Learn to distinguish aspirated vs unaspirated consonants
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| This is ข (kʰ) |
| ก (k) |
| and this is |
| ช (tɕʰ) |
| จ (tɕ) |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Earn, and this is Thai Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| ข (kʰ) is in words like ข้าว (kʰâːo) 'rice', ขา (kʰǎː) 'leg' |
| ก (k) is in words like กา (kaː) 'crow', กัน (kan) 'together' |
| ช (tɕʰ) is in words like ช้า (tɕʰáː) 'slow', ชื่อ (tɕʰɯ̂ː) 'name' |
| จ (tɕ) is in words like จาน (tɕaːn) 'plate', จับ (tɕàp) 'to catch' |
| ข (kʰ): Voiceless aspirated stop. |
| ก (k): Voiceless unaspirated stop. |
| ช (tɕʰ): Voiceless aspirated affricate. |
| จ (tɕ): Voiceless unaspirated affricate. |
| To make the ข (kʰ) sound, raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate, then release it with a strong puff of air. This sound is voiceless — your vocal cords do not vibrate. The key feature is that burst of air: it's similar to the k in "key," which English speakers naturally aspirate. |
| ข (kʰ) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ข (kʰ) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ข (kʰ) |
| ข (kʰ) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ข (kʰ) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ข (kʰ) |
| To make the ก (k) sound, raise the back of your tongue to the soft palate, then release it without any puff of air. This sound is voiceless — your vocal cords do not vibrate — but unlike ข, there is no burst of air. Think of it like the k in "skill" or "sky": the k after s in English is naturally unaspirated, which is very close to Thai ก. |
| ก (k) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ก (k) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ก (k) |
| ก (k) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ก (k) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ก (k) |
| To make the ช (tɕʰ) sound, place the front of your tongue just behind your upper teeth and release it with a strong puff of air. This sound is voiceless, and the burst of air is the key. It's similar to the ch in "cheese" or "church" in English, both of which are naturally aspirated. |
| ช (tɕʰ) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ช (tɕʰ) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ช (tɕʰ) |
| ช (tɕʰ) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ช (tɕʰ) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ช (tɕʰ) |
| To make the จ (tɕ) sound, place the front of your tongue in the same position as for ช, just behind your upper teeth — but this time, release it without any puff of air. Both ช and จ are voiceless; the only difference is that burst of air. Think of จ like the ch in "cheese" but without the rush of air that follows. |
| จ (tɕ) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| จ (tɕ) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| จ (tɕ) |
| จ (tɕ) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| จ (tɕ) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| จ (tɕ) |
| The key difference between these consonant pairs lies in aspiration. All four consonants are voiceless; what sets them apart is whether you release a puff of air. |
| Aspirated consonants release a noticeable puff of air, while unaspirated consonants do not. You can test this by holding a piece of paper in front of your mouth: aspirated sounds will make it move, unaspirated sounds will not. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| ขา (kʰǎː) vs. กา (kaː) |
| "leg" / "crow" |
| (space for repetition) |
| ขา (kʰǎː) vs. กา (kaː) |
| "leg" / "crow" |
| ชน (tɕʰon) vs. จน (tɕon) |
| "to collide" / "poor" |
| (space for repetition) |
| ชน (tɕʰon) vs. จน (tɕon) |
| "to collide" / "poor" |
| เข่า (kʰào) vs. เก่า (kào) |
| "knee" / "old" |
| (space for repetition) |
| เข่า (kʰào) vs. เก่า (kào) |
| "knee" / "old" |
| ชิง (tɕʰiŋ) vs. จริง (tɕiŋ) |
| "to snatch" / "true" |
| (space for repetition) |
| ชิง (tɕʰiŋ) vs. จริง (tɕiŋ) |
| "to snatch" / "true" |
| Now listen to the following sentences. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| เขาเจ็บแผลเก่าที่บริเวณเข่า |
| (kʰǎo tɕèp pʰlǎe kào tʰîː baːrí-ween kʰào) |
| "He hurt an old wound near his knee." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| เข่า, เก่า |
| ภาพยนตร์ที่สร้างจากเรื่องจริงที่ภูเก็ตชิงรางวัลภาพยนตร์ยอดเยี่ยมแห่งปีไปได้ |
| (pʰâːppʰáyon tʰîː sâːŋ tɕàːk rûːaŋtɕiŋ tʰîː pʰuːkèt tɕʰiŋ raːŋwan pʰâːppʰáyon yôːtyîam hàeŋ bpii bpai dâi) |
| "A movie based on a true story from Phuket snatched the Best Picture award of the year." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| ชิง, จริง |
| Read the following sentences out loud, focusing on the distinction between aspirated and unaspirated sounds. |
| เขาเอากาแฟไปวางไว้ข้างขา |
| (kʰǎo ao kaːfaːe bpai waːŋ wái kʰâːŋ kʰǎː) |
| "He put the coffee next to his leg." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| กา, ขา |
| (1 sec pause) |
| เขาจนเพราะรถชน |
| (kʰǎo tɕon pʰrɔ́ rót tɕʰon) |
| "He is poor because of the car crash." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| จน, ชน |
| By the way, if you watched til the end… |
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