Prepared by Karn Wong – kahn.wong [at] gmail [dot] com
Mid Class
| Letter(s) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ก | gun |
| จ | jug |
| ด ฎ | door |
| ต ฏ | stop |
| บ | bed |
| ป | spread |
| อ | ah |
Low Class (Unpaired)
| Letter(s) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ง | mango (as first consonant) say mang and DON'T close your throat – drag it a bit |
| น ณ | noon |
| ม | moon |
| ย ญ | you |
| ร | row |
| ล ฬ | live |
| ว | war |
High and Paired Low Class
| High Letter(s) | Low Letter(s) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| ข | ค ฆ | kroner aspirate a little bit |
| ฉ | ช ฌ | chore |
| ถ ฐ | ท ธ ฑ ฒ | trap |
| ผ | พ ภ | pirate |
| ฝ | ฟ | friend |
| ศ ษ ส | ซ | salt |
| ห | ฮ | hammer |
Clusters
ร Group
| Cluster(s) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ปร | spread |
| พร | prom |
| ตร | string |
| กร | grudge |
| ขร คร | cram |
ล Group
| Cluster(s) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ปล | splinter |
| ผล พล | plank |
| กล | glue |
| ขล คล | clear |
ว Group
| Cluster(s) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| กว | Gwen |
| ขว คว | quiver |
Fake Clusters
| Cluster(s) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ซ ศ ส + รซร ศร สร | ignore ร |
| ทร | s |
Special characters
รร (lit. rr)
- Can be ัน. As in fun. บรรจง (ban-jong). Is -ะ when followed by these end consonant groups: กน กม กก กด กบ. For example, วรรค (wak). If the second syllable exists (and the first has an end consonant) add an extra invisible -ะ. กรรมกร (gam-ma-gon).
์
It's there to say this letter won't be pronounced. For example, สวรรค์ (sa-wan).
As End Consonant
| Group | Letter(s) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| ก กา | - | N/A (no end consonant) |
| กก | ก ข ค ฆ | jug |
| กด | จ ด ต ถ ท ธ ฎ ฏ ฑ ฒ ช ซ ศ ษ ส | prod |
| กบ | บ ป พ ภ ฟ | job |
| กน | น ณ ญ ร ล ฬ | non |
| กง | ง | mango |
| กม | ม | farm |
| เกย | ย | eye |
| เกอว | ว | curfew |
Vowels
| Short (w/o end consonant) | Short (w/ end consonant | Long (w/o end consonant) | Long (w/ end consonant) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ะ | ั–, -รร, -รร- | -า | -า- | father |
| ิ | ิ– | ี | ี– | piece |
| ึ | ึ– | ือ | ื– | rhymes with hmmmm but without h and m |
| ุ | ุ– | ู | ู– | boo |
| เ–ะ | เ็–, เ––2 | เ– | เ–– | page |
| แ–ะ | แ็–, แ––2 | แ– | แ–– | air |
| โ–ะ | –– | โ– | โ–– | orange |
| เ–าะ | ็อ–, -อ- | –อ | –อ–, –– | for |
| ัวะ | ็ว– | ัว | –ว– | poor |
| เียะ | n/a | เีย | เีย– | fear |
| เือะ | n/a | เือ | เือ– | -ือ + -า |
| เ–อะ | เิ–, เ–– | เ–อ | เิ–, เ––, เ–อ– | her |
Extras
| Vowel (Short) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ำ | pump (a as in father + m as end consonant) |
| ใ, ไ | fire |
| เ-า | power |
Tone
| Tone Mark | Tone | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| - | Mid | say a word normally without an inflection. |
| -่ | Low | declining no |
| -้ | Falling | exclaimation whoa |
| -๊ | High | hitch a ride, mop, muck, ruck, pluck, fight |
| -๋ | Rising | oooooooooooowooooooo howl. Like the one you hear in horror movies. |
Tone Conjugation
Definition
Live
- Letter + long vowel + NO end consonant. Also includes short vowels: อำ ใอ ไอ เอา
- กง กน กม เกย เกอว end consonant groups
