Every Thai vowel with its sound, whether it is short or long, where it sits around the consonant, and how often you will meet it. Plus the four written forms most charts forget.
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The traditional list, in the traditional order: the nine short and long pairs first, then the diphthongs, then the special forms. Rank is how often each vowel appears in written Thai, from the ThaiStat corpus: ◌า (long aa) is the most common vowel in the language by a wide margin, and the last five you can safely ignore for months.
| Vowel | Name | Romanized | Sound | Length | Position | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ◌ะ | สระอะ | Sa-ra A | "a" | short | after | #6 |
| ◌า | สระอา | Sa-ra Aa | "aa" | long | after | #1 |
| ◌ิ | สระอิ | Sa-ra I | "i" | short | above | #5 |
| ◌ี | สระอี | Sa-ra Ee | "ee" | long | above | #4 |
| ◌ึ | สระอึ | Sa-ra Ue | "ue" | short | above | #17 |
| ◌ื | สระอื | Sa-ra Uee | "uee" | long | above | #18 |
| ◌ุ | สระอุ | Sa-ra U | "u" | short | below | #10 |
| ◌ู | สระอู | Sa-ra Oo | "oo" | long | below | #11 |
| เ◌ะ | สระเอะ | Sa-ra E | "e" | short | multi | #21 |
| เ◌ | สระเอ | Sa-ra Ay | "ay" | long | before | #2 |
| แ◌ะ | สระแอะ | Sa-ra Ae | "ae" | short | multi | #23 |
| แ◌ | สระแอ | Sa-ra Ae | "ae" | long | before | #7 |
| โ◌ะ | สระโอะ | Sa-ra O | "o" | short | multi | #24 |
| โ◌ | สระโอ | Sa-ra Oh | "oh" | long | before | #13 |
| เ◌าะ | สระเอาะ | Sa-ra Or | "or" | short | multi | #25 |
| ◌อ | สระออ | Sa-ra Or | "or" | long | after | #14 |
| เ◌อะ | สระเออะ | Sa-ra Er | "er" | short | multi | #33 |
| เ◌อ | สระเออ | Sa-ra Er | "er" | long | multi | #19 |
| เ◌ียะ | สระเอียะ | Sa-ra Ia | "ia" | short | multi | #35 (rare) |
| เ◌ีย | สระเอีย | Sa-ra Ia | "ia" | long | multi | #15 |
| เ◌ือะ | สระเอือะ | Sa-ra Uea | "uea" | short | multi | #36 (rare) |
| เ◌ือ | สระเอือ | Sa-ra Uea | "uea" | long | multi | #16 |
| ◌ัวะ | สระอัวะ | Sa-ra Ua | "ua" | short | multi | #34 (rare) |
| ◌ัว | สระอัว | Sa-ra Ua | "ua" | long | multi | #22 |
| ไ◌ | สระไอ | Sa-ra Ai Mai Ma-lai | "ai" | short | before | #8 |
| ใ◌ | สระใอ | Sa-ra Ai Mai Muan | "ai" | short | before | #9 |
| ◌ำ | สระอำ | Sa-ra Am | "am" | short | after | #12 |
| เ◌า | สระเอา | Sa-ra Ao | "ao" | short | multi | #3 |
| ฤ | สระฤ | Sa-ra Rue | "rue" | short | standalone | #27 |
| ฤๅ | สระฤๅ | Sa-ra Rue | "rue" | long | standalone | #30 |
| ฦ | สระฦ | Sa-ra Lue | "lue" | short | standalone | #31 (rare) |
| ฦๅ | สระฦๅ | Sa-ra Lue | "lue" | long | standalone | #32 (rare) |
Not new vowels. These are what four of the vowels above look like when a final consonant follows, and they are on the chart because you cannot read เด็ก (child) or กัน (together) without them.
| Form | Name | Romanized | Stands for | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| เ◌ิ | สระเออ (รูป เ◌ิ) | Sa-ra Oe | Er before a final consonant | #20 |
| ◌ว | สระอัว (รูป ◌ว) | Sa-ra Ua | Ua before a final consonant | #26 |
| ◌ั | ไม้หันอากาศ | Mai Han A-kat | Short a marker | #28 |
| ◌็ | ไม้ไต่คู้ | Mai Tai Khu | Shortener mark | #29 |
Thai vowels are marks that attach to a consonant rather than letters in a row, so they can go after it (กา), above it (กิ), below it (กุ), before it (เก) or around it (เกาะ). The rule that makes this readable is simple and absolute: find the consonant, read it, then read whatever vowel is attached, wherever it is written. เก is "gay". The เ on the left is not read first even though it is written first.
