Complete pronunciation chart
44 Thai Consonants with Audio
Hear every Thai consonant, learn its traditional name and keyword, and understand the three consonant classes that control Thai tone rules.
Press the audio button, repeat the full Thai letter name, then focus on the initial sound. The romanization is only a guide; trust the Thai audio and IPA when English spelling is ambiguous.
The complete Thai consonant chart
Showing all 44 consonants.
| Letter | Name and keyword | Class | Initial | IPA | Pronunciation tip | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ก | กอ ไก่ ko kai · chicken | Middle | g / k | /k/ | Unaspirated k, between English g and k | |
| ข | ขอ ไข่ kho khai · egg | High | kh | /kʰ/ | k with a clear puff of air | |
| ฃ | ฃอ ขวด kho khuat · bottle (obsolete) | High | kh | /kʰ/ | No longer used in ordinary modern writing | |
| ค | คอ ควาย kho khwai · buffalo | Low | kh | /kʰ/ | k with a puff of air | |
| ฅ | ฅอ คน kho khon · person (obsolete) | Low | kh | /kʰ/ | No longer used in ordinary modern writing | |
| ฆ | ฆอ ระฆัง kho rakhang · bell | Low | kh | /kʰ/ | k with a puff of air | |
| ง | งอ งู ngo ngu · snake | Low | ng | /ŋ/ | ng in “sing,” also used at word beginnings | |
| จ | จอ จาน cho chan · plate | Middle | j | /tɕ/ | A crisp sound between j and unaspirated ch | |
| ฉ | ฉอ ฉิ่ง cho ching · cymbals | High | ch | /tɕʰ/ | ch in “chat,” with air | |
| ช | ชอ ช้าง cho chang · elephant | Low | ch | /tɕʰ/ | ch in “chat” | |
| ซ | ซอ โซ่ so so · chain | Low | s | /s/ | s in “sun” | |
| ฌ | ฌอ เฌอ cho choe · tree | Low | ch | /tɕʰ/ | A rare letter with aspirated ch | |
| ญ | ญอ หญิง yo ying · woman | Low | y | /j/ | y in “yes” initially | |
| ฎ | ฎอ ชฎา do chada · headdress | Middle | d | /d/ | d in “dog” | |
| ฏ | ฏอ ปฏัก to patak · goad | Middle | t | /t/ | t in “stop,” without an air puff | |
| ฐ | ฐอ ฐาน tho than · pedestal | High | th | /tʰ/ | t in “top,” with air; never English th | |
| ฑ | ฑอ มณโฑ tho montho · Montho | Low | th | /tʰ/ | Aspirated t; relatively uncommon | |
| ฒ | ฒอ ผู้เฒ่า tho phu thao · elder | Low | th | /tʰ/ | Aspirated t; relatively uncommon | |
| ณ | ณอ เณร no nen · novice monk | Low | n | /n/ | n in “nice” | |
| ด | ดอ เด็ก do dek · child | Middle | d | /d/ | d in “dog” | |
| ต | ตอ เต่า to tao · turtle | Middle | t | /t/ | t in “stop,” without an air puff | |
| ถ | ถอ ถุง tho thung · sack | High | th | /tʰ/ | Aspirated t, never English th | |
| ท | ทอ ทหาร tho thahan · soldier | Low | th | /tʰ/ | Aspirated t, never English th | |
| ธ | ธอ ธง tho thong · flag | Low | th | /tʰ/ | Aspirated t, never English th | |
| น | นอ หนู no nu · mouse | Low | n | /n/ | n in “nice” | |
| บ | บอ ใบไม้ bo bai mai · leaf | Middle | b | /b/ | b in “boy” | |
| ป | ปอ ปลา po pla · fish | Middle | p | /p/ | p in “spin,” without an air puff | |
| ผ | ผอ ผึ้ง pho phueng · bee | High | ph | /pʰ/ | p in “pie,” with air; never f | |
| ฝ | ฝอ ฝา fo fa · lid | High | f | /f/ | f in “fun” | |
| พ | พอ พาน pho phan · tray | Low | ph | /pʰ/ | p in “pie,” with air | |
| ฟ | ฟอ ฟัน fo fan · teeth | Low | f | /f/ | f in “fun” | |
| ภ | ภอ สำเภา pho samphao · sailing ship | Low | ph | /pʰ/ | p in “pie,” with air | |
| ม | มอ ม้า mo ma · horse | Low | m | /m/ | m in “man” | |
| ย | ยอ ยักษ์ yo yak · giant | Low | y | /j/ | y in “yes” | |
| ร | รอ เรือ ro ruea · boat | Low | r | /r/ | A tapped or rolled r; often relaxed in speech | |
| ล | ลอ ลิง lo ling · monkey | Low | l | /l/ | l in “love” | |
| ว | วอ แหวน wo waen · ring | Low | w | /w/ | w in “win” | |
| ศ | ศอ ศาลา so sala · pavilion | High | s | /s/ | s in “sun” | |
| ษ | ษอ ฤๅษี so ruesi · hermit | High | s | /s/ | s in “sun” | |
| ส | สอ เสือ so suea · tiger | High | s | /s/ | s in “sun” | |
| ห | หอ หีบ ho hip · chest | High | h | /h/ | h in “hat”; also changes the class of some sonorants | |
| ฬ | ฬอ จุฬา lo chula · kite | Low | l | /l/ | l in “love”; relatively uncommon | |
| อ | ออ อ่าง o ang · basin | Middle | silent / glottal | /ʔ/ | Vowel carrier or glottal stop | |
| ฮ | ฮอ นกฮูก ho nok huk · owl | Low | h | /h/ | h in “hat” |
What consonant class means
Middle, high, and low are grammatical labels—not instructions to pronounce every letter at that pitch.
Several consonants change sound at the end of a syllable. Learn final-sound groups after recognizing the initial forms.
Thai distinguishes unaspirated ป /p/ from aspirated ผ and พ /pʰ/, and ต /t/ from ถ and ท /tʰ/.
ฃ and ฅ remain part of the traditional 44-letter alphabet but are not used in ordinary modern Thai spelling.
A practical learning order
Begin with the common middle-class letters ก จ ด ต บ ป อ, then add useful low-class sounds such as ง น ม ย ร ล ว. Learn common high/low pairs together—ข with ค, ฉ with ช, ถ with ท, ผ with พ, and ฝ with ฟ—because the paired sounds make tone classes easier to remember.
Use short sessions: hear a name, repeat it, hide the romanization, and identify the symbol. Return to real syllables quickly so the alphabet becomes a reading tool rather than a list to recite.
Next: understand the five Thai tones
See the pitch contours, hear real-word examples, and learn how consonant classes and tone marks work together.
Learn the five Thai tones →