Unit 1 · Front matter · Step 1 of 3
Thai writing
Consonants + vowels + tone marks
Same lesson as the NidNoi app — free preview of the real course path.
Thai writing has three parts
Consonants · vowel marks · tone marks
Thai is not a Latin alphabet. A written syllable is built from consonants (อักษร), vowel marks that wrap around them (สระ), and optional tone marks (วรรณยุกต์). You need all three to read — this Unit maps them first, then teaches Mid consonants before vowels and tones.
กา · ก่า · ก้าSame letters — different tones with marks
Consonants อักษร
One part of the writing system
Thai has 42 consonants in everyday use (44 on the full school chart). Each has a school nickname from a keyword word — ก is ก ไก่ (“chicken”). Consonants also belong to Mid, High, or Low class for tone rules. Mid class comes first.
ก จ ด ต บ ป อEveryday Mid class letters you will learn next
Vowel marks สระ
They wrap around a consonant
Vowels cannot stand alone. Marks attach to a consonant (shown on ก): after (กา), above (กิ), below (กุ), or before (เก). “Sara” (สระ) means vowel — Sara A is the short “a” mark, not a person’s name. You learn starter vowels right after Mid consonants.
กา · กิ · กุ · เกSame consonant ก with four different vowel marks
Tone marks วรรณยุกต์
Five spoken tones · four written marks
Spoken Thai has five tones. Only four have written marks (ก่ ก้ ก๊ ก๋); mid tone often has no mark. Pitch also depends on consonant class and live/dead syllables. Tone-mark practice comes after first greetings.
กา ก่า ก้า ก๊า ก๋าFive tones on the same syllable shape
Consonant classes
Mid · High · Low
Every consonant is Mid, High, or Low (9 mid · 11 high · 24 low). Class is an input to tone rules — not trivia. ข (high) and ค (low) can sound alike as initials, but tone rules treat them differently. Letter cards use a gold / red / teal stripe for class.
ก · ข · คMid · High · Low class examples
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