ท — tho thahan (soldier)
«tho thahan (soldier)» is a consonant of the Thai script, read as “th (the common one)”. Low class. A t with a clear puff of air, tongue behind the teeth; the most frequent th of the language. For example, in the word “ทหาร” — soldier. The Thai alphabet has 63 letters in total. Pairs with ถ: same sound, low class — and an unmarked syllable will take a different tone. It appears, for example, in the word “ยินดี ที่ ได้ รู้จัก” — nice to meet you.
In short
| Character | ท |
| Name | tho thahan (soldier) |
| Sound | th (the common one) |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 29th of 67: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ฒ and ธ, appears in 513 words of this site.
How to type ท
- 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+0E17 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 0E17.
- Unicode code point: U+0E17. With it, the character can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
Low class. A t with a clear puff of air, tongue behind the teeth; the most frequent th of the language
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.
- ทหารтхаханsoldier
The character in the “low class: stops and aspirates” group
The first half of อักษรต่ำ: the kh, ch, th, ph, f, s letters. They sound just like their high-class twins; the difference is in the tone. A live syllable with no mark reads mid here, not rising. A dead one reads high after a short vowel and falling after a long one.
- คkh (low class)kho khwai (buffalo)
- ฅkh (obsolete, as ค)kho khon (person)
- ฆkh (spare, Pali loans)kho rakhang (bell)
- ชch (low class)cho chang (elephant)
- ซs (the only low one)so so (chain)
- ฌch (spare, Pali loans)cho choe (tree)
- ฑth (low class, spare)tho monto (Montho)
- ฒth (rare, as ท)tho phuthao (old man)
- ธth (Pali loans)tho thong (flag)
- พph (low class)pho phan (tray)
Words with this character
- ยินดี ที่ ได้ รู้จักйинди ти дай руджакnice to meet you
- ขอ โทษкхо тхотexcuse me
- เท่า ไหร่?тао рай?how much is it?
- มะเขือ เทศмакхыа тхетtomato
- อยู่ ที่ไหนю тинайwhere?
- ที่ นี่ти нийhere
- ที่ นั่นти нанthere
- แท็กซี่тэксиtaxi
- หลง ทางлонг таангI am lost
- ทำ งานтхам нганto work
- ภาษา ไทยпхаса тхайThai language
- เงิน ทอนнгын тхонchange (money back)
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 «tho thahan (soldier)» it is “th (the common one)”, as in the word “ทหาร”), 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 ท read?
As “th (the common one)” — it is a consonant of the Thai script. Low class. A t with a clear puff of air, tongue behind the teeth; the most frequent th of the language. For example, in the word “ทหาร” — soldier.
What is the letter ท called?
Tho thahan (soldier). A character's name and its sound are different things in the Thai script: it is called “tho thahan (soldier)” and reads as “th (the common one)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can ท be confused with?
Pairs with ถ: same sound, low class — and an unmarked syllable will take a different tone. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.