slice-of-thai.com → Thai Language → Consonant Shape Learning Aid

Consonant Shape Learning Aid

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Choose Your Own Thai Font and Size
• Choose Your Favorite Pronunciation Guide Systems
• The Chart
• Some Useful Patterns

Introduction

As you are learning the Thai consonants, you will no doubt notice that many of them have similar shapes. On this page we'll show you a handy chart that shows the 44 consonants in their mid, low and high classes, arranged to highlight letters with similar shapes.

Choose Your Own Thai Font and Size

One of my biggest frustrations when trying to learn or use Thai language on the web is that I can never read the microscopic Thai letters that everyone seems to use on their web pages!

At slice-of-thai.com, we proudly present to you the buttons that every site should have. Choose your Thai font and font size and we will remember your setting and instantly apply it to all pages on slice-of-thai.com

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Sample:	คุณ เก็บ เสื้อ ไว้ ไหน

Choose Your Favorite Pronunciation Guide Systems

As you've probably noticed, nearly every book and website uses a different pronunciation guide system (also known as "romanization," "karaoke language," "transliteration," or "phonemic transcription" systems) for helping you learn the pronunciation of native Thai words.

Here at slice-of-thai.com, we let you choose the system(s) you want to see. Check your favorite system(s) below, and we will remember your setting and instantly apply it to all pages on slice-of-thai.com.

Pronunciation guides are a useful crutch, but they have hidden pitfalls which may surprise you: learn more about this, as well as how each system differs, at Pronunciation Guide Systems for Thai. Also, you can click on any system below for more information.

	System	Description	Example คุณ เก็บ เสื้อ ไว้ ไหน
	Paiboon	Benjawan Poomsan Becker's Thai for Beginners	[kun-gèp-sʉ̂a-wái-nǎi]
	Paiboon+	Adds a few extra sound distinctions	[kun-gèp-sʉ̂ʉa-wái-nǎi]
	TLC	From the fantastic thai-language.com	[khoonM-gepL-seuuaF-waiH-naiR]
	Tiger	Thai learning books from Tiger Press	[koon-gèp-sûea-wái-nǎi]
	LP	System from the Lonely Planet guidebooks	[khun-kèp-sêua-wái-nǎi]
	Thai Govt+	Lame system used for Thai road signs + tones	[khun-kèp-sûea-wái-nǎi]
	IPA	International Phonetic Alphabet: nerds love it	[ˈkʰūn ˈkèp̚ ˈsɯ̂ːa ˈwáj ˈnǎj]
	Easy Thai	Spells out each syllable using simple Thai	[คุน-เก็บ-เซื่อ-ไว้-ไหฺน]
Example of how it will look: [sʉ̂a, sʉ̂ʉa, seuuaF, sûea, sêua, sûea, ˈsɯ̂ːa, เซื่อ] You should check at least one system!

The Chart

For a spiffy, printable PDF version (558k, Paiboon system only), click here.

For a printable HTML version with your chosen font and pronunciation guide system (but no grey highlights), click here.

Some Useful Patterns

Immediately you can see a few patterns that can help you learn the alphabet:

• Amongst the "W-like" letters on the right of the chart,
  • No tail (ผ [pɔ̌ɔ-pʉ̂ng, pɔ̌ɔ-pʉ̂ng, phaawR-pheungF, pǎw-pêung, phǎw-phêung, phǒ-phûeng, ˈpʰɔ̌ː ˈpʰɯ̂ŋ, ผอ-พึ่ง] and พ [pɔɔ-paan, pɔɔ-paan, phaawM-phaanM, paw-pahn, phaw-phaan, pho-phan, ˈpʰɔ̄ː ˈpʰāːn, พอ-พาน]) indicates a [p, p, ph, p, ph, ph, ˈpʰ, ผ/พ] sound.
  • Long tail (ฝ [fɔ̌ɔ-fǎa, fɔ̌ɔ-fǎa, faawR-faaR, fǎw-fǎh, fǎw-fǎa, fǒ-fǎ, ˈfɔ̌ː ˈfǎː, ฝอ-ฝา] and ฟ [fɔɔ-fan, fɔɔ-fan, faawM-fanM, faw-fan, faw-fan, fo-fan, ˈfɔ̄ː ˈfān, ฟอ-ฟัน]) indicates an [f, f, f, f, f, f, ˈf, ฝ/ฟ] sound.
  • Curly tail (ฬ [lɔɔ-jù-laa, lɔɔ-jù-laa, laawM-jooL-laaM, law-jòo-lah, law-jù-laa, lo-chù-la, ˈlɔ̄ː ˈtɕù ˈlāː, ลอ-จุ-ลา] is a [l, l, l, l, l, l, ˈl, ล] sound.

