This article was originally posted on WomenLearnThai.com.
And I thought this was going to be easy…
When I started on the Thai Alphabet poem, I (wrongly) assumed it was going to be an quick post to write for WLT.
With one exception (when the Common Koel started serenading us from beyond the patio), recording with Niwat was the easy part. Sorting out what everything meant, not so easy.
But first, let’s get to the alphabet read by the wonderful (and patient) Niwat.
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The Thai Alphabet poem in full…
āļ āđāļāđāļĒ āļ āđāļāđ āļ āđāļāđ āđāļ āđāļĨāđāļē āļ āļāļ§āļ āļāļāļ āđāļĢāļē āļ āļāļ§āļēāļĒ āđāļāđāļē āļāļē āļ
āļ
āļ āļāļķāļāļāļąāļ āļ āļĢāļ°āļāļąāļ āļāđāļēāļ āļāļē āļ āļāļđ āđāļ āļāļĨāđāļē āļ āļāļēāļ āđāļāđ āļāļĩ āļ āļāļīāđāļ āļāļĩ āļāļąāļ āļ āļāđāļēāļ āļ§āļīāđāļ āļŦāļāļĩ āļ āđāļāđ āļĨāđāļēāļĄ āļāļĩ āļ āļāļ° āđāļāļ āļāļđāđ āļāļąāļ āļ āļŦāļāļīāļ āđāļŠ āļ āļē āļ āļāļ°āļāļē āļŠāļ§āļĄ āļāļĨāļąāļ āļ āļāļ° āļāļąāļ āļŦāļļāļ āļŦāļąāļ āļ āļāļēāļ āđāļāđāļē āļĄāļē āļĢāļāļ āļ āļĄāļ āđāļ āļŦāļāđāļē āļāļēāļ§ āļ āļāļđāđ āđāļāđāļē āđāļāļīāļ āļĒāđāļāļ āļ āđāļāļĢ āđāļĄāđ āļĄāļāļ āļ āđāļāđāļ āļāđāļāļ āļāļīāļĄāļāļāđ āļ āđāļāđāļē āļŦāļĨāļąāļ āļāļļāļ āļ āļāļļāļ āđāļāļ āļāļ āļ āļŦāļāļēāļĢ āļāļ āļāļ āļ āļāļ āļāļ āļāļīāļĒāļĄ āļ āļŦāļāļđ āļāļ§āļąāļ āđāļāļ§āđ āļ āđāļ āđāļĄ āļāļąāļ āļāļĄ āļ āļāļĨāļē āļāļē āļāļĨāļĄ āļ āļāļķāđāļ āļāļģ āļĢāļąāļ āļ āļāļē āļāļ āļāļēāļ āļ āļāļēāļ āļ§āļēāļ āļāļąāđāļ āļ āļāļąāļ āļŠāļ°āļāļēāļ āļāļąāļ āļ āļŠāļģāđāļ āļē āļāļēāļ āđāļ āļĄ āļĄāđāļē āļāļķāļ āļāļąāļ āļĒ āļĒāļąāļ āļĐāđāđāļāļĩāđāļĒāļ§ āđāļŦāļāđ āļĢ āđāļĢāļ·āļ āļāļēāļĒ āđāļ āļĨ āļĨāļīāļ āđāļāđ āļĢāļēāļ§ āļ§ āđāļŦāļ§āļ āļĨāļ āļĒāļē āļĻ āļĻāļēāļĨāļē āđāļāļĩāļĒāļ āđāļŦāļāļē āļĐ āļĪāļē āļĐāļĩ āļŦāļāļ§āļ āļĒāļēāļ§ āļŠ āđāļŠāļ·āļ āļāļēāļ§ āļāļ° āļāļāļ āļŦ āļŦāļĩāļ āđāļŠāđ āļāđāļē āļŽ āļāļļāļŽāļē āļāđāļē āļāļĒāļāļ āļ āļāđāļēāļ āđāļāļ·āļāļ āļāļāļ āļŪ āļāļāļŪāļđāļ āļāļē āđāļ
