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The Thai alphabet

The Thai script has 44 consonant letters (two of them now obsolete), around 15 basic vowel symbols that combine into 30-plus vowel forms, and four tone marks. It developed from the Old Khmer script, itself descended from the Brahmi scripts of India, and is traditionally credited to King Ram Khamhaeng of Sukhothai in 1283. It is an abugida: vowels are written as marks above, below, before or after the consonant they follow in speech, and words are written without spaces between them.

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Consonants 44

ก

k · ko kai · mid class

unaspirated k, like the k in 'skate' [k] ไก่ kai — chicken

ข

kh · kho khai · high class

k in 'kite' (with a puff of air) [kʰ] ไข่ khai — egg

ฃ

kh · kho khuat · high class

k in 'kite' (with a puff of air) [kʰ] ฃวด khuat — bottle (old spelling, now ขวด) Obsolete — no longer used in modern spelling.

ค

kh · kho khwai · low class

k in 'kite' (with a puff of air) [kʰ] ควาย khwai — water buffalo

ฅ

kh · kho khon · low class

k in 'kite' (with a puff of air) [kʰ] ฅน khon — person (old spelling, now คน) Obsolete — no longer used in modern spelling.

ฆ

kh · kho rakhang · low class

k in 'kite' (with a puff of air) [kʰ] ระฆัง rakhang — bell Mostly in words from Pali and Sanskrit.

ง

ng · ngo ngu · low class

ng in 'sing' — but at the start of a syllable [ŋ] งู ngu — snake Practise by saying "sing-ing" and dropping the "si".

จ

ch · cho chan · mid class

unaspirated ch, between the j in 'jam' and the ch in 'chip' [tɕ] จาน chan — plate

ฉ

ch · cho ching · high class

ch in 'chip' [tɕʰ] ฉิ่ง ching — small cymbals

ช

ch · cho chang · low class

ch in 'chip' [tɕʰ] ช้าง chang — elephant

ซ

s · so so · low class

s in 'sun' [s] โซ่ so — chain

ฌ

ch · cho choe · low class

ch in 'chip' [tɕʰ] เฌอ choe — tree Rare; mostly in words from Pali and Sanskrit.

ญ

y · yo ying · low class

y in 'yes' [j] หญิง ying — woman Pronounced n at the end of a syllable.

ฎ

d · do chada · mid class

d in 'dog' [d] ชฎา chada — classical Thai dance headdress Rare; mostly in Pali and Sanskrit words.

ฏ

t · to patak · mid class

unaspirated t, like the t in 'stop' [t] ปฏัก patak — goad Rare; mostly in Pali and Sanskrit words.

ฐ

th · tho than · high class

t in 'top' (with a puff of air) [tʰ] ฐาน than — base; pedestal Rare; mostly in Pali and Sanskrit words.

ฑ

th · tho montho · low class

t in 'top' (with a puff of air); in some words d [tʰ] มณโฑ montho — Montho (queen in the Ramakien epic) Pronounced d in a few words, e.g. บัณฑิต bandit "graduate".

ฒ

th · tho phuthao · low class

t in 'top' (with a puff of air) [tʰ] ผู้เฒ่า phuthao — old man; elder Rare.

ณ

n · no nen · low class

n in 'no' [n] เณร nen — novice monk Mostly in Pali and Sanskrit words.

ด

d · do dek · mid class

d in 'dog' [d] เด็ก dek — child Pronounced t at the end of a syllable.

ต

t · to tao · mid class

unaspirated t, like the t in 'stop' [t] เต่า tao — turtle

ถ

th · tho thung · high class

t in 'top' (with a puff of air) [tʰ] ถุง thung — bag Romanised th, but never the English "th" sound.

ท

th · tho thahan · low class

t in 'top' (with a puff of air) [tʰ] ทหาร thahan — soldier

ธ

th · tho thong · low class

t in 'top' (with a puff of air) [tʰ] ธง thong — flag

น

n · no nu · low class

n in 'no' [n] หนู nu — mouse; rat

บ

b · bo baimai · mid class

b in 'boy' [b] ใบไม้ baimai — leaf Pronounced p at the end of a syllable.

ป

p · po pla · mid class

unaspirated p, like the p in 'spin' [p] ปลา pla — fish

ผ

ph · pho phueng · high class

p in 'pen' (with a puff of air) [pʰ] ผึ้ง phueng — bee Romanised ph, but never an f sound.

