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By Jang
The cluster “ร”
Most of the time, when the consonant ท + ร, the cluster is pronounced as “s” sound, for example :
ทราย /saay/ = sand
ทรง /sohng/ = style
= a prefix for verbs and nouns to show royal use or connection to royalty
ทรัพย์ /sáp/ = property, wealth
ทราบ /sâap/ = to know
ทรุดโทรม /sút-sohm/ = worn out, damaged, ruined
กระทรวง /grà-suang/ = ministry
Most of the time, when ศ, ส + ร, the cluster “ร” became silent, it is not pronounced at all ;
สร้อย /sôy/ = necklace
สระ /sà/ = to shampoo, to wash (hair)
= pool, pond
ศรัทธา /sàt-taa/ = faith
ศักดิ์ศรี /sàk-sǐ/ = dignity
สร้าง /sâang/ = to create, produce, build
เสแสร้ง /sěh-sâeng/ = to pretend, fake, simulate
จริง** /jing/ = real, true
** จริง is the exception.
Hope you can read, write and understand Thai language more ^_^
Enjoy Learning Thai ka, see you next time :)…
Kruu Jang
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
Silent Vowels
The vowels ิ, ุ after words
There are some words which are not pronounce the vowels ิ, ุ at the final consonant but still keep pronunciation of final consonant
ญาติ /yâat/ ชาติ /châat/
ธาตุ /tâat/ ประวัติ /bprà-wàt/
เหตุการณ์ /hèt-gaan/ ภูมิใจ /puum-jai/
ภาคภูมิ /pâak-puum/ สมบัติ /sǒm-bàt/
ปฏิวัติ /bpà-dtì-wát/ อนุมัติ /à-nú-mát/
Anyway, in some case, there are some words can pronounce the vowels ิ, ุ, you need to check from dictionary again.
Hope you can read, write and understand Thai language more ^_^
Kruu Jang
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
Silent Consonants
The symbol “์” (การันต์)
When the symbol appears above a consonant, that consonant is not pronounced. It occurs in words of foreign origin to keep the charcters of the original words.
จอห์น /jawn/ (from “John”)
ปีเตอร์ /bpii-dtêr/ (from “Peter”)
ทัวร์ /tua/ (from “tour”)
เบียร์ /bia/ (from “beer”)
คอมพิวเตอร์ /korm-piw-dtêr/ (from “computer”)
ศุกร์ /sùk/ (Friday)
เสาร์ /sǎo/ (Saturday)
อาทิตย์ /aa-tít/ (Sunday)
สัตว์ /sàt/ (animal)
หนังสือพิมพ์ /nǎng-sǔu-pim/ (newspaper)
Sometimes it is not only the consonant below the symbol which is not pronounced but also the one immediately preceding it.
เชาวน์ /chao/ จันทร์ /jan/
ศาสตร์ /sàat/ ภาพยนตร์ /pâap-pá-yon/
It is possible to have vowel with the consonant below the symbol which is not pronounced as well.
พันธุ์ /pan/ ศักดิ์สิทธิ์ /sàk-sìt/ ยานัตถุ์ /yaa-nát/
Hope you can read, write and understand Thai language more ^_^
Kruu Jang
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
The reason that all foreigners who learn reading and writing Thai have to know about the three groups of Thai consonants is that it helps them with tones, pronunciation and correct writing. As a Thai Language Teacher it is difficult to explain how important this is. There is no particularly easy way to learn this other than practice, practice and practice.
What are the three Thai Consonants?
They are the three types of letters that comprise the Thai Alphabet. The three groups of consonants consist of Middle consonants, High consonants and Low consonants. For example ..
Middle Consonants : ก จ ด ต บ ป อ
High Consonants: ข ถ ฉ ส ห ผ ฝ
Low Consonants: ง น ม ย ว ท พ ค ร
Kru Mulan
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
“ร” is one of the 44 Thai alphabet. Many expat Thai Language students get very confused when they find the “ร” in different positions/ locations. “ร” can work as an initial sound, a final sound and also a vowel sound. As a Thai Language Teacher I find myself having to often explain this to my Thai Students. The details below will give you hints about how to use “ร” in different situations in reading and writing Thai words.
