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Things to know about Thai

Thai, which is sometimes referred to as Siamese, is part of the Tai language family. It is spoken primarily in Thailand.

Using Thai Lessons

The Thai alphabet consists of forty-four consonants and twenty-eight vowel forms that can be attached to those consonants. In addition, there are four tone marks and two other diacritics that can also appear above other characters. Thai text is written from left to right, like English.

To type Thai characters:

  1. Position your cursor somewhere where you can type.
  2. Look at the virtual keyboard on the screen to familiarize yourself with the layout. If necessary, you can switch between the Thai (Kedmanee) and Thai (Pattachote) keyboard layouts by clicking Settings and selecting an option in the Keyboard Language menu. The Thai Kedmanee keyboard is generally recommended for most learners because it is the most popular layout in Thailand. However, there are users who feel that the Thai Pattachote layout is easier to type with, even though it is not as widely used by native Thai speakers. You can switch between the layouts at any time using the menu.
  3. Locate the character you want on the virtual keyboard, then click on it or press the corresponding key on your physical keyboard. Additional characters are available by holding down the Shift key. To type the tonal marks and diacritics that appear above or below a character, type the character first, then type the mark. See Typing special scripts for details.

Learning Thai Tones

As you work with your Thai lessons, pay special attention to the tones used by the native speakers when they pronounce each word. Different tones can change a word's meaning. In many of the activities, you can listen to words as many times as you need to recognize their tones.

Using Transliterated Thai Lessons

Some units may include transliterated Thai lessons in addition to lessons which use the actual Thai characters. Transliterated lessons can help you master vocabulary and pronunciation before tackling a new writing system.

You do not have to type actual Thai characters in transliterated Thai lessons. You can type the transliterations in any activity or assessment that requires typed answers.

The transliterated Thai content may use a variety of special characters to indicate tone. See Typing accents or special characters for instructions on typing these characters.

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