Dead
- Letter + short vowel + NO end consonant. Exceptions are these short vowels: อำ ไอ ใอ เอา
- กก กด กบ end consonant groups
| Live-Dead Group | Mid | Low | Falling | High | Rising |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid Class: Live | กา | ก่า | ก้า | ก๊า | ก๋า |
| Mid Class: Dead (Short) | - | กะ | ก้ะ | ก๊ะ | ก๋ะ |
| Mid Class: Dead (Long) | - | กาบ | ก้าบ | ก๊าบ | ก๋าบ |
| High Class: Live | - | ข่า | ข้า | - | ขา |
| High Class: Dead (Short) | - | ขะ | ข้ะ | - | - |
| High Class: Dead (Long) | - | ขาบ | ข้าบ | - | - |
| Low Class: Live | คา | - | ค่า | ค้า | - |
| Low Class: Dead (Short) | - | - | ค่ะ | คะ | ค๋ะ |
| Low Class: Dead (Long) | - | - | คาบ | ค้าบ | ค๋าบ |
The Art of Eating Out in Thailand 101
A.k.a. how not to get starved on the street
Prepared by Karn Wong – kahn.wong [at] gmail [dot] com
Walking into a diner / restaurant / a hole in the wall
You decided where to eat. Great! Now you have to get a table. Of course you would say:
Thai
NUMBER khon krub/ka NUMBER คนครับ/ค่ะ
English
Could I get a table for $number please?
Boring bits
It's literally $number + person(s) + krub/ka. There. Easy.
But there's one problem... (or not)
Your build is too big compared to average Thais. Which means you need extra leg room. Which means you need to get a bigger table.
Thai
khǒ ttóh yài krub/ka ขอโต๊ะใหญ่ครับ/ค่ะ
English
Could I get a bigger table please?
Boring bits
It's literally to request + table + big + krub/ka.
P.S. won't always work because some establishments have one table size only.
Now you're hungry and can eat anything in front of you
Thai
khǒ menu nòi krub/ka ขอเมนูหน่อยครับ/ค่ะ
English
Could I have the menu please?
Boring bits
It's literally to request + menu + a particle added for 'requesting' + krub/ka
But your western tongue can't deal with spiciness
Thai
Mâi phèd na krub/ka ไม่เผ็ดนะครับ/ค่ะ
English
not spicy please
Boring bits
It's literally no + spiciness + particle added for 'requesting' + krub/ka
But we all need water
The usual suspects are plain water and coke (not that one).
Thai
Náam khǒ ppehn [náam plào] --> plain water/ [coke] krub/ka น้ำขอเป็น[น้ำเปล่า] / [โค้ก]ครับ/ค่ะ
English
Could I get [plain water] / [coke] please?
Boring bits
It's literally water + to request + be + [plain water] / [coke] + krub/ka
The food is good. Really good. But something is missing
The food is very delicious but the rice is running out. Or the ice melts and you need some cool to jazz up your tastebuds.
Thai
khǒ [khaô] --> rice/ [náam khǎeng] --> ice pehm krub/ka. ขอ[ข้าว] / [น้ำแข็ง]เพิ่มครับ/ค่ะ
English
Could I have more rice / ice please?
Boring bits
It's literally to request + rice / water solid + more + krub/ka
But good time must come to an end
Thai
Check biin krub/ka เช็คบิลครับ/ค่ะ
English
Bill, please.
Boring bits
It's the Thai way of saying bill, please.
Appendix
Thai Numbers
| Number | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| 1 | [nuè]ng |
| 2 | sǒhng |
| 3 | sǎam |
| 4 | sìi |
| 5 | hâ |
| 6 | hòhk |
| 7 | jàed |
| 8 | ppàhd |
| 9 | gaô |
| 10 | sìib |
Tone Marks
| Tone | Tone Mark | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mid | - | gaa |
| Low | \ | gàa |
| Falling | ^ | gâa |
| High | / | gáa |
| Rising | v | gǎa |