ง — ngo ngu (snake)
«ngo ngu (snake)» is a consonant of the Thai script, read as “ng at the start of a word”. Low class. The ng of "singer", but word-initially — a position English never allows it. For example, in the word “งู” — snake. The Thai alphabet has 63 letters in total. It appears, for example, in the word “คุณ เป็น อย่างไร” — how are you? (polite).
In short
| Character | ง |
| Name | ngo ngu (snake) |
| Sound | ng at the start of a word |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 34th of 67: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ภ and ญ, appears in roughly every fifth word on this site.
How to type ง
- On a phone: add the Thai keyboard in the keyboard settings (Gboard on Android; Keyboards in the iPhone settings).
- In Word on Windows: type U+0E07 and press Alt+X right after it — the code turns into the character.
- On a Mac: switch to the Unicode Hex Input source, hold Option and type 0E07.
- Unicode code point: U+0E07. With it, the character can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
Low class. The ng of "singer", but word-initially — a position English never allows it
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- งูнгуsnake
The character in the “low class: nasals and sonorants” group
The second half of อักษรต่ำ: n, m, y, r, l, w, ng. They close a syllable "alive", so a syllable ending in one of them needs no tone mark to be live. One class holds both lists; the split is for the table, not for grammar.
Words with this character
- คุณ เป็น อย่างไรкхун пен янграйhow are you? (polite)
- เรา สอง คนрао сонг кхонthe two of us
- พูด อีกครั้งпхуыт иккхрангsay it again, please
- พูด ภาษา อังกฤษ ได้ ไหม?пхуыт пхаса ангкрит дай май?do you speak English?
- ขนม ปังкханом пангbread
- หนึ่งнынгone
- สองсонгtwo
- เนย แข็งнёй кхэнгcheese
- เมืองмыангcity; town
- ตรง ไปтронг пайstraight ahead
- หลง ทางлонг таангI am lost
- โมงмонгo'clock; hour
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «ngo ngu (snake)» it is “ng at the start of a word”, as in the word “งู”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 63 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Thai character ง read?
As “ng at the start of a word” — it is a consonant of the Thai script. Low class. The ng of "singer", but word-initially — a position English never allows it. For example, in the word “งู” — snake.
What is the letter ง called?
Ngo ngu (snake). A character's name and its sound are different things in the Thai script: it is called “ngo ngu (snake)” and reads as “ng at the start of a word”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.