Sabai เอา
sara ao · short vowel · vowel 19 of 19
เอา
เอา
Short 'ao' as in 'now'
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
เอา
ao
to take / want
เรา
rao
We / us
เขา
khao
He / she / they
เทา
thao
Grey
เก้า
kao
Nine
เช้า
chao
Morning
เก่า
kao
Old (for objects)
เท้า
thao
Foot
เข่า
khao
Knee
เฒ่า
thâo
old (of people)
เต่า
tào
turtle
เคารพ
khao rop
To respect
สำเภา
sǎm-phao
Chinese sailing ship
Pulled from the course vocabulary by matching the written form, so the odd near-miss can slip in.
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