1. “ร” as an initial sound or as a consonant….it gives a “R…” sound
Examples: รัก (ร -ะ ก = รัก) pronounced as “rák” means “love”
ราก (ร –า ก = ราก) pronounced as “raâk” means “root”
เรือ (ร + เ –ือ = เรือ) pronounced as “ruerh” means “boat”
2. “ร” as a final sound or final letter…..it gives a “…N” sound
Examples: หาร (ห -า + ร = หาร) pronounced as “haăn” means “divide”
ธาร ( ธ -า + ร = ธาร) pronounced as “taan” means “water/ creek”
โจร (จ + โ – ร = โจร) pronounced as “jone” means “thief/ bandit/ robber”
3. “รร” as a vowel sound when they come together…it gives a “Ah” sound ( -ะ / - ั )
3.1 “รร” with a final sound or final letter comes afte… it works as vowel ‘ah’( -ะ / - ั )
Examples: วรรค = ว + รร + ค = (วัค) pronounced as “wák” means “space/ pause in writing”
กรรณ = ก + รร + ณ = (กัณ) pronounced as “gan” means “ear”
ธรรม = ธ + รร + ม = (ธัม) pronounced as “tam” means “dharma”
3.2 “รร” without any final sounds or final letters come after it works as “-an” sound (- ัน)
Examples: สรร = ส + รร = (สัน) pronounced as “săn” means “select/ choose”
พรรษา = พ + รร / ษ + า = (พัน – ษา) pronounced as “pan-saă” means “year/ rainy season”
บรรเทา = บ + รร / ท + เ-า = (บัน-เทา) pronounced as “ban-tao” means “relief”
4. “ร” as when it comes after initial sound/ initial letter without any vowels between…it gives “…awn” sound (“…อน”)
Examples: พร = พอน pronounced as “pawn” means “blessing”
กร = กอน pronounced as “gawn” means “hand”
ศร = ศอน pronounced as “săwn” means “arrow”
ละคร = ละ-คอน pronounced as “la-kawn” means “a play/ soap opera”
วานร = วา-นอน pronounced as “waa-nawn” means “monkey”
โคจร = โค-จอน pronounced as “ko-jawn” means “orbit”
I hope this will help you to understand the usage of “ร” better (^_^)
Kru MulanJ (Thai Language Teacher)
Want to learn more Thai…then come to have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
Thai language has 32 vowels which are generally categorized into three groups as follows:
This is step 2 of learning Thai, the second thing that you have to learn apart from the Thai consonants or Thai alphabet is Thai vowels.
Short vowels consist of –ะ –ิ –ึ –ุ เ–ะ แ–ะ โ–ะ เ–าะ –ัวะ เ–ียะ
เ–ือะ เ–อะ
Long vowels consist of –า –ี –ือ –ู เ– แ– โ– –อ –ัว
เ–ีย เ–ือ เ–อ
Irregular vowels consist of –ำ ใ– ไ– เ–า ฤ ฤๅ (ฦ ฦๅ *no longer used)
As for the Irregular vowels, most of them are transferred to ‘Long vowels’ group except ฤ . And the reason we call them ‘Irregular vowels’ is that they have the sounds of consonants blended in themselves as follows:
–ำ = –ะ with ม (m-sound)
ไ– = –ะ with ย (y-sound)
ใ– = –ะ with ย (y-sound)
เ–า = –ะ with ว (w-sound)
ฤๅ= รือ (ร with –ือ)
ฤ = รึ (ร with –ึ )
The main reason we have to categorize Thai vowels into 2 groups based on sounds; short sound and long sound, is that the vowels also play a major role in tones, pronunciation and grammar. And the two groups of vowels will generate the Thai syllables or Thai words to Dead Syllables and Live Syllables. We spend a longtime practising this with our students at our Thai Language School - but don’t be put off this comes over time …even Thai nationals can get this wrong!
What are the Dead syllables and Live Syllables? To be continued…
Kru Mulan 
(Thai Language Teacher)
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
Many expat students at our Thai Language School find it difficult to recognize the Thai characters in the magazines, newspapers, advertisement and even someone’s handwriting. As a Thai Language Teacher I’m hoping I can help you with this.
The easy way to help you to recognize those Thai characters from other media and to understand the concepts of Thai alphabetical shapes. If you notice the shape of each Thai letter you will see the standard form of Thai letters which are the curve, the line and the circle.
Let’s take a look at these Thai letters
Example 1:
ต this is ‘dtor-dtao’ the tortoise. If you take a closer look at it ต
you will see it starts with a circle then slash then vertical line then two curves and end with verticle line. If you understand and know how the ต made of you will be able to identify ต in different fonts.
