Beginner reading · A1

Vowel length in real words

Contrast short and long vowel spellings while reading complete Thai words.

22 min reading-foundations
Objectives

Vowel length belongs to the spelling and pronunciation of a Thai word. Compare the short and long marks before decoding the consonant and final together.

  • readingDistinguish short and long u and ʉ spellings
  • vocabularyTreat vowel length as part of a word's identity
  • readingRead without relying on hidden word audio
Characters

Characters

◌ุ u
◌ู uu
◌ึ ʉ
◌ื ʉʉ
Study cards

Study cards

ดู duu see; look
ทุก thúk every
ปู puu crab
คุก khúk prison
มือ mʉʉ hand
ฝึก fʉ̀k practise
คืน khʉʉn night; return
นึก nʉ́k think; consider

Source note

Candidate words are bounded to archived reading lessons 3, 7, 11 and 12. No uncertain word audio is used. Vowel analysis, tones and meanings require human Thai review.
Exercises

Exercises

01

Which word contains the long /uu/ vowel?

  • ดู
  • ทุก
  • คุก
Show answer

Correct answer: ดู

The mark ◌ู in ดู represents long /uu/.

02

Which word contains short /ʉ/?

  • ฝึก
  • มือ
  • คืน
Show answer

Correct answer: ฝึก

ฝึก uses the short vowel ◌ึ before its final consonant.

03

Which word means ‘hand’?

  • มือ
  • นึก
  • ปู
Show answer

Correct answer: มือ

มือ is read /mʉʉ/ and means hand.