Writing and syllables

Silent letters

Recognise the mark that tells you which letters to leave unpronounced.

เบียร์, beer, ends on the page with ร, but you don't pronounce that consonant. ไวน์, wine, similarly has a silent น. The mark ์ above a letter is called ทัณฑฆาต. A letter silenced this way is called ตัวการันต์. The spelling preserves a letter that isn't part of the spoken ending.

Words with the silencing mark

Many words from Pali, Sanskrit or English preserve letters that don't fit Thai syllable endings. A silencing mark lets the spelling keep them. Work out whether the spoken syllable is live or dead from the sounds that remain. In โบสถ์, the final t sound supplied by ส makes it dead. In เบียร์, silencing ร leaves a live syllable ending in a long vowel.

  • ผมpǒmIดื่มdʉ̀ʉmdrinkเบียร์biabeer

    I drink beer.

  • วันเสาร์wan-sǎoon SaturdayผมpǒmIไม่mâinotทำงานtam-ngaanwork

    I don't work on Saturday.

    Four weekday names have a silencing mark: วันจันทร์, วันศุกร์, วันเสาร์ and วันอาทิตย์.

  • เปิดbpə̀ətturn onแอร์ɛɛair conditioner

    Turn on the air conditioner.

    แอร์ is shortened from English air conditioner. Its written ร is silent in Thai, regardless of whether you pronounce r in your variety of English.

Thai loanwords also adapt their endings without using a silencing mark. ออฟฟิศ, office, ends its first syllable with p and its second with t. บิล, bill, ends with n: a final ล follows the Thai final-sound rule. Read the Thai spelling with Thai sounds rather than restoring the English pronunciation.

English words in Thai

  • ออฟฟิศɔ̀ɔp-fít

    office

    ฟ at a syllable ending gives p; ศ gives t

  • บิลbin

    bill (at a restaurant)

    from bill; final ล gives n

  • ปลั๊กbplák

    plug; power socket

    from plug; the voiced final g becomes a Thai k stop

  • แบงก์bɛ́ɛng

    banknote

    from bank; ก is silent, leaving ng; the common high tone is a loanword exception

  • ฟิล์มfim

    film

    ล is silent inside the spelling; ม is the final consonant

Common mistake

An English loanword may look familiar, but that doesn't make its Thai pronunciation identical. Don't restore a final r in เบียร์ or คอมพิวเตอร์. Follow the Thai vowel and the silencing mark, and check the recording.

One mark can silence more than one consonant: จันทร์ has silent ท and ร, leaving น as its final consonant. The mark can also occur inside a word, as in ฟิล์ม, where ล is silent and the following ม still sounds. Learn these spellings with their recordings. Some letters are silent without ์, too: leading ห, ร in จริง, and ย in ไทย.

Practise

Kai says

ปลา means fish; น้ำปลา is fish sauce. Once you recognise the parts, a longer Thai word can start looking much less unfamiliar.