Sabai ไอ
ไอ sara ai
Short 'ai' with mai malai - common spelling. Vowel 17 of 19, and a short one, which is half of what decides the tone of the syllable it sits in.
Length short
Sound ai
How it is written
The อ in the form above is a placeholder for whichever consonant the vowel attaches to, not part of the vowel itself.
This one is written before the consonant even though it is pronounced after it, which is the single most confusing thing about reading Thai for the first week.
Why the length matters
A short vowel makes an open syllable dead, and live or dead is one of the three things that decide a syllable's tone.
Words that use it
ไปbpai
to goไอai
Coughไกลglai
Farไหรhǎi rá
Southern for 'what' (standard: อะไร)ไม้mái
Woodไข่khài
Eggไก่gài
Chickenรถไฟrót fai
Trainไชโยchai yoh
Hoorayไหว้wâi
To wai (respectful greeting)ไลค์lai
Like (social media)ไซส์sái
SizeExamples from the course rather than a complete list, so the occasional word may only look like it uses this vowel.
วันละตัวก็พอ
wan la tua ko phoOne letter a day is enough
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