• Amongst consonants which have both a circle-in and circle-out version,
  • Circle-in (ถ [tɔ̌ɔ-tǔng, tɔ̌ɔ-tǔng, thaawR-thoongR, tǎw-tǒong, thǎw-thǔng, thǒ-thǔng, ˈtʰɔ̌ː ˈtʰǔŋ, ถอ-ถุง], ผ [pɔ̌ɔ-pʉ̂ng, pɔ̌ɔ-pʉ̂ng, phaawR-pheungF, pǎw-pêung, phǎw-phêung, phǒ-phûeng, ˈpʰɔ̌ː ˈpʰɯ̂ŋ, ผอ-พึ่ง], ฝ [fɔ̌ɔ-fǎa, fɔ̌ɔ-fǎa, faawR-faaR, fǎw-fǎh, fǎw-fǎa, fǒ-fǎ, ˈfɔ̌ː ˈfǎː, ฝอ-ฝา]) is a high consonant
  • Circle-out (ภ [pɔɔ-sǎm-pao, pɔɔ-sǎm-pao, phaawM-samR-phaoM, paw-sǎm-pow, phaw-sǎm-phao, pho-sǎm-phao, ˈpʰɔ̄ː ˈsǎm ˈpʰāw, พอ-สัม-เพา], พ [pɔɔ-paan, pɔɔ-paan, phaawM-phaanM, paw-pahn, phaw-phaan, pho-phan, ˈpʰɔ̄ː ˈpʰāːn, พอ-พาน], ฟ [fɔɔ-fan, fɔɔ-fan, faawM-fanM, faw-fan, faw-fan, fo-fan, ˈfɔ̄ː ˈfān, ฟอ-ฟัน]) is a low consonant
  Sadly this is not true of all consonants with circles.

• The two mid consonants ต [dtɔɔ-dtào, dtɔɔ-dtào, dtaawM-dtaoL, dtaw-dtòw, taw-tào, to-tào, ˈtɔ̄ː ˈtàw, ตอ-เต่า] and ด [dɔɔ-dèk, dɔɔ-dèk, daawM-dekL, daw-dèk, daw-dèk, do-dèk, ˈdɔ̄ː ˈdèk̚, ดอ-เด็ก] spin clockwise
• The two low consonants ฅ [kɔɔ-kon, kɔɔ-kon, khaawM-khohnM, kaw-kon, khaw-khon, kho-khon, ˈkʰɔ̄ː ˈkʰōn, คอ-คน] and ค [kɔɔ-kwaai, kɔɔ-kwaai, khaawM-khwaayM, kaw-kwaai, khaw-khwai, kho-khwai, ˈkʰɔ̄ː ˈkʰwāːj, คอ-คฺวาย] spin counter-clockwise

