How many consonants does Thai have?

Thai has 44 consonant letters, though two (ฃ and ฅ) are now obsolete and no longer used in modern writing. They represent 21 distinct consonant sounds, which is why several letters share the same Latin value.

What are the three consonant classes for?

Every Thai consonant belongs to a high, mid, or low class. The class of the initial consonant, combined with the syllable type and any tone mark, determines which of the five Thai tones the syllable carries. Knowing the class is essential to reading tones correctly.

How many tones and tone marks does Thai have?

Thai has five tones (mid, low, falling, high, rising) but only four written tone marks: ไม้เอก, ไม้โท, ไม้ตรี, and ไม้จัตวา. The mark plus the consonant class plus the syllable type together select the actual tone.

Why do some consonants look almost identical?

Several Thai letters differ only by small loops or position, such as ค and ด, or ก and ถ. Each is a separate character with its own name and class, so reading carefully matters. The reference lists each letter's acrophonic name to tell them apart.

Are Thai vowels written as separate letters?

No. Thai vowels are diacritic-like signs placed before, after, above, or below the consonant they modify, and some wrap around it. The vowel table here shows each form with a placeholder dash marking where the consonant sits.

Thai Script Reference

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Thai has one of the larger writing systems in everyday use: 44 consonants in three tone classes, dozens of vowel forms, and four tone marks layered on top. This reference gathers them into searchable tables so you can look up any character, its name, and its romanized value.

How it works

Thai consonants are grouped into high, mid, and low classes. The class of a syllable’s initial consonant is one of the inputs that decide the syllable’s tone — the others being the syllable type and any tone mark. The five Thai tones are produced by combining:

consonant class  ×  live/dead syllable  ×  tone mark  →  tone

Vowels in Thai are not letters in a line; they are marks placed around the consonant. In the vowel table a dash (placeholder) shows where the consonant goes relative to each vowel sign.

Notes and tips

Two consonants, ฃ and ฅ, are historical and no longer appear in modern Thai, but they are included for completeness. Because 44 letters map to only 21 sounds, several letters share a Latin value — they are distinguished in speech by their class and in writing by their distinct names (for example ก is “ko kai”, the chicken k). Learning the class of each consonant is the single most useful step toward reading Thai tones correctly.