In certain cases letters (both consonants and vowels) are not included in the pronunciation.
We've already encountered ◌์ which silences consonants and associated vowels both at the end of words, and within words.
There are some syllables where the final vowel or consonant isn't pronounced, but this is not indicated in the spelling. Very often these end in -ติ, -ตุ or -ย.
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| จักรพรรดิ | /càkˑkraˑphát/ | emperor |
| ปฏิบัติ | /paˑtìˑbàt / | carry out; execute; implement |
| ปฏิวัติ | /paˑtìˑwát/ | revolution |
| ชาติ | /châat/ | nation |
| ญาติ | /yâat/ | relatives |
| ประวัติ | /pràˑwát/ | history |
| อุบัติเหตุ | /ùˑbàtˑtìˑhèet/ | accident |
| สมบัติ | /sǒmˑbàt/ | property |
| ธาตุ | /thâat/ | substance |
| เหตุ | /hèet/ | because of |
| ไทย | /thay/ | Thailand, freedom |
| ไตรย | /tray/ | three (tri- as prefix) |
| ไขษย | /khaˑsǎy/ | wasting disease |
With some words beginning with สร- the ร is silent. Common examples are:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| สร้าง | /sâaŋ/ | build | |
| สร้อย | /sɔ̂y/ | necklace | Irregular vowel length |
| สระ | /sà/ | pool | |
| สร่าง | /sàaŋ/ | recover | |
| สรงน้ำ | /sǒŋˑnáam/ | bathe | |
| สรวงสวรรค์ | /sǔaŋˑsaˑwǎn/ | heaven |
However, this is not always the case, for example:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| สรุป | /saˑrùp/ | summarise |
| สรรพ | /sàp/ | whole |
| สระบุรี | /saˑràˑbùˑrii/ | Saraburi |
| สรรพากร | /sǎnˑphaaˑkɔɔn/ | revenue |
| สระเดี่ยว | /saˑràˑdìaw/ | single vowel |
Note from the above that สระ can either be pronounced /sà/ when meaning "pool" or /saˑrà/ when meaning "vowel".
The ร in จริง meaning "true" is also silent - /ciŋ/.
With some words consonants within a word are not pronounced, for example:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| สามารถ | /sǎaˑmâat/ | to be able to |
| พรหม | /phrom/ | Brahma |
| พราหมณ์ | /phraam/ | Brahman |
| พรหมจรรย์ | /phromˑmaˑcan/ | virgin |
| สารท | /sàat/ | harvest festival time |
| ปรารถนา | /pràatˑthaˑnǎa/ | to wish for |
These need to be learned individually.
Try the following Thai to English/IPA flashcards, reading for both pronunciation and meaning.
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.