ToneMarks

Cons. Class

wan-n-yk

Vowel Tone
Live Syllable

Low Class

Mid

Mid Class

Mid

High Class

Rising

Tone Mark

Dead Syllable

Short Vowel

Long Vowel

High

Falling

(H)

(R)

Low

Low

(H)

(R)

Live Syllables

Dead Syllables

kam bpen

kam dtai

Final consonant is N, M, NG, Y, W

Final consonant is K, P, T

Long vowels

Short vowels

Vowels with live endings when no

final consonant is present.

Tone Marks ()

mi ek

mi too

mi dtrii
mi jt-dt-waa

Tone Names ()
sang sa-man

High

Rising

sang jt-dt-

Mid
Low
Falling

sang ek
sang too
sang dtrii
waa

Low Class

k-sn dtm

Initial:

NG

CH

Final:

NG

CH

--

Mid Class

k-sn glaang

Initial:

DT

BP

--

DT

Final:

--

High Class

k-sn sung

Initial:

CH

Final:

--

Consonants

k-sn

Consonant
(AssociatedWord)

Romanized
Pronunciation

AssociatedWord
Translation

Consonant
Class

()

g gi

chicken

Mid

()

k ki

egg

High

()

k kuat

bottle

Low

()

k kwaai

water buffalo

Low

()

k kon

person

Low

()

k r~kang

bell

Low

()

ng nguu

snake

Low

()

j jaan

plate

Mid

()

ch chng

chime

High

()

ch chang

elephant

Low

()

s so

chain

Low

()

ch ch

tree

Low

()

y yng

woman

Low

()

d ch~daa

traditional hat

Mid

()

dt bp~dtk

spear

Mid

()

t tan

base/pedestal

High

()

t mon-too

mythical character

Low

()

t pu-to

old man

Low

()

n neen

novice monk

Low

()

d dk

child

Mid

()

dt dto

turtle

Mid

 ()

t tng

bag

High

()

t t-han

soldier

Low

()

t tong

flag

Low

()

n nu

mouse

Low

()

b bai-mai

leaf

Mid

()

bp bplaa

fish

Mid

()

p png

bee

High

()

f fa

lid

High

()

p paan

offering tray

Low

()

f fan

tooth

Low

()

p sm-pao

asian boat (junk)

Low

()

m ma

horse

Low

()

y yk

demon

Low

()

r ra

boat

Low

()

l ling

monkey

Low

()

w wn

ring

Low

()

s sa-laa

gazebo

High

()

s r-si

hermit

High

()

s sa

tiger

High

()

h hip

trunk/chest

High

()

l j-laa

kite

Low

()

ang

basin/tub

Mid

()

h nk-huk

owl

Low

OBSOLETE

OBSOLETE

Vowels()andDipthongs
Long Vowels
aa

aai

aao

ee

eeo

ii

iia

iiao

oo

ooi

uu

uui

uua

--

--

ai

- i

--

--

am

--

ao

eo

iu

ia

--

--

ui

ua

uai

--

--

---

---

uuai -

ai -

Short Vowels

---

---

--

----

--

- ii

aa

Father

Alaska or Run

aai

Thai but longer

ai

Thai

aao

Lao but longer

am

Mom

ee

May

ao

Lao

eeo

Beowulf but longer

Between Hey and Pet, but short

Hair

eo

Beowulf

Aa-ow but longer

Cat

Number but longer

Aa-ow

Boy but longer, with a smile

Number

ii

Beet

Boy, with a smile

Bin

iia

Ear but longer

iu

Hue

iiao

Ee-ow

ia

Ear

oo

Go but longer

Go

ooi

Oo-Ee

Corn but longer

Corn

Boy but longer

Boy

uu

As in Boot

Book

uui

Chewy but longer

ui

Chewy

uua

Glue ah but longer on ue

ua

Glue ah

uuai Ooh-ai but longer

uai

Ooh-ai

Loser with a smile but longer

Loser with a smile

Doer with a smile but longer

Doer with a smile

ai Ooh-ai with a smile but longer

Note: Short-vowel columns highlighted in gray are considered live endings. When a syllable has no final consonant, tone
is determined by whether the vowel has a live or dead ending.

is called (sara ai mi-m-laai)

ii is called (sara ai mi-man)
i

Consonant
Clusters

k-sn kap

gr-

kr-

kr-

dtr-

bpr-

pr-

gl-

kl-

kl-

bpl-

pl-

gw-

kw-

kw-

If the two consonants in the cluster belong to different classes, the class of the first
consonant determines the tone.
The tone of the second syllable is determined by the second consonant in the cluster,

unless it is one of the following consonants:

In these cases, the class of the first consonant determines the tone.
In two-syllable words consisting of three consonant symbols and no vowel symbols, the
first vowel is a and the second is o.
If there is a vowel symbol in the second syllable, but none in the first, a short a vowel
must be supplied in the first syllable.
There are a number of words which appear to have two syllables but which are
pronounced as three syllables, with a short a vowel in the middle. In such words the
final consonant of the first syllable also functions as the initial consonant in the second
syllable.

chon-na~bt

pn-l~ma

r ra

Words beginning with - are pronounced with an vowel between the first and
second consonants.
The letter is normally pronounced as n at the end of a word.

aa-han

kuan

pu-jt-gaan

In a number of words, however, it is pronounced n.

n-kn

l~kn

pn

In certain words it is not pronounced at all.

jing

When occurs at the beginning of a word, the cluster is pronounced s.

sap

song

saai

When occurs at the end of a word or syllable it is pronounced -un and -u if it is

followed by a consonant.

rt-ban-tk

pk

gum

Punctuation
Marks

krang mai
wk tn
Indicates that the

mi y-mk

preceding word should

be repeated.
Stick turning in the

mi hn-aa-gat

-
-

mi dti-ku

gaa-ran

bpai-yaan-ni

bpai-yaan-yi

t-s~jee-rii

Exclamation point.

bprt-s~nii

Question mark.

air. The short vowel

a.
Name of the short
vowel marker.
Consonant killer.
Means etc as a minor
omission.
Means etc as a major
omission.

Numbers

sun

nng

sng

sam

si

ha

hk

jt

bpt

gao

10

20

100

200

1,000

sp

yi sp

ri

yi sp ri

10,000

100,000

1,000,000

mn

nng sn

lan

pan

nam

There are four words in the Thai language which have

( nam) as the first letter.

With these words, the low class consonant takes on the tone characteristics of the

consonant . The four words are:

ya

do not/dont

yu

to be situated at/located

yak

to want

yang

kind, sort, type (noun); like, as (adj)

h nam

(h-nam) appears at the beginning of some words but is not pronounced. The
low consonant takes on all the tone characteristics of the high consonant . When a
tone mark appears, it is placed over the low consonant, not over the silent . The eight
low-class consonants that

can appear before are:

The20Words

The vowel sara ai mai-muan is found in only 20 words in the Thai language:

gli

near, close

krai

who, anybody, nobody, somone, somebody

kri

to wish, to desire

jai

heart

chi

yes

chi

to use

dai

any, which

dti

below, underneath, under

nai

inside, in, within

bai

leaf

bi

mute person

fi

yai

thread (noun), bright/clear (adj)

s~pi

female relative by marriage

si

clear, transparent

si

to put in, add

lng-li

to be crazy about, infatuated with

hi

to give

yi

big

mi

new

to hope, to intend, to be engrossed in, to have an

interest in

ThaiCharacterKeyboard