There are Twenty-four Low consonants in Thai. Some are less common than others but all are used in some words. In a few cases the letters are common in place names and Thai names and nicknames. It is common to learn Low consonants in sets (we choose to do 3 sets of 8 consonants, in alphabetical order), and to start the Low consonants after the first set of 7 common Mid consonants.

The first set of 8 Low Consonants

• #4 – คอ ควาย – kau kwaai
• #5 – ฅอ ฅน – kau khon (change from “kon”)
• #6 – ฆอ ระฆัง – kau ra kang
• #7 – งอ งู – ngau ngoo
• #10 – ชอ ช้าง – shau shaang
  • Note: Thai people do not make the same sound as an English “ch” or “sh”. The way the sound is produced (place and manner of articulation) is different. We will discuss this more in full in a future article.
• #11 – ซอ โซ่ – sau soh
• #12 – ฌอ เฌอ – shau shuhh (chang from “shuh”)
• #13 – ญอ หญิง – yau ying