Thai consonant 32 of 44
ภ – Pho Samphao (paw sǎm-pao): the Thai letter P
- Class
- Low class
- Start sound
- p
- End sound
- p
- Keyword
- Chinese junk (sailing ship)
ภ ภอ สำเภา paw sǎm-pao
In short
ภ (ภอ สำเภาpaw sǎm-pao) is the 32nd letter of the Thai alphabet and a low-class consonant. At the start of a syllable it sounds like p, and at the end of a syllable like p. Its name means "ภ as in สำเภา, Chinese junk (sailing ship)".
How to say ภ
p with a puff of air, as in 'pin'
The keyword สำเภาsǎm-pao means Chinese junk (sailing ship). Say the letter as ภอ สำเภาpaw sǎm-pao.
Same "p" sound, different letter: ผ Pho Phueng, พ Pho Phan. The class is what tells them apart.
Thai words with ภ
Tap the speaker to hear each word. Can you spot ภ in each one?
- ภาษา paa-sǎa
language
- ภูเขา puu-kǎo
mountain
- ภูมิใจ puum-jai
proud
- ภาษาไทย paa-sǎa-tai
the Thai language
- ภาพ pâap
picture
- ภูเก็ต puu-gèt
Phuket
- ภาษา paa-sǎaกลาง glaang
Central (standard) Thai
- ปลอดภัย bplàwt-pai
safe
- สัมภาษณ์ sǎm-pâat
to interview; (job) interview
- อำเภอ am-poe
district
Don't mix it up with
Letters that look similar. Compare the loops, tails and notches.
- ภอ สำเภา paw sǎm-pao
Tones with low-class letters
ภ is one of the 24 low-class consonants. With no tone mark:
- Live syllableMid tone
- Dead syllableHigh (short vowel) or falling (long vowel) tone
Two tone marks: ◌่ falling, ◌้ high.
The full tone rules chart