Two consonants in a row with a "before" vowel in front, as in เปลี่ยน (to change), still follow the rule: the vowel belongs to the consonant cluster ปล, so you read "plian". The vowel practice mode drills each position separately, which is the fastest way to stop stumbling on the "before" vowels.
Vowel length in Thai is not an accent or a matter of emphasis. It is part of the spelling and part of the meaning, and it also changes which tone rules a syllable follows. These pairs differ only in the length of the vowel:
| Short | Say | Means | Long | Say | Means |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| กะ | ga | to estimate | กา | gaa | crow |
| ติ | ti | to criticise | ตี | tee | to hit |
| ดุ | du | fierce | ดู | doo | to look |
| เขะ | khe | (rare) | เข | khay | cross-eyed |
| ยัน | yan | to confirm | ยาน | yaan | vehicle |
| ขัด | khat | to scrub | ขาด | khaat | torn, missing |
The habit to build: when you hear a Thai word, listen for how long the vowel is held before you worry about the tone. A long vowel is roughly twice the length of a short one, and Thai speakers hear the difference as clearly as English speakers hear "ship" and "sheep".
This is the rule that separates people who can read a chart from people who can read a menu. Several vowels are written one way in an open syllable (nothing after the vowel) and another way when a consonant follows. The sound does not change; the spelling does.
| Open | Before a final | Example | Say | Means | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| เ◌ะ | เ◌็◌ | เด็ก | dek | child | the ะ turns into ◌็ on top |
| แ◌ะ | แ◌็◌ | แข็ง | khaeng | hard | same trick for แ |
| โ◌ะ | (nothing) | คน | khon | person | the vowel disappears entirely |
| ◌ะ | ◌ั◌ | กัน | gan | together | short a becomes ◌ั on top |
| ◌ัว | ◌ว◌ | สวน | suan | garden | the ◌ั drops off |
| เ◌อ | เ◌ิ◌ | เดิน | doen | to walk | the อ becomes ◌ิ on top |
| เ◌าะ | ◌็อ◌ | ล็อก | lok | to lock | mostly in loanwords |
One square card per vowel form, showing the vowel around the dotted consonant, its name, its sound, and whether it is short or long and where it sits. Tap a card for the full-size image.
Thai has 32 vowel forms in the traditional count. Depending on how you count, there are 9 basic vowel sounds each with a short and a long version, 3 diphthongs, and a handful of special forms like ◌ำ, ไ◌, ใ◌ and เ◌า that bundle a vowel with a final sound. The chart on this page shows all 32, plus 4 extra written forms you meet in real words.
Thai vowels are marks that attach to a consonant, not letters that sit in a line. A vowel can be written after the consonant, above it, below it, before it, or as several pieces around it. Whatever the position, you always read the consonant first: เก is "gay", not "ay-g". The dotted circle ◌ on charts shows where the consonant goes.
Yes, completely. กะ (short a) means to estimate and กา (long a) means crow. ติ means to criticise and ตี means to hit. Vowel length is not an accent; it is part of the word, and it also changes which tone rules apply to the syllable.
Both happen. The short "o" of โ◌ะ is not written at all when a final consonant follows: คน (person) is read "khon" with no vowel mark on the page. And between two consonants with nothing written, Thai reads a short "a": ถนน (road) is "tha-non". Learners call these the hidden vowels, and they are the usual reason a word will not sound out.
They sound the same, "ai". ใ◌ (mai muan) is used in only 20 words, which Thai children learn as a rhyme, and ไ◌ (mai malai) is used everywhere else. The 20 words are listed on the full alphabet chart page.
They are not new vowels. They are how four existing vowels are written when a final consonant follows: ◌ั for short a (กัน), ◌็ as a shortener (เด็ก), เ◌ิ for เ◌อ (เดิน) and ◌ว for ◌ัว (สวน). Most charts leave them out, and then learners cannot read เด็ก, one of the most common words in the language.
Part of the GorGai Thai alphabet chart, which also covers the 44 consonants, the tone marks, and how to read a syllable. Vowel names and forms follow Thailand's Royal Institute standards; frequency ranks come from the ThaiStat corpus at Chulalongkorn University. Free to use and share with a credit, CC BY 4.0. Last updated 2026-09-06.
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