Thai Alphabet: Introduction

The Thai alphabet, known as “อักษรไทย” (Akson Thai) or “ตัวอักษรไทย” (Tua Akson Thai) in Thai, is the writing system used to write the Thai language. It is an abugida script, which means that each character represents a consonant with an inherent vowel sound, and additional diacritics are used to indicate different vowel sounds. Here’s an introduction to the Thai alphabet:

1. Consonants: There are 44 consonants in the Thai alphabet. These characters represent consonant sounds and often have an inherent “a” vowel sound associated with them. Here are some examples of Thai consonants:
   • ก (k) as in “กา” (kaa – means “crow”).
   • ม (m) as in “มา” (maa – means “come”).
   • น (n) as in “นก” (nok – means “bird”).
2. Vowels: Thai vowels can be categorized into short vowels, long vowels, and vowel combinations. They are used in combination with consonants. Some common vowels include:
   • อะ (a) as in “สวัสดี” (sa-was-dee – means “hello”).
   • อา (aa) as in “หมา” (maa – means “dog”).
   • อี (ii) as in “ใจ” (jai – means “heart”).
3. Tone Markings: Thai is a tonal language, which means that the tone in which a word is spoken can change its meaning. There are five tone marks in Thai:
   • ไม้เอก (maai ek) – high tone (่)
   • ไม้โท (maai tho) – falling tone (้)
   • ไม้ตรี (maai tri) – low tone (๊)
   • ไม้จัตวา (maai jatawa) – rising tone (๋)
   • ไม้นุ่น (maai nun) – mid tone (์)
4. Numerals: Thai numerals are used for writing numbers. They are distinct from Arabic numerals and are often used for various purposes, including dates, phone numbers, and counting. For example, ๑ (1), ๒ (2), ๓ (3), etc.
5. Punctuation and Symbols: Thai uses its set of punctuation marks and symbols, which may differ from those used in Latin scripts. Some common symbols include จุด (full stop), คอมม่า (comma), อัญประกาศ (exclamation mark), อัญประกาศทวิภาคี (question mark), and ขีดกลาง (hyphen).
6. Writing Direction: Thai is written from left to right, with spaces between words, similar to English. However, there are no spaces between sentences.
7. Script Complexity: The Thai script can be complex to learn due to its various consonant clusters, tone markings, and the need to differentiate between similar-looking characters.
8. Learning Resources: If you’re interested in learning the Thai alphabet, there are many online resources, textbooks, and language courses available that can help you get started.