Thai consonant 18 of 44
ฒ – Tho Phuthao (taw pûu-tâo): the Thai letter T
- Class
- Low class
- Start sound
- t
- End sound
- t
- Keyword
- old man
ฒ ฒอ ผู้เฒ่า taw pûu-tâo
In short
ฒ (ฒอ ผู้เฒ่าtaw pûu-tâo) is the 18th letter of the Thai alphabet and a low-class consonant. At the start of a syllable it sounds like t, and at the end of a syllable like t. Its name means "ฒ as in ผู้เฒ่า, old man".
How to say ฒ
t with a puff of air (rare letter)
The keyword ผู้เฒ่าpûu-tâo means old man. Say the letter as ฒอ ผู้เฒ่าtaw pûu-tâo.
Same "t" sound, different letter: ฐ Tho Than, ฑ Tho Montho, ถ Tho Thung, ท Tho Thahan, ธ Tho Thong. The class is what tells them apart.
Thai words with ฒ
Tap the speaker to hear each word. Can you spot ฒ in each one?
- ผู้เฒ่า pûu-tâo
old man, elder
- วัฒนธรรม wát-tá-ná-tam
culture
Tones with low-class letters
ฒ 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