Writing and syllables

Where vowels are written

Find the vowel around a consonant and read the whole syllable.

Thai vowel signs can appear before, after, above or below their consonant. They can also combine in several positions. เด็ก, child, begins on the page with เ, but the sound begins with ด. The vowel follows the initial consonant in speech. The same applies to ไป, to go, and โต, to grow.

Vowel positions

  • มาmaa

    to come

    after the consonant: สระอา

  • ไปbpai

    to go

    before the consonant: สระไอ, pronounced after ป

  • กินgin

    to eat

    above the consonant: สระอิ over ก

  • ดูduu

    to watch

    below the consonant: สระอู under ด

  • เสือsʉ̌a

    tiger

    around ส: เ before it, a sign above it and อ after it

  • ตัวdtua

    body; classifier

    a sign above ต and ว after it

initial consonant+vowel+final consonant

This is the order of sounds. Written signs may have a different order. In เรียน, to study, เ is before ร, a sign is above it, ย follows it, and น is the final consonant.

Treat a vowel made of several signs as one unit. In เรียน, the signs เ, ี and ย together spell ia. Don't pronounce each sign separately. เสือ, tiger, uses a vowel pattern around ส; ตัว, body or a classifier, uses one above and after ต.

A vowel can change its written form when a final consonant closes the syllable. The short a in จะ uses ะ; before a final consonant, as in วัน, it uses ั instead. Other vowels use ็ or lose their written signs altogether. A change of spelling doesn't automatically mean a change of vowel sound.

Vowels in closed syllables

  • จะjà

    future marker

    open syllable: short a is written with ะ after the initial

  • วันwan

    day

    short a before final น: ั above ว

  • เล็กlék

    small

    short e: เ remains before ล, with ็ above it

  • แข็งkɛ̌ng

    hard; firm

    short ɛ follows the same pattern: แ before ข, ็ above it

  • เดินdəən

    to walk

    long əə: the vowel pattern changes from เ◌อ to เ◌ิ before most finals

  • คนkon

    person

    short o has no separate written sign in this closed syllable

  • สวยsǔai

    beautiful

    the ua pattern loses its upper sign before final ย, leaving ว

The signs เ, แ, โ, ใ and ไ can help you find syllable boundaries in an unspaced line. They stand before the initial consonant of their syllable. โรงเรียน, school, splits into โรง and เรียน. Type the signs in their written order, but in a Thai dictionary look under the consonant: เด็ก is listed under ด, not เ.

Common mistake

Don't read every sign in its left-to-right order. Find the initial consonant, then identify the complete vowel pattern around it. In เกาะ, island, เ and าะ belong together around ก. Listen to the single vowel sound rather than adding a sound for every sign.

Practise

Kai says

The vowel เ is written before its consonant, but spoken after it. Your eyes see the vowel first; your voice starts with the consonant.