Thai consonant 13 of 44
ญ – Yo Ying (yaw yǐng): the Thai letter Y
- Class
- Low class
- Start sound
- y
- End sound
- n
- Keyword
- woman
ญ ญอ หญิง yaw yǐng
In short
ญ (ญอ หญิงyaw yǐng) is the 13th letter of the Thai alphabet and a low-class consonant. At the start of a syllable it sounds like y, and at the end of a syllable like n. Its name means "ญ as in หญิง, woman".
How to say ญ
y as in 'yes'; n at the end of a syllable
The keyword หญิงyǐng means woman. Say the letter as ญอ หญิงyaw yǐng.
Same "y" sound, different letter: ย Yo Yak. The class is what tells them apart.
Thai words with ญ
Tap the speaker to hear each word. Can you spot ญ in each one?
- ญาติ yâat
relative(s)
- เชิญ choen
please, go ahead (inviting someone in or to sit)
- ใหญ่ yài
big
- ทำบุญ tam-bun
to make merit (do good deeds, give at a temple)
- ผู้ใหญ่ pûu-yài
adults; elders, senior people
- ของขวัญ kǎwng-kwǎn
gift, present
- ปัญหา bpan-hǎa
problem
- สำคัญ sǎm-kan
important
- สัญญา sǎn-yaa
to promise; a promise
- วันเพ็ญ wan-pen
full-moon day
Don't mix it up with
Letters that look similar. Compare the loops, tails and notches.
- ญอ หญิง yaw yǐng
Tones with low-class letters
ญ 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