Thai Alphabet
Vowels
Basic Vowels
syllable
syllable
Complex vowels
syllable
syllable
Although the writing is identical to the two of เ,
it is still a separate key on the keyboard: แ.
Despite the fact that visually the result looks
the same, correct character should still be used,
so that the typing is validly read by apps such as
autocomplition, translation, search and so on.'
closed syllable
ending with
anything except ร Example: นม nom¯ — milk
syllable
closed syllable
ending with ร Example: ละคร la´khɔ:n¯ — TV series
syllable
ending with ย
Finals
The vowels of this group
come with an additional
sound, as if they were
followed by an additional
consonant. So they always
make a closed syllable.
And there cannot be
another consonant after.
Reading rules remains
the same as for ordinary
closed syllables.
The vowels of this group
come with an additional
sound, as if they were
followed by an additional
consonant. So they always
make a closed syllable.
And there cannot be
another consonant after.
Reading rules remains
the same as for ordinary
closed syllables.
abbreviation for ◌ัม am Additional sound m here
is kinda included into the
letter. As a result it gives
us a closed live syllable. e
does not exist
abbreviation for ◌ัย ay Additional sound y here
is kinda included into the
letter. As a result it gives
us a closed live syllable.
“May Malay”
does not exist
abbreviation for ◌ัย ay Additional sound y here
is kinda included into the
letter. As a result it gives
us a closed live syllable.
“May Muan”
does not exist
Can be taken as an
abbreviation for ◌ะ + ว.
In this hint it's separated
with plus for not being
mistaken with ◌ัว
diphthong (see above).
is kinda included into the
letter. As a result it gives
us a closed live syllable. g◌k
does not exist
Diphthongs
Two vowel sounds merge. When
pronouncing, one smoothly turns
into the other.
It does not affect the reading
rules though. You can think about
diphthongs as ordinary vowels.
Two vowel sounds merge. When
pronouncing, one smoothly turns
into the other.
It does not affect the reading
rules though. You can think about
diphthongs as ordinary vowels.
syllable Example: เรียน — learn
Supposed to be ri:an¯,
but reads as ri:ən¯.
syllable Not to be confused with ว consonant.
That one is just w or u if at the end
of a syllable. And this one is the u:a
diphthong in between two consonants.
Example: สวน su:anˇ — park.
Quasi-letters
These kinda set up
whole syllable.
Can be taken as an abbreviation
for รึ rɯ´ or ริ ri´. Which one
exactly depends on the word.
• Examples with รึ rɯ´:
ฤดู rɯ´du:¯ — season,
พฤกษา phrɯk´sa:ˇ — flora.
• Examples with ริ ri´:
อังกฤษ ang¯krit` — England,
ฤทธิ์ rit´ — might.
There is one more case that
stands out from the scheme
but uses the same glyph:
a long sound เรอ rə:¯.
• Example with เรอ rə:¯:
ฤกษ์ rə:kˆ — occasion.
the reading rules of รึ / ริ A
abbreviation for รือ rɯ:¯ A1
The sound is identical to ◌ัน.
Example: กรรไกร kan¯kray¯ — scissors
The glyph is identical to the consonant ร.
Not to be confused with abbreviations:
ร.ร. = โรงเรียน ro:ng¯ri:ən¯ — school,
รร. = โรงแรม ro:ng¯rɛ:m¯ — hotel.
syllable Examples:
กรรม kam¯ — karma,
วรรค wak´ — paragraph.
does not exist
Consonants
High class consonants (dead syllable)
should be written as chh. But english ch
already sounds soft, and when read ฉ it is
not necessary to add an aspiration. So in
transcription we don\'t add second h. N/A Does not occur at the
end of a syllable
mus. instrument C
end of a syllable
end of a syllable
following consonant into a high class.