Gor er-ee gor gà i. Kor kà i nai lÃĄo. Kor kuat kÅng rao. Kor kwaai kÃĒo naa. Kor kon kÄung kÄng. Kor rÃĄ-kang kÃĒang fÄa. Nor ngoo jai glÃĒa. Jor jaan chÃĄi dee. Chor chÃŽng dtee dang. Chor chÃĄang wÃŪng nÄe. Sor sÃīh lÃĒam tee. Chor gà cher kÃīo gan. Yor yÄng soh paa. Dor chÃĄ-daa sÅam plan. Dtor bpà tak hÅon hÄn. Thor tÄan kÃĒo maa rong. Thor mon-tho nÃĄa kÄao. Thor pÃīo tÃĒo dern yÃīng. Nor nen mÃĒi mong. Dor dÃĻk dtÃīng ni-mon. Dtor dtà o lÄng dtoong. Tor tÅong bà ek kÅn. Tor ta-haan Ãēt ton. Tor tong kon nÃ-yom. Nor nÅo kwuk kwà i. Bor bai mÃĄai tÃĄp tÅm. Bor bplaa dtaa glom. Por peung tam rang. For fÄa ton taan. Por paan waang dtÃĒng. For fan sà -à at jang. Por sÄm-pao gaang bai. Mor mÃĄa kÃĐuk-kuk. Yor yÃĄk kÃŪeow yà i. Ror reua paai bpai. Lor ling dtà i raao. Wor wÄen long yaa. Sor sÄa-laa ngÃŪap ngÄo. Sor reu see nÃđat yaao. Sor sÄua daao kÃĄ nong. Hor hÃĻep sà i pÃĒa. Lor jÃēo-laa tÃĒa pà -yÅng. Or à ang neuang nong. Hor nÃģk hÃīok dtaa dtoh.
The Thai Alphabet poem (script, transliteration and translation)…
So, why did this part take the longest to suss? First off, some letters are now obsolete. Second, when using thai2english.com and available translations, some of the meanings were not my friends.
But, by persevering, then calling in my Thai teacher after I felt comfortable with my version, I believe I have a workable translation. A translation I can get into my head along with the Thai Alphabet Poem (my next trick).
What say you?
āļ āđāļāđāļĒ āļ āđāļāđ
gor er-ee gor gà i
A chicken.
āļ āđāļāđ āđāļ āđāļĨāđāļē
kor kà i nai lÃĄo
The eggs are in the coop.
āļ āļāļ§āļ āļāļāļ āđāļĢāļē
kor kuat kÅng rao
The bottles belong to us.
āļ āļāļ§āļēāļĒ āđāļāđāļē āļāļē
kor kwaai kÃĒo naa
The buffalo goes to the field.
āļ
āļ
āļ āļāļķāļāļāļąāļ
kor kon kÄung kÄng
A serious person.
āļ āļĢāļ°āļāļąāļ āļāđāļēāļ āļāļē
kor rÃĄ-kang kÃĒang fÄa
A bell beside a wall.
āļ āļāļđ āđāļ āļāļĨāđāļē
nor ngoo jai glÃĒa
A brave snake.
āļ āļāļēāļ āđāļāđ āļāļĩ
jor jaan chÃĄi dee
A good plate to use.
āļ āļāļīāđāļ āļāļĩ āļāļąāļ
chor chÃŽng dtee dang
The handbells ring loud.
āļ āļāđāļēāļ āļ§āļīāđāļ āļŦāļāļĩ
chor chÃĄang wÃŪng nÄe
The elephant runs away.
āļ āđāļāđ āļĨāđāļēāļĄ āļāļĩ
sor sÃīh lÃĒam tee
The chain ties.
āļ āļāļ° āđāļāļ āļāļđāđ āļāļąāļ
chor gà cher kÃīo gan
A pair of trees.
