"Starting
on this page, I will be giving you some introduction lessons
to reading Thai characters. Now, before I proceed, I don't
want to pretend I am an expert or anything. I am still
struggling with reading children's books. But, I will
attempt to teach you how to read in much the same way
I learned. If you haven't already, take a look at Nattawud's
Thai Alphabet page."
LESSON 1:
English words in Thai. This is the easiest way to start.
Alongside each English word you will see a Flash play
button. Click on it to see how a Thai student pronounces
the word.
GAME
This
is Gor Gai. It has a "g" sound.
This
is a vowel. It has a short "eh" sound.
This
is Mor Ma. It has a "m" sound.
The first thing
to understand about Thai is that the vowels can be above,
before, below and even all around a consonant! This may
sound confusing at the moment but you will soon get used
to it. In the above example, you start with the consonant
which is a "g" sound. Next comes the vowel which
is the first letter (don't worry about it) and finally
the "m" sound. This is the Thai version of "game"
which comes out closer to "gem" with a hard
"g".
MENU
This
is Mor Ma. It has a "m" sound.
This
is a vowel. It has a short "eh" sound.
This
is Nor Noo. It has a "n" sound.
This
is a vowel. It has a long "oo" sound.
The next word
has the same rules. Start with the consonant which happens
to be the "m" sound. Attach to this the vowel
so you end up with something like "meh". Thais
usually split their words up when they speak English so
you should do the same here. The next consonant is the
"n" sound. This time the vowel is below (honestly
it will make sense later). This is the long "oo"
sound. Attach it to the consonant and you will get "noo".
So, for "menu", Thai people will say "meh-noo".
NUDE
This
is Nor Noo. It has a "n" sound.
This
is Dor Dek. It has a "d" sound.
This
is a vowel. It has a long "oo" sound.
I threw this
one in just to show you that the sounds sometimes do start
with the first letter! The consonant and the vowel on
this one should already be familiar to you. Just end the
sound with a "d". In Thai, "nude"
sounds more like "nood". When I first started
teaching English to Thai students, I soon noticed that
they never opened their mouth for the last sound of words
like "map", "cat" and even "dad".
So, make sure you do the same when you speak Thai! Keep
your tongue against the top of your mouth when you say
the "d" sound at the end of this word.
TAPE
This
is a vowel. It has a short "eh" sound.
This
is Por Pla. It has a "p" sound.
This
is Tor Tahan. It has a "t" sound.
By now you
should be getting used to it. Start with the consonant
which is the second letter. This has a "t" sound.
Attach the vowel to the consonant and you will end up
with "teh". Finish with the "p" sound.
Don't forget what I said before. Make sure your lips stay
closed when you finish saying "tep". I want
to add here, that for me "Por Pla" should really
be "Bor Bla" as it is closer to a "b"
than a "p". But, the official name is "Por
Pla".
Ping Pong
This
is a vowel. It has a short "ih"
sound.
This
is Por Pla. It has a "p" sound.
This
is Por Pla. It has a "p" sound.
This
is Ngor Ngoo. It has a "ng" sound.
This
is Ngor Ngoo. It has a "ng" sound.
This
is Or Ang. It has a "oh" sound.
The last one
for this lesson demonstrates how two words are joined
together. When you first start to read Thai it is a little
confusing about where one word finishes and the next starts.
But, after a short time it should become obvious. For
the first word you have a new vowel which is above the
consonant "p". Ngor Ngoo is very difficult to
say when it comes at the start of a word. Luckily it is
at the end here so you should have no problem saying "ping".
The second part doesn't have any of the vowels though
Or Ang is a bit like an English one. Again, you should
easily read this one as "pong". Like I mentioned
before, I find Por Pla to be a harder sound closer to
a "b". So, a Thai would say something more like
"bing bong".