ี — sara ii
«sara ii» is a vowel of the Thai script, read as “long ii (above)”. A long i, the same stick as sara i but with a curl at the top. For example, in the word “ดี” — good. The Thai alphabet has 63 letters in total. On a carrier the character looks like this: อี. It appears, for example, in the word “สวัสดี” — hello.
In short
| Character | ี |
| Name | sara ii |
| Sound | long ii (above) |
| What it is | a vowel |
| On the carrier | อี |
In our course the character comes 54th of 67: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ิ and ึ, appears in 647 words of this site.
How to type ี
- 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+0E35 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 0E35.
- Type this sign after its base letter, even where it is drawn before it: letter first, then the sign, and they join.
- Unicode code point: U+0E35. With it, the character can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
A long i, the same stick as sara i but with a curl at the top
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.
- ดีдиgood
The character in the “vowel marks around the letter” group
Shown on the carrier อ, as in a Thai classroom: by itself a vowel mark is not readable. Short and long pairs (ะ/า, ิ/ี, ึ/ื, ุ/ู) carry meaning as firmly as ship and sheep. They also decide whether the syllable is live. A short vowel with nothing after it makes the syllable dead, and that changes the tone.
Words with this character
- สวัสดีсаватдиhello
- สวัสดี ตอน บ่ายсаватди тон байgood afternoon
- สบายดี ไหม?сабайди май?how are you?
- สบายดีсабайдиfine
- เยี่ยม มากйиам макgreat
- สวัสดี ตอน เช้าсаватди тон чаоgood morning
- ยินดี ที่ ได้ รู้จักйинди ти дай руджакnice to meet you
- ผม เป็น คน รัสเซียпхом пен кхон ратсияI am Russian
- พูด อีกครั้งпхуыт иккхрангsay it again, please
- สวัสดี ตอน เย็นсаватди тон йенgood evening
- ฝัน ดีфан диgood night
- สี่сиfour
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 ii» it is “long ii (above)”, as in the word “ดี”), 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 ี read?
As “long ii (above)” — it is a vowel of the Thai script. A long i, the same stick as sara i but with a curl at the top. For example, in the word “ดี” — good.
What is the sign ี called?
Sara ii. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Thai script: it is called “sara ii” and reads as “long ii (above)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.