āļ āļŦāļāļīāļ āđāļŠ āļ āļē
yor yÄng soh paa
A pretty girl.
āļ āļāļ°āļāļē āļŠāļ§āļĄ āļāļĨāļąāļ
dor chÃĄ-daa sÅam plan
Put on the dancer’s crown.
āļ āļāļ° āļāļąāļ āļŦāļļāļ āļŦāļąāļ
dtor bpà tak hÅon hÄn
The rapid spear.
āļ āļāļēāļ āđāļāđāļē āļĄāļē āļĢāļāļ
thor tÄan kÃĒo maa rong
The base supports.
āļ āļĄāļ āđāļ āļŦāļāđāļē āļāļēāļ§
thor mon-tho nÃĄa kÄao
Mrs. Montho has a white face.
āļ āļāļđāđ āđāļāđāļē āđāļāļīāļ āļĒāđāļāļ
thor pÃīo tÃĒo dern yÃīng
The old person walks hunched over.
āļ āđāļāļĢ āđāļĄāđ āļĄāļāļ
nor nen mÃĒi mong
The novice does not look.
āļ āđāļāđāļ āļāđāļāļ āļāļīāļĄāļāļāđ
dor dÃĻk dtÃīng ni-mon
The children must invite.
āļ āđāļāđāļē āļŦāļĨāļąāļ āļāļļāļ
dtor dtà o lÄng dtoong
The turtle has a humped back.
āļ āļāļļāļ āđāļāļ āļāļ
tor tÅong bà ek kÅn
The bag carries.
āļ āļāļŦāļēāļĢ āļāļ āļāļ
tor ta-haan Ãēt ton
The soldier is patient.
āļ āļāļ āļāļ āļāļīāļĒāļĄ
tor tong kon nÃ-yom
The peopleâs favourite flag.
āļ āļŦāļāļđ āļāļ§āļąāļ āđāļāļ§āđ
nor nÅo kwuk kwà i
The rats run around.
āļ āđāļ āđāļĄ āđāļāļąāļ āļāļĄ
bor bai mÃĄai tÃĄp tÅm
The leaves pile on each other.
āļ āļāļĨāļē āļāļē āļāļĨāļĄ
bor bplaa dtaa glom
The fish has round eyes.
āļ āļāļķāđāļ āļāļģ āļĢāļąāļ
por peung tam rang
The bees make their hive.
āļ āļāļē āļāļ āļāļēāļ
for fÄa ton taan
The lid is strong.
āļ āļāļēāļ āļ§āļēāļ āļāļąāđāļ
por paan waang dtÃĒng
The tray is placed.
āļ āļāļąāļ āļŠāļ°āļāļēāļ āļāļąāļ
for fan sà -à at jang
The teeth are very clean.
āļ āļŠāļģāđāļ āļē āļāļēāļ āđāļ
por sÄm-pao gaang bai
The junk spreads its sails.
āļĄ āļĄāđāļē āļāļķāļ āļāļąāļ
mor mÃĄa kÃĐuk-kuk
The horse chomps at the bit.
āļĒ āļĒāļąāļ āļĐāđāđāļāļĩāđāļĒāļ§ āđāļŦāļāđ
yor yÃĄk kÃŪeow yà i
The giant has big fangs.
āļĢ āđāļĢāļ·āļ āļāļēāļĒ āđāļ
ror reua paai bpai
The boat rows past.
āļĨ āļĨāļīāļ āđāļāđ āļĢāļēāļ§
lor ling dtà i raao
The monkey climbs the railing.
āļ§ āđāļŦāļ§āļ āļĨāļ āļĒāļē
wor wÄen long yaa
The ring is in lacquer.
āļĻ āļĻāļēāļĨāļē āđāļāļĩāļĒāļ āđāļŦāļāļē
sor sÄa-laa ngÃŪap ngÄo
The pavilion is lonely and quiet.
