ใ — sara ai maimuan
«sara ai maimuan» is a vowel of the Thai script, read as “ai (in twenty words)”. The diphthong ai of "eye"; this sign is used in exactly twenty words — Thai schoolchildren memorize the list, and for a start it is enough to recognize the sign. For example, in the word “ใจ” — heart. The Thai alphabet has 63 letters in total. On a carrier the character looks like this: ใอ. It appears, for example, in the word “ใช่” — yes.
In short
| Character | ใ |
| Name | sara ai maimuan |
| Sound | ai (in twenty words) |
| What it is | a vowel |
| On the carrier | ใอ |
In our course the character comes 48th of 67: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are โ and ไ, appears in 201 words of this site.
How to type ใ
- 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+0E43 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 0E43.
- Unicode code point: U+0E43. With it, the character can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
The diphthong ai of "eye"; this sign is used in exactly twenty words — Thai schoolchildren memorize the list, and for a start it is enough to recognize the sign
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.
- ใจчайheart
The character in the “vowels written before the consonant” group
The sign stands to the LEFT of the consonant, but the sound comes after it. So เ + ข + า makes เขา, read khao. This is the first habit to build. ใ and ไ are one sound, ai, in two signs: "the one in twenty words" and "all the rest".
Words with this character
- ใช่чайyes
- ไม่ ใช่май чайno
- ไม่ เข้าใจмай кхаочайI don't understand
- ใกล้клайnear; close
- ใบ เสร็จбай сэтreceipt
- ใหม่майnew
- ใบ สั่ง ยาбай санг йаdoctor's prescription
- ไม่ ต้อง มี ใบ สั่ง ยาмай тонг ми бай санг йаwithout a prescription
- หัว ใจхуа чайheart
- หาย ใจхаай чайto breathe
- ฤดู ใบ ไม้ ผลิрыдуу бай май пхалинspring
- ฤดู ใบ ไม้ ร่วงрыдуу бай май руангautumn
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 «sara ai maimuan» it is “ai (in twenty words)”, as in the word “ใจ”), 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 ใ read?
As “ai (in twenty words)” — it is a vowel of the Thai script. The diphthong ai of "eye"; this sign is used in exactly twenty words — Thai schoolchildren memorize the list, and for a start it is enough to recognize the sign. For example, in the word “ใจ” — heart.
What is the letter ใ called?
Sara ai maimuan. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Thai script: it is called “sara ai maimuan” and reads as “ai (in twenty words)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.