Example: หมอ mɔ:ˇ — doctor. In this
example the high class reading rules
apply to the ม. h N/A Does not occur at the
end of a syllable
Middle class consonants (dead syllable)
headdress E
• It can also work as a glyph that moves the
following consonant into a middle class.
There are only four words like that:
- อยู่ yu:` — to be somewher
- อยาก ya:k` — to want
- อย่า ya:` — do not
- อย่าง ya:ng` — type, kind, variety; like, as
In this example the middle class reading
rules apply to the ย.
• There is also a vowel with the same spelling.
Silent consonant. In Thai writing, vowels
cannot go alone without consonants, i.e.
cannot form a syllable on their own. But
a syllable can begin with a vowel sound.
In such cases อ is used, and the
corresponding vowel is attached to it.
Example: อะไร a`ray¯ — question “what”.
For the same reason, when writing vowels
in the alphabet, the letter อ is often used
instead of the placeholder symbol ◌.
Does not occur at the end
of a syllable.
As a vowel it can be at the
end of an open syllable. In
this case, see the vowel อ.
bathtub, sink v
Low class consonants
Sonorant (live syllable)
'These letters give sonorous sounds. When pronouncing such sounds, the voice (tone) is greater than the noise. For example in English language it is L, R, M, N, Y, W sounds.
' 'This is an important for learning the rules of reading. If the sonorant consonant is at the end of a syllable, then a live syllable is formed. All other consonants of all classes at the end of a syllable form a dead syllable.
'noviciate I
character, giant p
Similar glyph also used for the variation
of vowel diphthong ◌ัว u:a. Specifically
its variant in closed syllable ◌ว◌.
See this diphthong in the vowels column.
Here is another case.
silent. Unreadable itselft and does not affect
reading rules: • In the ศร it is always silent. Example ศรี si:ˇ
— majesty; glory; honor; splendor • In the สร it is silent most of the time.
Example: สระว่ายน้ำ sa`wa:yˆnam´ — pool. • In the จร it is always silent. Thought there is
only one word exists: จริง jing¯ — truth; really?
- Combination of ทร sometimes read as s.
Example: ทราบ sa:pˆ — to know.
- Combination รร gives vowel sound. See this
vowel at the end of vowels column. n
Voiceless (dead syllable)
end of a syllable
name of myth.
heroines R
bowl or tray
with pedestal r
end of a syllable
Marks
Digits
Tones
ˆ for low
´ for low
Other
Example: 250฿
+ 'Currency code: THB
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Definitions
-
Open syllable — syllable containing: consonant + vowel.
For example นา or นะ. -
Closed syllable — syllable containing: consonant + vowel + consonant.
For example นาน or นัน.
Bookmarks
- On iOS open site in Safari, tap Share , scroll menu down and choose Add to Home Screen.
- On Android open site in Chrome, tap More and near the end of the list, find the menu item Add to Home Screen.
Bug on Apple devices
Unfortunately, recent updates to Safari have broken the ability to highlight individual characters in Thai language. Superscript and subscript characters such as some vowels and tone marks just disappear from the page. You can see the bug in action on the test subdomain safari.thai-alphabet.com.
Whatʼs even more worse is the fact that all other browsers on Apple smartphones are forced to use the Safari engine, being nothing more than just itʼs reskin. So they also inherit the bug. Basically there is no choice on the iPhone but to live with this bug.
On Apple computers, the situation is better. Only Safari is damaged. Other browsers use their own engines and work correctly. On a macbook, it would be better to use Chrome or, for example, Firefox.
Apple is aware of the problem, but it is unknown if and when they plan to fix it.
The best thing that can be done for Safari is avoiding the bug by replacing the placeholder character with an en dash and canceling color highlight. This is a less illustrative option, but at least it works:
Works in all browsers.
People
Friends
Other
- Some translations are taken from the thai-language.com
Links
- Telegram chat — Report a bug, suggest an idea.
- Roadmap — Leave a comment in an online document.
- thai.su — Parent project with other tools for learning Thai.