Vocabulary
นา naa rice field | ||||
นาน naan long (time) |
Learn how to write 3 letters: ม, น and า
นา naa rice field | ||||
นาน naan long (time) |
The Focus of this Lesson is Two Low Class Consonants and One Vowel: Maaw máa, Naaw nǔu, and Long a
The Thai alphabet is made up of 44 consonants. That might seem like a lot to you now. But if you just learn a few at a time you'll see that they're not difficult to master. Thai is read from left to right just like English. The letters of the Thai alphabet are grouped into three consonant classes: low, middle, and high. In this lesson we'll learn 3 low class consonants.
Each Thai consonant has a name made up of two parts. The first part of the name is the sound that the letter makes as the initial sound of a syllable. The last part of the name is some word that contains that letter. These names make it easier to remember the letters.
In addition to the consonants, the Thai script has 32 vowels. That sounds like a lot, but most of them are pairs of long and short vowels, so it's not as hard as you think. Thai vowels have to be written and attached to a consonant. They can appear above, below, in front, behind, or all around a consonant.
Thai has 5 different tones. Tone means how high or low the pitch of a sound is. The 5 tones are: mid, low, falling, high, and rising. Or if we use the sound กา (gaa) as an example, the 5 tones are กา ก่า ก้า ก๊า ก๋า (gaa gàa gâa gáa gǎa). If you make the wrong tone you won't be easily understood.
Thai script has 4 different tone symbols, which help to indicate different tones in writing. But they don't automatically tell you which tone a syllable is. The consonant class, length of the vowel, and type of ending sound also factor in. If that sounds like a lot to keep track of, don't worry. We'll tackle each tone rule one by one so you won't feel overwhelmed. OK, are you ready to learn your first Thai consonant? Let's begin!
The Consonant ม (maaw máa)
Remember how I said each letter has two parts to its name? The first part of ม (maaw-máa) is มอ (maaw) because it makes the sound "m" just like the letter M. And ม้า (máa) is a word that means "horse."
Most Thai letters start with a small circle which we call the head of the letter. Some are written clockwise and some are written counter-clockwise. The head of ม is written clockwise, and then the rest of the letter is written with one continuous line. There is a second loop in the bottom left corner, then we bring the line over to the lower right corner, and then keep drawing the line up to the top right corner.
If you want an easy way to remember the shape of this letter think of a coffee mug with a broken handle. The head on the top and the loop on the bottom are where the handle used to be attached. This will help you to remember that ม has the head and loop on the same side. And of course, ม and "mug" both start with the same sound "m."
The Consonant น (naaw nǔu)
It makes the sound "n" just like the letter N. Do you know what animal น (naaw nǔu) is named after? หนู nǔu means "rat" in Thai. I bet you're thinking that น looks very similar to ม. Well, you're right. The only difference between the shape of these two letters is น has the loop on the right side instead of the left side. That's why I said you should remember a mug for ม that has a broken handle on the left side.
น is handwritten like this. The head is drawn clockwise, and the loop is in the lower right corner.
The Vowel สระ อา (sà-rà a - "long a")
Now you know two Thai consonants, but we need to learn some vowels before we can start making words. Remember that the Thai alphabet is entirely consonants. Vowels are a separate group of symbols that orbit around the consonants. The Thai word for "vowel" is สระ (sà-rà). Each vowel's name is made up of the word สระ (sà-rà) plus the sound that the vowel makes. The first vowel that we'll learn is สระ อา (sà-rà aa). It is written to the right of a consonant, but a lot of other vowels will be found in different positions. Vowels can be long or short. In this case, สระ อา (sà-rà aa) is a long vowel that makes the sound อา "aa," like the A in "father."
สระ อา is very easy to write. Just draw a slightly curved line going to the right, and then drop straight down. It looks a little like a cane or walking stick. If you think of the sentence "My father walks with a cane", it will help you remember the shape of สระ อา (sà-rà aa).
You will never see สระ อา (sà-rà aa) written just by itself like this. It always has to follow a consonant. Let's use the consonants we learned to demonstrate. ม followed by สระ อา(sà-rà aa) is the word มา (maa). This is the verb "to come." Let's practice writing it together. ม, สระ อา (sà-rà aa).
Practice Words
Now let's try a new word. This time we'll start with น.
น followed by สระ อา makes นา (naa).