ฝ

f · fo fa · high class

f in 'fun' [f] ฝา fa — lid

พ

ph · pho phan · low class

p in 'pen' (with a puff of air) [pʰ] พาน phan — pedestal tray

ฟ

f · fo fan · low class

f in 'fun' [f] ฟัน fan — tooth

ภ

ph · pho samphao · low class

p in 'pen' (with a puff of air) [pʰ] สำเภา samphao — Chinese junk (sailing ship)

ม

m · mo ma · low class

m in 'moon' [m] ม้า ma — horse

ย

y · yo yak · low class

y in 'yes' [j] ยักษ์ yak — giant Also part of some vowel spellings.

ร

r · ro ruea · low class

rolled or tapped r (often said as l in casual speech) [r] เรือ ruea — boat Pronounced n at the end of a syllable.

ล

l · lo ling · low class

l in 'look' [l] ลิง ling — monkey Pronounced n at the end of a syllable.

ว

w · wo waen · low class

w in 'wet' [w] แหวน waen — ring Also part of some vowel spellings (e.g. ◌ัว).

ศ

s · so sala · high class

s in 'sun' [s] ศาลา sala — pavilion Mostly in Pali and Sanskrit words.

ษ

s · so ruesi · high class

s in 'sun' [s] ฤๅษี ruesi — hermit Mostly in Sanskrit words.

ส

s · so suea · high class

s in 'sun' [s] เสือ suea — tiger The most common high-class s.

ห

h · ho hip · high class

h in 'hat' [h] หีบ hip — chest; box A silent ห before a low consonant (หน, หม, หล…) makes it follow high-class tone rules.

ฬ

l · lo chula · low class

l in 'look' [l] จุฬา chula — star-shaped kite Rare.

อ

· o ang · mid class

silent vowel carrier (a light glottal stop before the vowel) [ʔ] อ่าง ang — basin Used to "hold" a vowel that starts a syllable; also the vowel ◌อ (o).

ฮ

h · ho nokhuk · low class

h in 'hat' [h] นกฮูก nokhuk — owl

Vowels 25

◌ะ

a · sara a

short a, like 'u' in 'cut' [a] จะ cha — will (future marker) Short vowel.

◌ั

a · mai han-akat

short a inside a closed syllable [a] มัน man — it Written above the consonant when a final consonant follows.

◌า

a · sara aa

long a in 'father' [aː] มา ma — to come Long vowel.

◌ิ

i · sara i

short i, like 'ee' cut short [i] กิน kin — to eat Short vowel.

◌ี

i · sara ii

long ee in 'see' [iː] ดี di — good Long vowel.

◌ึ

ue · sara ue

short unrounded u: say 'oo' with lips spread in a smile [ɯ] ถึง thueng — to arrive; to reach Short vowel.

◌ื

ue · sara uee

long unrounded u: 'oo' with lips spread [ɯː] ยืน yuen — to stand Without a final consonant it is written ◌ือ, as in มือ mue "hand".

◌ุ

u · sara u

short u in 'put' [u] ลุง lung — uncle (older than parent) Written below the consonant.

◌ู

u · sara uu

long oo in 'food' [uː] ดู du — to look; to watch Written below the consonant.

เ◌ะ

e · sara e

short e in 'pet' [e] เตะ te — to kick เ is written before the consonant but pronounced after it.

เ◌

e · sara ee

long e, like 'ay' in 'day' without the y-glide [eː] เท the — to pour Written before the consonant.

แ◌ะ

ae · sara ae

short a in 'cat' [ɛ] และ lae — and Short vowel.

แ◌

ae · sara aae

long a in 'cat', drawn out [ɛː] แม่ mae — mother Written before the consonant.

โ◌ะ

o · sara o

short o, like 'o' in 'go' cut short [o] โต๊ะ to — table Short vowel.

โ◌

o · sara oo

long o in 'go' without the w-glide [oː] โต to — big; to grow Written before the consonant.

เ◌าะ

o · sara o (short open)

short o in British 'hot' [ɔ] เกาะ ko — island Short vowel.

◌อ

o · sara oo (long open)

aw in 'law' [ɔː] พอ pho — enough Long vowel.

เ◌อ

oe · sara oe

like 'er' in British 'her', without the r [ɤː] เธอ thoe — you; she Long vowel.

เ◌ีย

ia · sara ia

ee-a, as in 'Mia' [iːa] เรียน rian — to study Long vowel.

