Letter | Name | Roman Equivalent (initial/final) | Meaning | Class |
---|---|---|---|---|
¡ | ¡ ä¡è gor gai | g/k | Chicken | Middle |
¢ | ¢ ä¢è kor kai | k/k | Egg | High |
¤ | ¤ ¤ÇÒ kor kwai | k/k | Buffalo | Low |
¦ | ¦ ÃЦѧ kor rakang | k/k | Bell | Low |
§ | § §Ù ngor ngoo | ng/ng | Snake | Low |
¨ | ¨ ¨Ò¹ jor jan | j/t | Plate | Middle |
© | © ©Ôè§ chor ching | ch/t | Altocymbals | High |
ª | ª ªéÒ§ chor chang | ch/t | Elephant | Low |
« | « â«è sor soh | s/t | Chain | Low |
¬ | ¬ à¬Í chor cher | ch/- | Tree | Low |
| ËÔ§ yor ying | y/n | Woman | Low |
® | ® ª®Ò dtor chada | d/t | Crown type head dress | Middle |
¯ | ¯ »¯Ñ¡ dtor badak | dt/t | Spear | Middle |
° | ° °Ò¹ tor tan | t/t | Pedestal | High |
± | ± Á³â± tor montoh | t/t | Female character from story | Low |
² | ² ¼Ùéà²èÒ tor putao | t/t | Old man | Low |
³ | ³ à³Ã nor nen | n/n | Novice monk | Low |
´ | ´ à´ç¡ dor dek | d/t | Child | Middle |
µ | µ àµèÒ dtor dtao | dt/t | Turtle | Middle |
¶ | ¶ ¶Ø§ tor tung | t/t | Bag | High |
· | · ·ËÒÃ tor tahan | t/t | Soldier | Low |
¸ | ¸ ¸§ tor tong | t/t | Flag | Low |
¹ | ¹ ˹٠nor noo | n/n | Rat | Low |
º | º ãºäÁé bor baimai | b/p | Leaf | Middle |
» | » »ÅÒ bpor bpla | bp/p | Fish | Middle |
¼ | ¼ ¼Öé§ por peung | p/p | Bee | High |
½ | ½ ½Ò for fah | f/p | Lid | High |
¾ | ¾ ¾Ò¹ por pan | p/p | Type of tray or bowl with base | Low |
¿ | ¿ ¿Ñ¹ for fan | f/p | Teeth | Low |
À | À ÊÓàÀÒ por sampao | p/p | Chinese Junk (Boat) | Low |
Á | Á ÁéÒ mor mah | m/m | Horse | Low |
 |  ÂÑ¡Éì yor yag | y/y | Giant | Low |
à | à àÃ×Í ror reua | r/n | Boat | Low |
Å | Å ÅÔ§ lor ling | l/n | Monkey | Low |
Ç | Ç áËǹ wor wen | w/w | Ring | Low |
È | È ÈÒÅÒ sor sala | s/t | Building with no walls, pavillion | High |
É | É ÄåÉÕ sor reusee | s/t | Hermit | High |
Ê | Ê àÊ×Í sor seua | s/t | Tiger | High |
Ë | Ë ËÕº hor heep | h/- | Chest/trunk | High |
Ì | Ì ¨ØÌÒ lor jula | l/n | Star shaped kite | Low |
Í | Í ÍèÒ§ oh ang | -/- | Bowl | Middle |
Î | Î ¹¡ÎÙ¡ hor nog hook | h/- | Barn Owl | Low |
The above table shows the 42 consonants used in the Thai language. Two more are no longer in use (¥ and £). Some letters are never used as final consonants, this explains why the entry is blank (-).
Each consonant can have a different sound depending on if it is at the start of the word (initial consonant) or at the end of the word (final consonant). Í oh is a special case that normally is not pronounced on it's own, sometimes referred to as the "dead" consonant or zero. The conversion of a foreign letter to an English letter is known as transliteration. The transliteration given in the table above is according to one scheme, there are several schemes available; this is still an active area of discussion amongst Thai academics.
A transliteration cannot be "wrong" or "right" because there is always a degree of interpretation and some exception rule may apply. Also, which system is correct ? In this web site we do not always exchange the letters strictly according to the above table, it's more important to be able to say the word correctly. Ultimately, you should learn the Thai letters and not transliterate and that's what we encourage you to do as soon as possible.
Usually adults do not give the full meaning when spelling something, i.e. gor gai - sara ee - etc. They will just say the first part, e.g. gor - ee - etc.