There are two rare characters that are neither vowel, nor consonant. They are:
| Character | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ฤ | /ri/, /rʉ/ or /rəə/ | Contrast with ถ |
| ฦ | /lʉ/ | Contrast with ภ |
ฤ has three pronunciations. It's /ri/ in words such as:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| อังกฤษ | /aŋˑkrìt/ | England |
| ทฤษฎี | /thrítˑsaˑdii/ | theory |
| สันสกฤต | /sǎnˑsaˑkrìt/ | Sanskrit |
| วิกฤต | /wíˑkrìt/ | critical |
It's /rʉ/ in words such as:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ฤดู | /rʉ́ˑduu/ | season |
| พฤษภาคม | /phrʉ́tˑsaˑphaaˑkhom/ | May |
| พฤติกรรม | /phrʉ́tˑtìˑkam/ | behaviour |
| พฤหัสบดี | /phaˑrʉ́ˑhàtˑsaˑbɔɔˑdii/ | Thursday |
| พฤกษศาสตร์ | /phrʉ́kˑsaˑsàat/ | botany |
| หฤทัย | /haˑrʉ́ˑthay/ | heart |
(Notice that in พฤกษศาสตร์ the last two consonants are cancelled by ◌์.)
The third pronunciation, /rəə/ is much rarer, and you'll probably only encounter it with ฤกษ์ and compounds thereof:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ฤกษ์ | /rə̂ək/ | auspicious time |
| ดาวฤกษ์ | /daawˑrə̂ək/ | fixed star |
| ปฐมฤกษ์ | /paˑthǒmˑmaˑrə̂ək/ | auspicious inauguration |
| ฤกษ์ดี | /rə̂əkˑdii/ | auspicious time |
| ฤกษ์ล่าง | /rə̂əkˑlâaŋ/ | a kind of auspicious time |
ฦ (pronounced /lʉ/) is so obscure that you're most unlikely ever to encounter it. Words previously written with ฦ are now written with ลึ. For example, น้ำฦก (deep water) is now written น้ำลึก, and พันฦก (strange) is now พันลึก.
The symbol ๅ is known as ลากข้างยาว /lâak khâaŋ yaaw/. It lengthens the sound of both ฤ and ฦ. Contrast ๅ with า.
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ฤๅษี | /rʉʉˑsǐi/ | hermit |
| สมปฤๅดี | /sǒmˑpaˑrʉʉˑdii/ | consciousness |
| ฤๅษีแปลงสาร | /rʉʉˑsǐiˑplɛɛŋˑsǎan/ | a simple kind of cipher |
These characters are not considered as consonants, but in the dictionary words beginning ฤ are listed after ร and those beginning ฦ listed after ล.
Try the following Thai to English/IPA flashcards, reading for both pronunciation and meaning.
The final two consonants are both obsolete, and are only included her for the sake of completeness.
| Character | Pronunciation | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ฃ | /kh/ | /khɔ̌ɔ khùat/ | Bottle | Contrast with ข |
| ฅ | /kh/ | /khɔɔ khon/ | Person | Contrast with ค and ต |
ฃ is high class; ฅ is low class.
Words previously spelt with ฃ and now spelt with ข; words previously spelt with ฅ are now spelt with ค.
They won't be mentioned again in this course.
Rather more challenging is writing the words. This time the flashcards are English/IPA to Thai. Try writing the word before clicking on "Next" to reveal the spelling.