āļĐ āļĪāļē āļĐāļĩ āļŦāļāļ§āļ āļĒāļēāļ§
sor reu see nÃđat yaao
The forest hermit has a long mustache.
āļŠ āđāđāļŠāļ·āļ āļāļēāļ§ āļāļ° āļāļāļ
sor sÄua daao kÃĄ nong
A tiger leopard.
āļŦ āļŦāļĩāļ āđāļŠāđ āļāđāļē
hor hÃĻep sà i pÃĒa
A trunk of clothes.
āļŽ āļāļļāļŽāļē āļāđāļē āļāļĒāļāļ
lor jÃēo-laa tÃĒa pà -yÅng
The chula kite poised to attack.
āļ āļāđāļēāļ āđāļāļ·āļāļ āļāļāļ
or à ang neuang nong
A full basin.
āļŪ āļāļāļŪāļđāļ āļāļē āđāļ
hor nÃģk hÃīok dtaa dtoh
The owl has big eyes.
And now for my notes on the Thai Alphabet Poem…
First off, āđāļāđāļĒ was an unknown, so I started googling.
āđāļāđāļĒ eeuy [a sound expressing affection or politeness, used after a vocative by a man or woman]
So we need to think of it as expressing fondness and affection towards a chicken? Hmmm…
I kept on and this one is good for now, but this one is getting even closer.
Finally, when I asked my teacher, she cleared it up by saying that it means nothing. That they put it in to make the song. Ok.
Next up, the obsolete words. When searching around the response was, ‘if we took them out of the song, then we’d have to write a new one!’ Again, ok.
āļ [āļāļ§āļ [kor kuat] is obsolete, now replaced by āļ [āđāļāđ [kho khai].
āļ [āļāļ [kho khon], now spelt āļāļ [kon]
And then (as mentioned above), when I went to find out the meanings, I felt driven to come up with my own. Ditto on the ok.
Go ahead and add your opinions as this continues to be a learning process (for me).
Thai Alphabet Poem resources…
Learningthai.com/gorgai_poem: Thai Alphabet Song (offline for now)
Sound, script, transliteration and translation.
Paknam Web Thailand Forum: Thai Alphabet Song
Thai script only.
Paknam Web Thailand Forum: The Thai Alphabet Song
Interesting conversation.
Thai-language.org: āđāļāđāļĒ
An explanation.
YouTube: Thai Alphabet ( āļ āđāļāđāļĒ āļ āđāļāđ )
Not for children.
Resources of interest…
An Alternative Presentation of the Thai Consonants
The ordering of the Thai letters comes from how they are articulated by your speech organs.
In Search of Kaw Kay, by Anake Nawigamune (ISBN 974-8211-09-6)
A guide to the history of the alphabet song (in Thai). If anyone knows where to source this book, I’d be awfully chuffed…
www.sarakadee.com: Ancient Thai Alphabet flash cards.
Wikipedia: Thai Alphabet
And remember, if you want to view the Thai script larger or smaller: on a Mac Command + to increase Command – to decrease. On a PC it’s Control + to increase Command – to decrease.
29 comments
Good catch Johnny – fixed.
Just learning. Just starting. Great idea. Thx. I think you mispelled soldier.
Cyril, just cut and paste?
Thank you so much. Is it possible to download pronunciations ?
Thank you so much for the Alphabet Poem with the romanised pronunciation. Learning Thai here in Malaysia. I am used to speaking English and so learn better from Engish speaking groups!
‘Ko heiÃt K vom Huhn. Das kho vom Ei ist in einem erschÃķpften Zustand’
When I asked my Thai teacher about āđāļāđāļĒ, she said that it didn’t really mean anything. That it was put in there to make the sentence flow better.
Not exactly like the Canadian ‘Ehhh?’ though…
Vocative, ablative, locative… time to dust off the ‘ole grammar in 2009.
Btw – Happy New Year everyone!
