Silent leaders: ห นำ and อ นำ

The humming letters (งngaw, ญyaw, นnaw, มmaw, ยyaw, รraw, ลlaw, วwaw) are low class, so on their own they can't have a rising tone or a plain low tone. Thai solves this with a silent leader: a หhǎw in front, called ห นำhǎw nam, "leading h".

How the silent หhǎw works

The หhǎw isn't pronounced. It makes the next letter follow the high-class rules:

• live: rising: หมาmǎa (dog), หมูmǔu (pork), ไหนnǎi (where), ไหมmǎi (question word)
• with ◌่mái-èek: low: ใหม่mài (new), หน่อยnàwy (a little)
• with ◌้mái-too: falling: หน้าnâa (face, front)
• dead: low: หมดmòt (all gone), หยุดyùt (stop)

Compare มาmaa (come) with หมาmǎa (dog), and ไม่mâi (not) with ใหม่mài (new) and ไหมmǎi (question word). Same consonant sound, different tones, all thanks to one silent letter.

อaw leads four words

A silent อaw before ยyaw makes it mid class. This happens in only four words, all very common:

• อย่าyàa don't
• อยู่yùu be (at), live
• อย่างyàang kind, like
• อยากyàak want to

Thai children remember them as a sentence: อย่าอยู่อย่างอยากyàa yùu yàang yàak, "don't live in want".

One more vowel

เ◌ือยueay appears in เหนื่อยnùeay (tired), another word with a silent หhǎw.

You also know a famous one already: เชียงใหม่chiang-mài, "new city".

Typical mistake: pronouncing the leader. หมาmǎa is never "ha-maa".