• For the several forms of [s, s, s, s, s, s, ˈs, ซ/ส]:
  • Thais will often refer to ษ [sɔ̌ɔ-rʉʉ-sǐi, sɔ̌ɔ-rʉʉ-sǐi, saawR-reuuM-seeR, sǎw-rue-sěe, sǎw-reu-sǐi, sǒ-rue-sǐ, ˈsɔ̌ː ˈrɯ̄ː ˈsǐː, สอ-รือ-สี] as [sɔ̌ɔ-bɔɔ-rʉʉ-sǐi, sɔ̌ɔ-bɔɔ-rʉʉ-sǐi, saawR-baawM-reuuM-seeR, sǎw-baw-rue-sěe, sǎw-baw-reu-sǐi, sǒ-bo-rue-sǐ, ˈsɔ̌ː ˈbɔ̄ː ˈrɯ̄ː ˈsǐː, สอ-บอ-รือ-สี] because it looks like บ [bɔɔ-bai-máai, bɔɔ-bai-máai, baawM-baiM-maayH, baw-bai-máai, baw-bai-mái, bo-bai-mái, ˈbɔ̄ː ˈbāj ˈmáːj, บอ-ไบ-ม้าย] with an extra swirl. It might help you to memorize it that way too.
  • Thais will often refer to ศ [sɔ̌ɔ-sǎa-laa, sɔ̌ɔ-sǎa-laa, saawR-saaR-laaM, sǎw-sǎh-lah, sǎw-sǎa-laa, sǒ-sǎ-la, ˈsɔ̌ː ˈsǎː ˈlāː, สอ-สา-ลา] as [sɔ̌ɔ-kɔɔ-sǎa-laa, sɔ̌ɔ-kɔɔ-sǎa-laa, saawR-khaawM-saaR-laaM, sǎw-kaw-sǎh-lah, sǎw-khaw-sǎa-laa, sǒ-kho-sǎ-la, ˈsɔ̌ː ˈkʰɔ̄ː ˈsǎː ˈlāː, สอ-คอ-สา-ลา] because it looks like ค [kɔɔ-kwaai, kɔɔ-kwaai, khaawM-khwaayM, kaw-kwaai, khaw-khwai, kho-khwai, ˈkʰɔ̄ː ˈkʰwāːj, คอ-คฺวาย] with an extra tail. It might help you to memorize it that way too.
  • Why don't Thais refer to ส [sɔ̌ɔ-sʉ̌a, sɔ̌ɔ-sʉ̌ʉa, saawR-seuuaR, sǎw-sǔea, sǎw-sěua, sǒ-sǔea, ˈsɔ̌ː ˈsɯ̌ːa, สอ-เสือ] as [sɔ̌ɔ-lɔɔ-sʉ̌a, sɔ̌ɔ-lɔɔ-sʉ̌ʉa, saawR-laawM-seuuaR, sǎw-law-sǔea, sǎw-law-sěua, sǒ-lo-sǔea, ˈsɔ̌ː ˈlɔ̄ː ˈsɯ̌ːa, สอ-ลอ-เสือ], since it looks like ล [lɔɔ-ling, lɔɔ-ling, laawM-lingM, law-ling, law-ling, lo-ling, ˈlɔ̄ː ˈlīŋ, ลอ-ลิง] with an extra tail? It's a mystery (perhaps Thais think of ส as the "default" [sɔ̌ɔ, sɔ̌ɔ, saawR, sǎw, sǎw, sǒ, ˈsɔ̌ː, สอ]), but why not think of it as [sɔ̌ɔ-lɔɔ-sʉ̌a, sɔ̌ɔ-lɔɔ-sʉ̌ʉa, saawR-laawM-seuuaR, sǎw-law-sǔea, sǎw-law-sěua, sǒ-lo-sǔea, ˈsɔ̌ː ˈlɔ̄ː ˈsɯ̌ːa, สอ-ลอ-เสือ] since it can help you learn the letter?
  • Thais don't generally refer to ซ [sɔɔ-sôo, sɔɔ-sôo, saawM-sohF, saw-sôh, saw-sôh, so-sô, ˈsɔ̄ː ˈsôː, ซอ-โซ่] as anything special because:
    • The syllable [sɔɔ, sɔɔ, saawM, saw, saw, so, ˈsɔ̄ː, ซอ] already has a different tone from the other [s, s, s, s, s, s, ˈs, ซ/ส] consonants, which all begin with [sɔ̌ɔ, sɔ̌ɔ, saawR, sǎw, sǎw, sǒ, ˈsɔ̌ː, สอ], and that's very contrasting already to a Thai person.
    • The consonant it looks like, ฃ [kɔ̌ɔ-kùat, kɔ̌ɔ-kùuat, khaawR-khuaatL, kǎw-kòoat, khǎw-khùat, khǒ-khùat, ˈkʰɔ̌ː ˈkʰùːat̚, ขอ-ขวด], is obsolete and Thais are kinda used to ostracizing it whenever possible.
    • What would you call it? [sɔɔ-kɔ̌ɔ-kùat-sôo, sɔɔ-kɔ̌ɔ-kùuat-sôo, saawM-khaawR-khuaatL-sohF, saw-kǎw-kòoat-sôh, saw-khǎw-khùat-sôh, so-khǒ-khùat-sô, ˈsɔ̄ː ˈkʰɔ̌ː ˈkʰùːat̚ ˈsôː, ซอ-ขอ-ขวด-โซ่]? [sɔɔ-kɔ̌ɔ-sôo, sɔɔ-kɔ̌ɔ-sôo, saawM-khaawR-sohF, saw-kǎw-sôh, saw-khǎw-sôh, so-khǒ-sô, ˈsɔ̄ː ˈkʰɔ̌ː ˈsôː, ซอ-ขอ-โซ่]? Kinda ugly. Up to you!

• The [n, n, n, n, n, n, ˈn, น] consonant ณ [nɔɔ-neen, nɔɔ-neen, naawM-naehnM, naw-nayn, naw-nehn, no-nen, ˈnɔ̄ː ˈnēːn, นอ-เนน] kinda contains a copy of the simpler [n, n, n, n, n, n, ˈn, น] consonant น [nɔɔ-nǔu, nɔɔ-nǔu, naawM-nuuR, naw-nǒo, naw-nǔu, no-nǔ, ˈnɔ̄ː ˈnǔː, นอ-หฺนู]

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