Thai Alphabet to English Transliteration - How to Start Reading Thai

Learn how Thai sounds connect to English-style pronunciation, so you can finally understand how Thai words are actually read. Let's have a look!

Table of Contents

• Thai Consonants

• Thai Vowels

• Thai Tonemaks

• Key points about Thai reading and writing

• Simple Tips to Start Reading Thai

Thai Consonants - Thai Alphabet to English Transliteration

In Thai, there are 44 consonants, but they are represented by only 21 distinct sounds. To distinguish between them, each consonant is assigned a specific name. Typically, the sound 'aw' is added to the first letter, followed by a meaningful word to denote the consonant.

No	Letter	Phonetic Symbols	English sounds	How to read	Meaning
1	ก	g	sky	gaw gài	chicken
2	ข	kh	kind	khǎw khài	egg
3	ฃ	kh	kind	khǎw khùad	bottle (obsolete)
4	ค	kh	kind	khaw khwaai	buffalo
5	ฅ	kh	kind	khaw khon	person (obsolete)
6	ฆ	kh	kind	khaw ra-khang	bell
7	ง	ng	singer	ngaw nguu	snake
8	จ	j	jar	jaw jaan	plate
9	ฉ	ch	chair	chǎw chìng	cymbals
10	ช	ch	chair	chaw cháang	elephant
11	ซ	s	sand	saw sôh	chain
12	ฌ	ch	chair	chaw cher	tree
13	ญ	y	you	yaw yǐng	woman
14	ฎ	d	dog	daw cha-daa	headdress
15	ฏ	dt	stamp	dtaw bpa-dtàk	goad, javelin
16	ฐ	t	ten	tǎw thǎan	pedestal
17	ฑ	t	ten	taw mon-toh	Montho
18	ฒ	t	ten	taw pûu-tâo	elder
19	ณ	n	no	naw nehn	samanera
20	ด	d	dog	daw dèk	child
21	ต	dt	stamp	dtaw dtào	turtle
22	ถ	t	ten	tǎw tǔng	sack
23	ท	t	ten	taw ta-hǎan	soldier
24	ธ	t	ten	taw tong	flag
25	น	n	no	naw nǔu	mouse
26	บ	b	bee	baw bai-máai	leaf
27	ป	bp	spy	bpaw bplaa	fish
28	ผ	p	pan	pǎw pêung	bee
29	ฝ	f	fan	fǎw fǎa	lid
30	พ	p	pan	paw paan	phan
31	ฟ	f	fan	faw fan	teeth
32	ภ	p	pan	paw sǎm-pao	Junk
33	ม	m	my	maw máa	horse
34	ย	y	you	yaw yák	giant, yaksha
35	ร	r	red	raw reua	boat
36	ล	l	love	law ling	monkey
37	ว	w	wind	waw wǎaen	ring
38	ศ	s	sand	sǎw sǎa-laa	pavilion, sala
39	ษ	s	sand	sǎw reuu-sǐi	hermit
40	ส	s	sand	sǎw sěua	tiger
41	ห	h	hen	hǎw hìib	chest, box
42	ฬ	l	love	law jù-laa	kite
43	อ	a / ʔ	up	aw àang	basin
44	ฮ	h	hen	haw nók-hûuk	owl

Notes on Transliteration

Keep in mind that the sounds of Thai letters can vary based on their position in a word and the surrounding letters. Additionally, Thai is a tonal language, meaning that the pitch or tone used can change the meaning of a word, which is not represented in the simple transliteration above.

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Thai Vowels - Thai Alphabet to English Transliteration

Thai has 32 vowels with 28 sounds, including short and long vowels. The hyphen (-) shows the consonant position, and vowels can appear before, after, above, below, or around it.

Short		Long
Symbol	Sound	Symbol	Sound
-ะ / -ั	a	-า	aa
-ิ	i	-ี	ii
-ึ	eu	-ือ / -ื	euu
-ุ	u	-ู	uu
เ-ะ / เ-็	e	เ-	eh
แ-ะ / แ-็	ae	แ-	aae
โ-ะ / -	o	โ-	oh
เ-าะ / -็อ	aw	-อ	aaw
เ-อะ	er	เ-อ / เ-ิ / เ-ย	err
เ-ียะ	ia*	เ-ีย	ia
เ-ือะ	eua*	เ-ือ	eua
-ัวะ	ua*	-ัว / -ว	ua
-ำ	am
ไ- / ใ-	ai
เ-า	ao
ฤ	réu	ฤๅ	reuu
ฦ	léu	ฦๅ	leuu

• Vowels marked with * are very rare or almost never used, so we use the same English transliteration for both short and long sounds for easier reading.

• ฦ and ฦๅ are no longer used in modern Thai.

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Tone Marks - Thai Alphabet to English Transliteration

In Thai, there are four tone marks, but they are not used with every consonant class. To determine the correct tone, we need to consider both the tone marks and the consonant class. Tone marks are usually placed above the consonant. If there is a consonant cluster, the tone mark is positioned over the cluster consonant. However, if the vowel is above the consonant, the tone mark will be placed over the vowel.

Tone mark	Name	Tone	Note
No tone mark	-	Mid tone
-่	máai èk	Low tone	Falling tone with low-class consonants.
-้	máai toh	Falling tone	High tone with low-class consonants.
-๊	máai drii	High tone
-๋	máai jàd-dta-waa	Rising tone

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Key points about Thai reading and writing:

• Written from left to right

• No spaces between words, only between phrases or sentences

• Vowels can appear before, after, above, or below consonants.

• Thai is a tonal language

Understanding these basics helps you see the structure behind the script and makes learning less intimidating.

Simple Tips to Start Reading Thai

Here are practical tips to begin reading and writing Thai for beginners:

• Start by learning the Thai consonants and their classes.

• Practice Thai vowels in different positions around consonants.

• Memorize the four tone marks and how they affect pronunciation.

• Read simple words aloud, focusing on tone and final consonant sounds.

• Use flashcards or apps to reinforce recognition.

• Write basic words to connect reading with writing.

• Be patient and practice regularly; progress takes time.

  
  

Learning to read and write Thai is a rewarding journey that enhances communication and cultural understanding.

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