This is the word for "rice field." Let's write it again together. น, สระ อา, นา.
Many Thai consonants have different sounds at the beginning and end of syllables. But these two consonants ม and น don't change their sound. So you can make another word very easily just by adding another น to the end of นา (naa).
Now you have the word นาน (naan), which means "a long time."
สวัสดีค่ะ, ดิฉันปรารถนาค่ะ! Welcome to Thaipod101.com’s ตัวอักษรไทย Made Easy! |
The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn the Thai alphabet: ตัวอักษรไทย! |
Over the next 25 lessons, you'll learn everything there is about the reading and writing of the Thai language. By the end, you’ll be able to read Thai menu items, communicate online, and make your way through Thailand easier. Learning to read and write Thai will also help you to speak Thai better! Are you ready? Then let's go! |
The Thai alphabet is made up of 44 consonants. That might seem like a lot to you now. But if you just learn a few at a time you'll see that they're not difficult to master. Thai is read from left to right just like English. The letters of the Thai alphabet are grouped into three consonant classes: low, middle, and high. In this lesson we'll learn 3 low class consonants. |
Each Thai consonant has a name made up of two parts. |
The first part of the name is the sound that the letter makes as the initial sound of a syllable. The last part of the name is some word that contains that letter. These names make it easier to remember the letters. |
In addition to the consonants, the Thai script has 32 vowels. That sounds like a lot, but most of them are pairs of long and short vowels, so it's not as hard as you think. Thai vowels have to be written and attached to a consonant. They can appear above, below, in front, behind, or all around a consonant. |
Thai has 5 different tones. Tone means how high or low the pitch of a sound is. The 5 tones are: mid, low, falling, high, and rising. Or if we use the sound กา (gaa) as an example, the 5 tones are กา ก่า ก้า ก๊า ก๋า (gaa gàa gâa gáa gǎa). If you make the wrong tone you won't be easily understood. |
Thai script has 4 different tone symbols, which helps to indicate different tones in writing. But they don't automatically tell you which tone a syllable is. The consonant class, length of the vowel, and type of ending sound also factor in. If that sounds like a lot to keep track of, don't worry. We'll tackle each tone rule one by one so you won't feel overwhelmed. OK, are you ready to learn your first Thai consonant? Let's begin! |
Let's start with the letter ม (maaw máa). Remember how I said each letter has two parts to its name? The first part of ม (maaw-máa) is มอ (maaw) because it makes the sound "m" just like the letter M. And ม้า (máa) is a word that means "horse". |
Most Thai letters start with a small circle which we call the head of the letter. The head of ม is written clockwise, and then the rest of the letter is written with one continuous line. If you want an easy way to remember the shape of this letter think of a coffee mug with a broken handle. The head on the top and the loop on the bottom are where the handle used to be attached. This will help you to remember that ม has the head and loop on the same side. And of course, ม and "mug" both start with the same sound! |
Now it’s time to take out your pencils! We’re going to practice writing. Find some paper and follow along. |
OK, here we go! Start with the head, go down and make a loop, go to the right, and then back up. |
See how easy that was! Now you're going to learn your second consonant. |
The next consonant is น (naaw nǔu). It makes the sound "n" just like the letter N. Do you know what animal น (naaw nǔu) is named after? หนู nǔu means "rat" in Thai. I bet you're thinking that น looks very similar to ม. Well, you're right. The only difference between the shape of these two letters is น has the loop on the right side instead of the left side. That's why I said you should remember a mug for ม that has a broken handle on the left side. |
น is handwritten like this. The head is drawn clockwise, and the loop is in the lower right corner. |
Now you know two Thai consonants, but we need to learn some vowels before we can start making words. |
Remember that the Thai alphabet is entirely consonants. Vowels are a separate group of symbols that orbit around the consonants. The Thai word for "vowel" is สระ (sà-rà). Each vowel's name is made up of the word สระ plus the sound that the vowel makes. |
The first vowel that we'll learn is สระ อา. It is written to the right of a consonant, but a lot of other vowels will be found in different positions. Vowels can be long or short. In this case, สระ อา is a long vowel that makes the sound อา "aa", like the A in "father". |
