Thai Alphabet ตัวอักษรไทย
Master the 44 consonants, vowel sounds, and tones of the Thai writing system
Faded or transparent consonants are obsolete and no longer used in modern Thai.
The individual vowel marks and modifiers used in Thai writing. Click any symbol to hear its sound.
Thai has 9 basic vowel sounds, each with a short and long form. Vowel length changes meaning. Click any example to hear it.
Diphthongs are two vowel sounds blended together in one syllable. Click any card to hear the example.
Like 'ea' in 'idea'
'ʉ' gliding to 'a'
'oo' gliding to 'a'
These vowel forms have unique written representations or combine a vowel with a consonant sound.
ai /aj/
Like 'i' in 'hi'
ao /aw/
Like 'ow' in 'cow'
am /am/
Vowel + nasal, like 'um' in 'come'
Thai has 5 tones. The same syllable spoken with a different tone means something completely different. Click example words to hear them.
Mid Tone
สามัญ No markFlat, neutral pitch at your normal speaking level.
Low Tone
เอก ◌่Flat, at a lower pitch than normal.
Falling Tone
โท ◌้Starts high and drops sharply, like saying 'No!' in disapproval.
High Tone
ตรี ◌๊Flat, at a higher pitch than normal.
Rising Tone
จัตวา ◌๋Starts low and rises, like asking 'Really?' with surprise.
Hear the Difference
The syllable "paa" with each of the 5 tones:
Tone Rules Cheatsheet
Download PNG
Find the tone of any syllable by its consonant class, tone mark, and syllable type.
| Consonant Class | Tone Marks | No Tone Mark | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mai ek
|
mai tho
|
mai tri
|
mai chattawa
|
Live | Dead long | Dead short | |
| Mid Class (9) ก จ ฎ ฏ ด ต บ ป อ | ˋ low | ˆ falling | ˊ high | ˇ rising | ˉ mid | ˋ low | ˋ low |
| High Class (11) ข ฃ ฉ ฐ ถ ผ ฝ ศ ษ ส ห | ˋ low | ˆ falling | n/a | n/a | ˇ rising | ˋ low | ˋ low |
| Low Class (24) ค ฅ ฆ ง ช ซ ฌ ญ ฑ ฒ ณ ท ธ น พ ฟ ภ ม ย ร ล ว ฬ ฮ | ˆ falling | ˊ high | n/a | n/a | ˉ mid | ˆ falling | ˊ high |
Live vs Dead Syllables
Live Syllable
Ends in a long vowel or a sonorant final consonant (sound that resonates: ง, น, ญ, ณ, ม, ย, ร, ล, ฬ, ว).
Dead Syllable
Ends in a short vowel or a stop final consonant (sound that stops abruptly: ก, ข, ค, ฆ, จ, ฉ, ช, ฌ, ซ, ด, ฎ, ต, ฏ, ถ, ท, ธ, ฑ, ฒ, บ, ป, ผ, พ, ภ, ฟ, ส, ศ, ษ).