Practice: letters and consonant classes
What you will be able to do
Recognise the first seven consonants by name, and place common letters in the right class.
Which letter is this?
ก
ก is gaw gài, chicken. Middle class.
Which letter is this?
ด
ด is daw dèk, child. The soft d, not the hard dt.
Which letter is this?
ต
ต is dtaw dtào, turtle. The hard dt, between an English d and t.
Which letter is this?
ป
ป is bpaw bplaa, fish. Note the tall stem that distinguishes it from บ.
Which letter is this?
บ
บ is baw bai-mái, leaf. The soft b.
Which letter is this?
อ
อ is aw àang, basin. It carries no sound of its own and gives a vowel something to attach to.
Which class does this consonant belong to?
ก
ก is middle class, the group with the simplest tone rules.
Which class does this consonant belong to?
ข
ข is high class. High-class consonants never carry a mid tone.
Which class does this consonant belong to?
ค
ค is low class, the largest group with 23 letters in modern use.
Which class does this consonant belong to?
ง
ง is low class. It is the ng sound, which can start a Thai syllable even though it cannot in English.
Which class does this consonant belong to?
ส
ส is high class.
Which class does this consonant belong to?
ต
ต is middle class, one of the nine.
Common mistake
If you are guessing the class, go back to the reference page rather than drilling harder. Class is a fact about each letter, not something you can work out from its shape.