“First off, āđāļāđāļĒ was an unknown, so I started googling.
āđāļāđāļĒ eeuy [a sound expressing affection or politeness, used after a vocative by a man or woman]
So we need to think of it as expressing fondness and affection towards a chicken? HmmmâĶ”
Oooops … most recently I had a debate with my boss who thought that vocative is one of the 6 Latin cases. Pointing on the fact that Serbo-Croatian has an instrumental which is not an ablative … he admitted that the 5th case of Latin was locative but not vocative …
What has this to do with oei? Ko oei ko kai? Anyhow, the ko in this “memorizing” sentense is the only one which has a “vocative” but not a name. The kho has the name of khai, khuat, khwai, or khon, but not the sad and lonely ko oei (voca- but not locative).
K called K of egg? Sweet K named K of egg?
Btw… Thinking in German … easy to translate:
Ko heiÃt K vom Huhn. Das kho vom Ei ist in einem erschÃķpften Zustand …
Kaki, that’s a great find. Thanks! Which reminds me, I need to change the alphabet poem as you suggested… so that’s a double thanks from me ð
Hi Cat, I’ve found that the Giant’s wife in question has an English name: she is Mandodari, the wife of Ravana (the aforementioned giant). Read all about it here http://www.urday.com/mandodari.html and have a nice day.
You are translating 200 recipes tonight? Whoooh. That’s a lot of work.
(two emails on the way…)
Thanks, Cat
I’ll try finish the menu tonight. There’re about 200 something dishes. I want to see what you like me to help.
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I sure do. In my resources there are two Thai cooking blogs.
Temple of Thai and Joy’s Thai Food Recipes & Cooking blog.
I also have Thai cookbooks, so if you need anything else, just holler.
send it here first (edited) Then I’ll answer you with my personal email.
right now I’m helping my friend translate a menu from Thai into English. They’re opening a new resort in Pai. Any idea where I can find names of Thai dishes in English to save my time? Thanks.
Jessis last blog post..I’ve Broken Out In a Rash!! Help!!
LOL! Yes, he’s a very talented designer.
I got lucky and found it in my search for Thai Alphabet videos on YouTube.
And since I can’t read Thai very well, I just HAD to take a shot at translating it.
Thanks for the offer, I would LOVE your help in the Thai script and translations.
What I’m doing now is cutting out spoken sentences (sound files) to match with Thai script, then matching that with translations / transliteration from thai2english.com, then on to translation.
Yeah, I know… it’s a long process this way, but I’m driven ð
But as each sentence gets translated, it all unfolds for me. Quite exciting really. A great adventure.
Btw – I’ll send it to you via email so you can see where I’m at.
Again, thanks!
Oh shit! It’s great!!
Let me know if you need help in writing out the Thai script and translating.
The guy who did this is very talented…
Jessis last blog post..I’ve Broken Out In a Rash!! Help!!
How frustrating for you! I hate when that happens. It’s like my arm is cut off. A book lover, I also read when I’m internetless.
Btw – have you seen the adult Thai Alphabet Cartoon at YouTube?
I’ve been working with friends to write out the Thai script, then translate it into English. It’s been a lot of work.
Learning Thai through cartoons is an excellent way to go, for sure. I just wish there were more available.
My internet was not working the whole day yesterday. To be precise, the satellite receiver was broken. They’ve just changed it for me 10 minutes ago. I felt like being behind for a month, but in the meantime I finished one book, which is nice. Just FYI. ð
Hey Lynn, I’m recovered (pretty much!) What a trip, yes? We’ve got to do that one again, only this time, check out some of the other places to visit.