ต ต ต ต ß ‘dtor-dtao’ in different styles
**Please note that sometimes the circle will just be changed to a beak and the line might be a little curvy.
Example 2:
ก this is ‘gor-gai’ the chicken. If you have a closer look at it ก
You will see it starts with the vertical line then a little back slash then a curve and end with a vertical line
ก ก ก ก ß ‘gor-gai’ in different styles
**Please note that sometimes the part of the ก ‘gor-gai’ that looks like a beak might disappear. This is another style of writing ก ‘gor-gai’ for many of Thai people, which will look like an inverted ‘U’.
I hope this will help you to recognize the Thai characters when they are written in different styles.
Kru Mulan J (Thai Language Teacher)
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
Thai Final letters are the sounds of the consonants that come at the end of the words or syllables.
In Thai language there are 8 standard groups of the final sounds plus one special group because there is no sound of any final letters.
As a Thai Language Teacher I find that my expat students find it difficult to remember all the groups of final sounds/final letters. It just takes time…the first thing to start with is to memorise the main sound of each final letter group. Our students at our Thai Language School benefit from many different exercises to develop their skills in this area - ie games, flash cards, tests etc. Try this too!
**แม่ ก กา คำที่ไม่มีตัวสะกด = without any final letters (the syllables basically end with vowels, no final sounds)**
1. แม่ กก (-k) / ก / which are -ก, -กร, -ข, -ค, -คร, -ฆ
2. แม่ กด (-t) / ด / which are -ด, -จ, -ต, -ถ, -ท, -ธ, -ฎ, -ฏ, -ฑ, -ฒ, -ช, -ซ, -ศ, -ษ, -ส
3. แม่ กบ (-p) / บ / which are -บ, -ป, -พ, -ภ, -ฟ
4. แม่ กน (-n) / น / which are -น, -ณ, -ญ, -ร, -ล, -ฬ
5. แม่ กง (-ng) / ง / which is -ง
6. แม่ กม (-m) / ม / which is -ม
7. แม่ เกย (-j) / ย / which is -ย
8. แม่ เกอว (-w) / ว / which is -ว
Final letter in the groups of -ก, -บ, -ด are Stop final letters
Final letter in the groups of -ง, -ม, -น, -ย, -ว are Sonorant final letters
Hope this can make you understand more about the final letters/final sounds in Thai language!
Kru Mulan J (Thai Language Teacher)
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
In Thai language, another thing that plays an important role in reading and writing is ‘final letters’ because they decide the sounds of the syllables and words. When I teach Thai language students who are expatriates living in Bangkok at my Thai Language School I normally focus on the final sounds/final letters because my expat students find it difficult to pronounce the final sounds in Thai language.
Final letters mainly have 8 sounds which are basically categorized into 2 groups
· Stop final letters are -ก, -บ, -ด
· Sonorant final letters are -ง, -น, -ม, -ย, -ว
The stop final letters make dead syllables/words whereas the sonorant final letters make live syllables/words
Now you have learnt Step 3 of Thai grammar in term of reading and writing Thai words. When you combine all the steps together…1-2-3 then you are getting very close to a perfect reading and writing Thai language. You will just need one more thing to go …… Tone Markers!
Kru Mulan J
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
By Jang
As you may or may not know already Thai language is a tonal language. As a Thai Language Teacher it is one of the first things I teach at our Thai Language School. To learn how to read and write Thai correctly, you will need to know the dead syllables and live syllables because they come with the tonal sounds. The dead syllables and live syllable will help to conjugate the tones. This is important in Thai grammar and making yourself understood when speaking Thai!
These are examples of the words that consist of dead syllables and live syllables
Dead syllables
· Syllables/words end in Short vowels
นะ ติ ผุ แปะ ยัวะ เจอะ เตะ เงาะ
เละเทะ ธุระ กะทิ เยอะแยะ ทะเลาะ เกาะแกะ
· Syllables/words end in Stop final letters
มาก ตึก บีบ เรียบ วัด เลือด
อกหัก พักยก ตัดขาด มีดบาด แนบชิด
Live syllables
· Syllables/words end in Long vowels
นา ตี หู แบ ตัว เจอ เปีย
หัวใจ โมโห มือถือ งอแง ยาชา ทำดี สูสี
· Syllables/words end in Sonorant final letters
มึน เชียง จาม แบน คุย ดาว สิว
โรงเรียน สอยดาว หิวโหย ขายของ ชุมนุม เชียงราย
Now you can have some ideas about dead syllables and live syllables. See Thai grammar is not that difficult!
Kru Mulan J (Thai Language Teacher)
Want to learn more Thai Language …then come have a look at our Thai Language School www.thailanguagehut.com
