Pronunciation
PronunciationThere are infinite ways of transcribing the various sounds of the Thai language to the Latin alphabet. The system used on this website is phonetically consistent and logical. It is chiefly inspired from the symbols of the International Phonetic Association (IPA).
| p t k | At the beginning of a word, these three are pronounced as in English, and always with a heavy puff of air (aspirated voiceless plosives). That is why you will see many books transcribe these sounds as ph, th, kh. At the end of a word, these three are pronounced as   g̊ (see below). |
| b d | These two are pronounced as in English (unaspirated voiced plosives). |
| g̊ | These three are a bit tricker, because they fall somewhere in between the first two sets of consonants. They are like p t k, but without a puff of air. As a result, they sound a bit like b d g to English ears, but without vibrating vocal chords. These sounds exist in English but only after another consonant, as in spell, star, skill (unaspirated voiceless plosives). |
| ʔ | This is like the pause in your throat in the English expression uh oh! (glottal stop). |
| ŋ | This is the ng sound in the word long (velar nasal). |
| tɕ | This is like the ch sound of church, but with a strong puff of air (aspirated voiceless post-alveolar affricate). |
 | This is somewhat like the j sound of judge (unaspirated voiceless post-alveolar affricate). |
| r | This is rolled on the tip of the tongue, as in Spanish or Italian (alveolar trill). |
| j | This is simply the y sound of yes (palatal approximant). |
| l | This is a light l like the one found in French, Spanish, etc. (alveolar lateral approximant). |
| m n f s h w | These are pronounced as in English. |
These come in pairs of contrasting lengths: short and long. Long vowels are written double.
| i | ii | This is like bit and beat (close front unrounded). |
| e | ee | This is like the é sound in French or like the pure ay sound in Scottish English day (front close-mid unrounded). |
| æ | ææ | This is like the a of bad (raised open front unrounded). |
| a | aa | This is like the French or Spanish a and somewhat like the English a of father (open central). |
| ɯ | ɯɯ | In this vowel, the tongue is positioned like the oo sound of mood, except the lips are unrounded as if you were saying the ee sound of need (close back unrounded). |
| ə | əə | This is like the uh sound you make when you hesitate in English (schwa). |
| u | uu | This is like the oo of food (close back rounded). |
| o | oo | This is like French ô in bientôt, or like the pure o sound in Scottish English go (back close-mid rounded). |
| ɔ | ɔɔ | This is like the more open o in French pomme (back open-mid rounded). |
The following vowel glides will not be defined. They are combinations of the pure vowels seen above.
| ia ɯa ua | |
| iu eu eeu ææu au aau iau | |
| ai aai ɔi ɔɔi ui əəi uai ɯai |
Note that the diphthong ai sometimes becomes e in rapid speech.
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