Lesson 33

Short Vowels (Closed Syllables)

Reading

In this lesson we'll look at closed syllables (i.e. those ending in a consonant) with short vowels. We've already covered /a/, /i/, /u/, /ʉ/ and (unwritten) /o/ which were part of the original Thai script. That leaves /e/, /ɛ/, /ə/ and /ɔ/.

To start with /ə/, there is (I believe) only one word in Thai with this vowel sound, เงิน (meaning money or silver), pronounced /ŋən/. The vowel is written exactly the same as the long form.

For the other vowel sounds the solution was to introduce a new symbol, ◌็ , known as ไม้ไต่คู้ (/máyˑ​tàyˑ​khúu/) which shortens the syllable's vowel. It's written over the first consonant of a syllable (or the second consonant if the syllable starts with a consonant cluster).

Here are some examples:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
เป็น	/pen/	to be
แข็ง	/khɛ̌ŋ/	strong
น็อค	/nɔ́k/	to knock

Contrast the shape of this character, ◌็ , with tone mark 3, ◌๊ .

Here are some common words to practise reading.

There are no short, closed diphthongs.

One oddity is the word ก็ which is pronounced /kɔ̂ɔ/. It's difficult to translate into English, but the meaning is something like "also" or "subsequently".

You may have noticed that none of the short syllables has a tone mark. So, how does Thai handle syllables which would appear to require a ◌็ and a tone mark? In short, it doesn't. There can either be a ◌็ or a tone mark − never both, with the tone mark taking precedence. The following common words are all pronounced with a short vowel sound, though written long.

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
เช่น	/chên/	for example
เล่น	/lên/	to play
เส้น	/sên/	line
เด่น	/dèn/	prominent
เล่ม	/lêm/	[counter for books, knives, swords, &c.]
แห่ง	/hɛ̀ŋ/	place
ตำแหน่ง	/tamˑnɛ̀ŋ/	location
แบ่ง	/bɛ̀ŋ/	to share
แหล่ง	/lɛ̀ŋ/	centre
แผ่นดิน	/phɛ̀nˑdin/	land
แต่ง	/tɛ̀ŋ/	to decorate
หนาแน่น	/nǎaˑnɛ̂n/	abundantly
ต้อง	/tɔ̂ŋ/	must
ห้อง	/hɔ̂ŋ/	room
ป้องกัน	/pɔ̂ŋˑkan/	to protect
เกี่ยวข้อง	/kìawˑkhɔ̂ŋ/	to relate

You just need to memorise them as exceptions.

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Writing