Thai Alphabet

Thai Alphabet

Thai script (Thai: อักษรไทย, àksǒn thai), is used to write the Thai language and other, minority, languages in Thailand. It has 44 consonants (Thai: พยัญชนะ, phayanchaná), 15 vowel symbols (Thai: สระ, sàrà) that combine into at least 28 vowel forms, and four tone marks (Thai: วรรณยุกต์ or วรรณยุต, wannayúk or wannayút).

Although commonly referred to as the "Thai alphabet", the character set is in fact not a true alphabet but an abugida, a writing system in which each consonant may invoke an inherent vowel sound, described as an implied 'a' or 'o'. Consonants are written horizontally from left to right, with vowels arranged above, below, to the left or to the right of the corresponding consonant or in a combination of those positions.

Thai has its own set of Thai numerals which are based on the Hindu Arabic numeral system (Thai: ตัวเลขไทย, tua lek thai), but the standard western Hindu-Arabic numerals (Thai: ตัวเลขฮินดูอารบิก, tua lek hindu arabik) are also commonly used.

Read more about Thai Alphabet:  History, Orthography

Famous quotes containing the word alphabet:

    I wonder, Mr. Bone man, what you’re thinking
    of your fury now, gone sour as a sinking whale,
    crawling up the alphabet on her own bones.
    Anne Sexton (1928–1974)