What is Thai, and how does the drill work?
Thai has 44 consonants — far more than its sound inventory needs (five letters make a kh sound, six make th), because the script preserves distinctions from older languages. Thais tell them apart by their acrophonic names: ก is ko kai (k of chicken), ข is kho khai (kh of egg). Every consonant also belongs to one of three CLASSES — mid, high or low — and the class is half of how Thai tones work, so this chart groups the consonants by class from day one.
Start on the Chart tab and tick the groups you want to practice — mid class, high class, the two low-class groups, and the core vowel signs (shown with a ◌ marking where the consonant sits). Switch to Practice: a letter appears, you type its name — ko kai, kho khai, or just kokai — and the drill advances the moment you get it right. Miss one and you see the answer immediately; it comes back a few cards later until it sticks.
Tick the groups you want to practice, then switch to Practice.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the drill ask for letter names instead of sounds?
Because Thai sounds are massively shared: five consonants are kh, six are th, four are s. The acrophonic name — sound plus a memorable word, like kho khai "kh of egg" vs kho khwai "kh of buffalo" — is how every Thai schoolchild and every Thai learner disambiguates them. Spacing does not matter when you type: ko kai, kokai and ko-kai are all accepted.
What are the consonant classes for?
Tones. The tone of a Thai syllable is decided by the consonant’s class (mid, high or low) combined with the vowel length, the ending and any tone mark — so class membership is not trivia, it is the key you will use in every syllable you ever read. Learning each letter together with its class now saves you relearning the alphabet when you hit the tone rules.
Why are two letters marked obsolete, and where are the tone marks?
ฃ (kho khuat) and ฅ (kho khon) fell out of use when Thai typewriters standardized, but they complete the traditional 44-letter alphabet that every Thai chart teaches — so they are included and flagged. The four tone marks and other diacritics are part of the tone system rather than the alphabet, and this drill focuses on the letters.
Does the drill save my progress?
Your letter-group selection is saved in your browser (no account needed), so the drill opens where you left off. The session stats — seen, correct, accuracy, streak — deliberately reset each visit: the drill is about instant recall today, not long-term statistics.