สระ อา is very easy to write. Just draw a slightly curved line going to the right, and then drop straight down. It looks a little like a cane or walking stick. If you think of the sentence "My f*a*ther walks with a cane.", it will help you remember the shape of สระ อา. |
You will never see สระ อา written just by itself like this. It always has to follow a consonant. Let's use the consonants we learned to demonstrate. ม followed by สระ อา is the word มา (maa). This is a verb, meaning "to come". |
Let's practice writing it together. ม, สระ อา, มา. |
Now let's try a new word. This time we'll start with น. |
น followed by สระ อา makes นา (naa). This is the word for "rice field". |
Let's write it together. น, สระ อา, นา. |
Many Thai consonants have different sounds at the beginning and end of syllables. But these two consonants ม and น don't change their sound. So you can make another word very easily just by adding another น to the end of นา (naa). Now you have the word นาน (naan), which means "a long time". |
Let's write it now! น, สระ อา, น, นาน. |
Wow! You've already learned how to write 3 words in Thai. See, it's not that hard after all. |
Now it's time for Pradthana's Points. |
Practice writing these letters and words until it becomes second nature. Keep a notebook and write the letters many times while saying their names out loud. That way the shape of the letter, the sound it makes, and the letter's name will sink deep into your memory. |
Did you notice that all the words you learned today are pronounced with a mid tone? It's not just random. There's a rule for it, and in the next ตัวอักษรไทย Made Easy Lesson you'll learn your first rule for reading tones in Thai. See you there! สวัสดีค่ะ! |
184 Comments
HideWhat words can you write using ม (Maaw máa), น (Naaw nǔu), or า (Long a)?
Hi Akia,
Thank you for posting.
I passed the suggestion to our team. In the meantime, I think you will find this page useful:
https://www.thaipod101.com/thai-alphabet/
Let us know if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Lena
Team ThaiPod101.com
I wish there was a flash card deck with all of the Thai alphabet to make it easier to practice after the lessons. such as the scripted letter with the name of the letter to help with recognition and tone. I have to continuously come back to the lesson to review the letters.
Hi Michal,
Thank you for feedback. We will find a way to improve them if possible. Please feel free to let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
just rewatching to refresh and need to give feedback on 1 very bad thing in this whole series - actual writing of the letter is almost at the end, after all explanations.. wanted to make notes straight away, but.. didn't know how to write new letter, so after learning how to write it had to go back to the beginning to be able to make notes (like word associated with that letter)
Hi Malika,
Thank you. Let see if this would help. 'consonant' is a letter like "a,b,c...z" in English. For Thai we have "ก, ข, ฃ...ฮ and what we learn in this lesson ม, น. 'syllables' is a combination of letter and vowels in English, one syllable examples : in/ you / we / how/ is /two syllables like: letter , harder and language. In Thai syllable you see in this lesson are กา(gaa) ก่า ก้า ก๊า ก๋า มา(maa) นา(naa) อา(aa) นาน(naan) all this are one syllable. สระ sà-rà is two syllables. Hope that helps. Please feel free to let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
Since english isn't my first langauge, it made it harder to follow since i didn't know what words like 'consonant' or 'syllabels' meant in my native langauge dutch. However with some help of google translate and watching parts of the video over, plus writing everything down in a notebook. I actually came a far way, until now i understand everything and it's very clear and good explained.👍
Hi Henni,
Thank you. ปรารถนา is a name of the women on the video, so she just say "Hi, I'm Prathana" สวัสดีค่ะ, ดิฉันปรารถนาค่ะ! Hope that helps. Please feel free to let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
Hi goodmorning, first thank u for the very helpfull video's. But after so much time I still have this question ;) The video's start with; สวัสดีค่ะ, ดิฉันปรารถนาค่ะ! I know what it means (hello, I wish for!) but I don"t get the context. Is ดิฉันปรารถนาค่ะ a common phrase in Thai or what is meant by it in this video?
Thank you and greets, Henni
Hi Sam,
Thank you. อ is a silent letter so we use it to show vowels sound. So อา is just like -า / อะ is just like -ะ. อ is where other consonant will take it place when we write a word ex. มา maa "to come" นา "rice filed". When we use those vowel อ don't need to be there unless vowel ออ examples นอน ก่อน ผ่อน สอน ช้อน ร้อน Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help.
Have a good day.
ปริษา Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
Hi KUO SHU YUAN,
Thank you for posting! 😄
Please check this link for the worksheet!
https://www.thaipod101.com/thai-alphabet/
Cheers,
Lena
Team ThaiPod101.com