จ

Thai letter cho chan (จ)

Mid-class consonant 8 of 44. It is written จ จาน in full, the way Thai children learn it, and sounds like "ch" at the start of a syllable.

Class mid Initial ch Final t
จ cho chan

Remember it

A plate with food - the curve is the rim of the dish.

Thai children learn the letter by its full name, จ จาน cho chan, picture and all. Say the whole thing and the shape comes with it.

What its class does to the tone

Mid class is the smallest group and the only one that can take all four tone marks. With no mark it gives a mid tone on a live syllable and a low tone on a dead one. These three lines cover most of what you will meet, and they hold for จ exactly as they do for every other mid-class letter.

live syllable, no mark mid tone กา gaa
dead syllable, no mark low tone กด gòt
with mai ek low tone จ่าย jài

The examples are whichever mid-class word shows the rule most clearly. The full grid for all three classes is here.

Letters that sound the same

4 letters, one sound. Which one a word uses is spelling history rather than pronunciation, so these are learned as part of the word.

Easy to mix up with

Each pair differs by one stroke, and each mistake changes the word.

จง
จ and ง ngo nguง keeps the tail hook that จ drops.

Words that use it

Every line here is one you will meet again in a lesson. Press play to hear it.

จานjaan
plate
จะjà
will (future)
จำjam
To remember
จองjorng
To book
จูบjòop
To kiss
จ้าjâa
Friendly ending particle, softer than khráp or khâ
จ๋าjǎa
Affectionate particle when calling someone
จุดjùt
Point, as in a decimal point

Where it turns up in the course

343 course words use จ

Learn จ early and these are the chapters it pays off in first.

Changdee, a Sabai Thai companion
วันละตัวก็พอ wan la tua ko phoOne letter a day is enough

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