Thai Sabai

Script & Sound Lab

Read, write and sound out Thai. 29 lessons, in order, from the first seven letters to a menu you can actually order from.

Start hereBefore the letters: how Thai worksLesson 1 · about 20 min

The shape of Thai2 of 6 written

The 44 consonants, in the order that makes them stick, and the three classes that decide every tone.

  1. 1Before the letters: how Thai workssketch
  2. 2The mid class: ก จ ด ต บ ป อsketch
  3. 3The high class: ข ส ห ผ ฝ ถ ฉplanned
  4. 4The low-class partners: ค ท พ ฟ ซ ฮ ชplanned
  5. 5The sonorants: ง น ม ย ร ล วplanned
  6. 6Checkpoint: the 44 and their classesplanned

Vowels and endings0 of 6 written

Where a vowel sits, how long it is, and what a final consonant does to the syllable.

  1. 7Long vowels: ◌อ ◌ือ join ◌า ◌ี ◌ู, and long means liveplanned
  2. 8Finals: live and deadplanned
  3. 9Short vowels: ◌ะ ◌ิ ◌ุ ◌ึ and ◌ั ◌็planned
  4. 10Vowels in front: เ แ โ ไ ใ, เ◌า ◌ำ, the twenty ใ wordsplanned
  5. 11Diphthongs and rimes: เ◌ีย เ◌ือ ◌ัว ◌ว◌ เ◌อ เ◌ิ◌planned
  6. 12Checkpoint: the vowel tableplanned

Tones0 of 5 written

The four marks, class by class, until you can work out any tone without stopping to think.

  1. 13Tone marks on the mid classplanned
  2. 14Tone marks on the high classplanned
  3. 15Tone marks on the low class: the flipplanned
  4. 16Same mark, different classplanned
  5. 17Checkpoint: compute anythingplanned

Special spellings1 of 7 written

The tricks Thai plays: silent leaders, vowels that are not written, letters that turn into other letters.

  1. 18The silent leader — ห-นำsketch
  2. 19The vowel that is not writtenplanned
  3. 20Clusters: two letters, one onsetplanned
  4. 21The silencer ◌์ and the days of the weekplanned
  5. 22Ghost ร, รร, bare ร and ก็planned
  6. 23The rare letters, ฤ, ฯ and ๆplanned
  7. 24Checkpoint: every spelling ruleplanned

Reading the real world0 of 5 written

Signs, menus, place names. The point of all of it.

  1. 25Signsplanned
  2. 26Numbers, digits and menusplanned
  3. 27Place names and why Phuket is spelled that wayplanned
  4. 28Bridge to the Core lessons: particles and first sentencesplanned
  5. 29Final checkpointplanned

3 of 29 lessons are written; the rest are planned and named, so you can see the whole road before you start it. Every lesson also prints as a worksheet and an extended-practice sheet.