Shangri Lingua

How to say “mouth” in Thai

ปาก

bpàak

/pàːk/

ปาก means mouth.

Pronunciation and usage

Tone: low

The word for a pen is ปากกา (bpàak-gaa), which literally reads as “crow’s beak”.

Reading the romanization: the mark over a vowel shows its tone. bp and dt are a p and a t with no puff of air, while plain p, t and k have the puff. The IPA shows the exact sounds, and Learn the IPA explains how to read it.

Examples

  • ปิดปากเวลาไอ

    bpìt bpàak way-laa ai/pìt pàːk weː.laː ʔaj/

    Cover your mouth when you cough.

How it’s spelled

Thai is written in a fixed order, which isn’t always the order you hear. Here’s each letter of ปาก in the order you’d write it.

  • ป

    “bp” starts the word.

    po pla, from ปลา (fish)Mid class

    Same as บ, but the right side rises tall.

  • า

    The vowel “long a”. Written after the consonant.

    sara aa

    A hook over the top and a straight drop down.

  • ก

    “k” ends the word.

    ko kai, from ไก่ (chicken)Mid class

    No loop at all: a beak at the top left and two legs. Compare ภ and ถ, which add a loop.

Why the tone is low

  1. It starts with ป, which is mid class.
  2. There’s no tone mark, so the kind of syllable decides.
  3. It ends in “k”, a sound that stops short, so the syllable is dead.
  4. Mid class and dead gives a low tone.

New to consonant classes and live or dead syllables? See how Thai tones work.

Learn to write it

The Shangri Lingua app teaches ปาก in its Thai writing course. You write the word one letter at a time, with your finger or Apple Pencil, and the app checks each letter and gives you more help if you get stuck. Get it on the App Store.

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