Sabai Thai letter so sala (ศ)
High-class consonant 38 of 44. It is written ศ ศาลา in full, the way Thai children learn it, and sounds like "s" at the start of a syllable.
Remember it
A pavilion with columns - used in formal/Sanskrit words.
Thai children learn the letter by its full name, ศ ศาลา so sala, picture and all. Say the whole thing and the shape comes with it.
What its class does to the tone
High class cannot take mai tri or mai chattawa, and an unmarked live syllable comes out rising rather than mid. These three lines cover most of what you will meet, and they hold for ศ exactly as they do for every other high-class letter.
The examples are whichever high-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.
Words that use it
Every line here is one you will meet again in a lesson. Press play to hear it.
Where it turns up in the course
36 course words use ศLearn ศ early and these are the chapters it pays off in first.
Drill all 68 characters in the app
Listening and recall drills, with audio on every character.
What free includes