If we sing the Alphabet song for a week, together, we’d be laughing too hard to remember anything. But I’d love to give it a try. Especially if Niwat helps (if he’s not laughing too hard too ð
The font size tip comes in handy for sure. If I had my act together, I’d enlarge the size of the Thai compared to English on this site. But, I’d have to fiddle with the CSS and I’ve been too swamped lately to do much on the blog design.
ps back: It took me a minute… ð
Hey Cat,have you recovered from our rough journey to the Bangkok Beach? We’ll rack it up as an adventure! You took some fab photos though. Meanwhile,the Alphabet song is Great!-if we sing it every morning for a week?:)Also,THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for the hint about the font size; I’ve only been scanning and editing every sentence in Thai I’ve tried to learn online..I know how to turn this pooter on and type, that’s about it.
p.s. only someone who was ‘there’ would be able to hear the little add-on at ‘yor yuk’ in the alphabet; I love it! Another take on ‘gor eee’: rhyming purposes.Can’t wait to see what’s in store next; keep ’em coming!
Thanks Jessi. I looked at the two resources I have in the post (Packnam and Learningthai.com) and they both say āļĄāļ āđāļ. Hmmm… so I wonder where I got āļĄāļ āđāļ from.
wait…maybe “Folklore” is not the right word. ok..she’s a character in Ramayana and in a Dharma (āļāļĢāļĢāļĄāļ°) story.
Jessis last blog post..I’ve Broken Out In a Rash!! Help!!
I google (google.co.th) āļĄāļāđāļ and it asks me “Do you mean āļĄāļāđāļ?” So, I guess āļĄāļāđāļ could be the correct spelling. I also looked it up on online Thai-Thai dictionary, but there’s no āļĄāļāđāļ or āļĄāļāđāļ. Thai wikipedia has information of Ms.āļĄāļāđāļ. She’s a character in a Thai folklore.
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Lalique was a sure talent, as were the artists working for him. D’Avesn is the one I know the most about, but that’s mainly because some of his work is within my price range.
Ah, Jessi, while I have you here… in the comment above yours there’s a query about proper spelling between âāļ āļĄāļ āđāļâ and âāļāļ āļĄāļāđāļâ. The poem was drafted many years ago, so I’m unsure of the proper spelling of the time.
I’ve just finished reading The Mystique of Lalique. I think I like this fellow. He brought art into everyday life by producing in mass so many people could enjoy his work. His work must be real good because though it’s in mass, people still admire him.
I’m waiting to read your āļĻāļēāļĨāļāļĢāļ°āļ āļđāļĄāļī story…
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Hi Kaki, Thanks! I had two local Thais look at it (my Thai teacher and Niwat). But as the spellings on the poem are the traditional ones from way back, maybe that’s the way they were spelled then? I will ask again though.
Thanks for this very informative post, for the links at the end and for the crystal clear recording of the poem. I’m not Thai, so maybe I’m wrong here, but it seems that you have misspelled “āļ āļĄāļ āđāļ”; it should be “āļāļ āļĄāļāđāļ”. At least, that’s how all the dictionaries I’ve checked spell it. On the other hand, a Google search for āļĄāļāđāļ gets 46,400 results, and āļĄāļāđāļ gets 34,300.
I’ve been told by several Thais that they don’t know the order of the Thai Alphabet (it’s HUGE!).
Nahh… my voice isn’t here as this one was recorded awhile ago. If I get a chance, I’ll record mine next Friday, when I have a class again (mine was today).
And maybe you’ll record yourself singing the Alphabet Poem and send it over? Hmmmm? ð
Some of Catteau’s work is awful. It’s like he let his designers throw their work against a rough wall to see what stuck tight. But, others are wonderful. And those, I try to get my hands on.
Back…
Holy!! their work looks so weird to me. But I like the work of Lalique. Maybe I like glass. I’ll read it tomorrow as now my eyes are getting tired.
G’night.
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Do you believe that I can’t say āļ to āļŪ by not reading its script? And many Thai can’t. You’ve probably heard this before. A to Z is much easier.
I still don’t hear your voice in this entry.
One day we’ll meet and sing this poem together. No way!!!!
Off to see the links of those I-can’t-pronounce-their-names artists.
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