ใอ

sara ai · short vowel · vowel 18 of 19

ใอ

Short 'ai' with mai muan - 20 specific words only

How it is written

The อ above is a placeholder for whichever consonant the vowel attaches to - it is not part of the vowel. 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.

Vowel length changes the tone. A short vowel makes an open syllable dead, and live or dead is one of the three things that decide a syllable's tone. See the rules, or let the tone checker do it.

Words that use it

ใจ

jai

heart / mind

ใช่

chai

Yes

ใกล้

kain

Near

ใหญ่

ain

Big

ใหม่

aim

New

ใจดี

chai di

Kind-hearted

ดีใจ

dii jai

Happy / glad

สองใบ

song bai

Two sheets

ใบไม้

bai-máai

leaf

ไม่ใช่

mai chai

No / not so

เข้าใจ

khao chai

I understand

ใส่ถุง

sai thung

Put it in a bag

เสียใจ

sia chai

Sad

Pulled from the course vocabulary by matching the written form, so the odd near-miss can slip in.

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