เ◌ือ

uea · sara uea

unrounded 'oo' gliding to a [ɯːa] เสือ suea — tiger Long vowel.

◌ัว

ua · sara ua

oo-a, as in 'Kahlua' [uːa] วัว wua — cow Long vowel.

◌ำ

am · sara am

'um' in 'hum' [am] น้ำ nam — water Short vowel.

ใ◌

ai · sara ai mai muan

'i' in 'Thai' or 'eye' [aj] ใจ chai — heart; mind Used in only 20 words; sounds the same as ไ◌.

ไ◌

ai · sara ai mai malai

'i' in 'Thai' or 'eye' [aj] ไป pai — to go The usual way to write ai.

เ◌า

ao · sara ao

'ow' in 'cow' [aw] เขา khao — he; she; they Short vowel.

Tone marks 4

◌่

· mai ek

Changes the tone: low tone on mid/high-class consonants, falling tone on low-class consonants ไก่ kai — chicken

◌้

· mai tho

Falling tone on mid/high-class consonants, high tone on low-class consonants บ้าน ban — house

◌๊

· mai tri

High tone; used only with mid-class consonants โต๊ะ to — table Rare; mostly in loanwords and onomatopoeia.

◌๋

· mai chattawa

Rising tone; used only with mid-class consonants ก๋วยเตี๋ยว kuaitiao — noodle soup Rare; mostly in Chinese loanwords.

Thai has a reputation for being hard, and the tone rules are the reason: the tone of a syllable depends on the consonant's class (high, mid or low), whether the vowel is long or short, how the syllable ends and any tone mark. Learn the letters by class from the start — the 9 mid-class consonants first, then the 11 high, then the 24 low — and learn each with its name word (ก ไก่ ko kai, "k as in chicken"). Expect a few weeks to read slowly and a few months to read tones confidently.

How to learn it fast

Memorise the 9 mid-class consonants as a set — ก จ ฎ ฏ ด ต บ ป อ — and the 11 high-class ones — ข ฃ ฉ ฐ ถ ผ ฝ ศ ษ ส ห. Everything else is low class, so you only need to learn two lists.
Learn each consonant with its name word (ko kai, kho khai…). Thai speakers spell aloud using these names, and the name words double as vocabulary.
Vowels like เ แ โ ไ ใ are written before the consonant but pronounced after it: in ไป pai, you read ป first, then ไ.
Thai has three kinds of "k/t/p": unaspirated (ก ต ป, like the k t p in "skate, stop, spin"), aspirated (ข/ค, ถ/ท, ผ/พ, like "kite, top, pen") and voiced (ด, บ). Train your ear to hear the difference.
Many consonants change sound at the end of a syllable: all final stops become k, t or p (unreleased), and ญ ณ ร ล become n. Learn these six final sounds: k, t, p, n, m, ng.
Practise reading without spaces by looking for vowel markers: a leading vowel (เ แ โ ไ ใ) almost always starts a new syllable.

Did you know?

Thai is written without spaces between words; spaces are used to mark the end of clauses and sentences.
Two consonants, ฃ and ฅ, are obsolete and no longer used in modern spelling, but they are still taught as part of the 44.
Thai has five tones but only four tone marks: the tone of an unmarked syllable is worked out from the consonant class, vowel length and syllable ending.
The script is traditionally credited to King Ram Khamhaeng the Great, based on an inscription dated 1283, though some scholars question the stone's authenticity.
Thai has its own set of digits (๐ ๑ ๒ ๓ ๔ ๕ ๖ ๗ ๘ ๙), still seen on official documents, temple signs and banknotes, alongside Western digits.

Quick quiz: which sound is this?

Questions

How many letters are in the Thai script?

44.

How long does it take to learn the Thai alphabet?

Most learners can recognise every letter within one to two weeks of short daily practice, and read slowly but accurately within a month. Reading real text — even very simple text — is what makes the letters automatic.

What's the best way to learn it?

Memorise the 9 mid-class consonants as a set — ก จ ฎ ฏ ด ต บ ป อ — and the 11 high-class ones — ข ฃ ฉ ฐ ถ ผ ฝ ศ ษ ส ห. Everything else is low class, so you only need to learn two lists. Learn each consonant with its name word (ko kai, kho khai…). Thai speakers spell aloud using these names, and the name words double as vocabulary. Vowels like เ แ โ ไ ใ are written before the consonant but pronounced after it: in ไป pai, you read ป first, then ไ.