŋ) | a flag | |
| ฬ | lɔɔ | จุฬา (culaa) | a star-shaped kite | |
| ฮ | hɔɔ | นกฮูก (nók hûuk) | an owl |
We will not have reading practice for this group because there are not many words that begin with these letters.
I’d recommend you learn their characters and sounds. You still need to know them all because you will see them as a part of a word.
To wrap up
Congratulations! You have learned all the Thai consonants with their tone rules. We’ve also covered all 18 single vowels so far. The rest will be easy once you feel confident with these 7 lessons.
Here is a list of what you have learned from these two lessons.
- Learn a tone rule of low class consonant
- See how the tone rules are different among all three classes of consonants
- Complete the rest of the consonants
Are you ready for the rest? Let’s do it!