Koh Rang Yai
APPENDIX 2: THAI ALPHABET
VOWELS
Thai vowels are usually named sa-ra and then the sound they make.
Thai vowels are always attached to a consonant character. They can be placed before, after, above or below the consonant but they are always pronounced after the consonant sound to which they belong.
To write a vowel sound on its own, the vowel is attached to the special consonant Or Ahng which then becomes silent.
When listing Thai vowels, it is usual to represent the position of the consonant with a dash. In the example below, sa-ra-ee is placed above the consonant.
You will notice that for some of the vowels below we have given two transliteration options. In some cases the Thai sound falls between our vowels or can actually vary in usage. We will use the transliteration option we think best represents the sound.
SOUND |
EXAMPLE THAI WORD |
WORD MEANING |
|
 |
ua | nuat | massage |
 |
u-ay | pu-ay | ill / sick |
 |
or | bork | tell |
 |
oy | soy | side street |
 |
a | talay | sea |
 |
a u |
jap dung |
catch loud |
 |
ai | chai chana | win |
 |
ua | dtua | body |
 |
ah | baht | baht |
 |
ai | sabai | well / comfortable |
 |
aow | daow | star |
 |
am um |
jam dum |
remember black |
 |
i | bin | fly |
 |
ew | hew | hungry |
|
ee | nee | this |
 |
eu | leum | forget |
 |
ur | nurng | 1 |
 |
eu | keu | is |
 |
oo | yoot | stop |
 |
oi | koi | chat |
 |
oo ooo |
bpoo pooot |
crab speak |
 |
ay | talay | sea |
 |
oie | koie | used to |
 |
ay-oh | ray-oh | quick |
 |
err | jerr | find |
 |
ao | bao | light / gentle |
 |
er | dern | walk |
 |
ee-a | kee-an | write |
 |
ee-ow | dee-ow | single / individual |
 |
eu-a | leu-at | blood |
 |
eu-ay | leu-ay | saw (for cutting) |
 |
air | pairng | expensive |
 |
ae-oh | lae-oh | already |
 |
o | mong | o'clock |
 |
oye | kamoye | steal |
 |
ai | nai | in |
 |
ai | bpai | go |
 |
ai | Thai | Thai |
