Lesson 4

---

Meet Five More Thai Letters

---

Welcome back to Super Speed Thai!

In the previous lessons, you’ve been learning Thai consonants using our memory-hook method.

Remember:

Look → Imagine → Connect → Repeat

First, look carefully at the Thai letter.

Then, try to see something familiar in its shape.

Next, connect that image to the letter’s sound.

Finally, practise and review it until it becomes familiar.

Don’t worry if you don’t remember every letter immediately. That’s completely normal. The more you see the letters and retrieve them from memory, the easier they will become.

Today, we’re going to learn five more Thai consonants.

Before we start, can you remember some of the letters from the previous lessons?

ก　ข　ค　ม　น

จ　ด　ต　บ　ป

ฉ　ช　ซ　ง　ย

If you can’t remember them all yet, don’t worry. We’ll keep reviewing them as we go.

---

Today’s Five Letters

Just look. Don’t worry about remembering yet.

Thai letter	Sound	Thai name
ร	r (red)	รอเรือ (ror ruea)
ล	l (light)	ลอลิง (lor ling)
ว	w (water)	วอแหวน (wor waen)
ส	s (sun)	สอเสือ (sor suea)
ห	h (hat)	หอหีบ (hor hip)

For now, your main goal is simple:

Recognise each letter and remember its basic sound.

You don’t need to learn to read Thai words yet.

You don’t need to memorise the traditional names yet.

For now, we’re training your eyes to recognise the letters.

---

Meet the Letters

Now let’s take a closer look at each letter.

Don’t just look at the character and try to memorise it.

Instead, look carefully at its shape and try to see the picture inside it.

That picture will become your memory hook.

---

Letter 1 — ร

Sound: r, as in red

Thai name: รอเรือ (ror ruea)

Memory hook: 🪢 Rope hanging down

Take a good look at:

ร

Can you see a rope?

Imagine a rope curling a little and hanging down.

Look carefully at the shape and picture the rope in your mind.

Can you see it?

ร 🪢

Great!

Now make the connection:

ร → 🪢 Rope hanging down→ r

Whenever you see ร, think:

ร → Rope hanging down→ r

Just look at the shape, picture the rope, and remember the r sound.

---

Letter 2 — ล

Sound: l, as in light

Thai name: ลอลิง (lor ling)

Memory hook: 🥌 Handle

Now look carefully at:

ล

What does the shape remind you of?

Look at the upper part of the letter.

It rises up and the top extends across, like the handle of something you could put your hand on and lift.

Imagine holding the handle and lifting the letter up.

Can you see it?

ล 🥌

Great!

Now make the connection:

ล → 🥌 Handle → l

The word handle contains the l sound.

Whenever you see ล, think:

ล → Handle → l

---

Letter 3 — ว

Sound: w, as in water

Thai name: วอแหวน (wor waen)

Memory hook: 🚰 Water from a tap

Now look carefully at:

ว

What does the shape remind you of?

It has a curved, overhanging shape that looks like a kitchen tap.

Look at the small loop at the bottom.

Imagine that this is water dripping from the tap.

Can you see it?

ว 🚰

Good!

Now make the connection:

ว → 🚰 Water dripping from a tap → w

Whenever you see ว, think:

ว → Water dripping from a tap→ w

---

Letter 4 — ส

Sound: s, as in sun

Thai name: สอเสือ (sor suea)

Memory hook: Distorted S

Now look carefully at:

ส

What does the shape remind you of?

It almost looks like an S lying on its side.

But it isn’t a perfect S.

Imagine an S that has been slightly twisted or distorted.

Can you see it?

ส → S

Good!

Now make the connection:

ส → Distorted S → s

The important thing is to recognise the shape.

Whenever you see ส, think:

ส → Distorted S → s

---

Letter 5 — ห

Sound: h, as in hat

Thai name: หอหีบ (hor hip)

Memory hook: H with hoops

Now look carefully at:

ห

What does the shape remind you of?

It already looks surprisingly similar to an English H, but with little hoops added to the top.

Can you see the H?

Can you see the little hoops?

ห → H

Great!

Now make the connection:

ห → H with hoops → h

The shape itself gives you a very strong clue.

Whenever you see ห, think:

ห → H with hoops → h

Easy!

---

Let’s Put Them Together

Now look at all five letters again:

ร　ล　ว　ส　ห

Before you think about the sounds, try to see the pictures.

ร → 🪢 Rope → r

ล → 🥌Handle → l

ว → 🚰 Water dripping from a tap → w

ส → Distorted S → s

ห → H with hoops → h

Don’t worry if you can’t remember all five perfectly yet.

The important thing is that you’re actively looking at the shape and trying to see the picture.

That’s how we’re going to learn Thai in Super Speed Thai:

Look → Imagine → Connect → Repeat

---

Drill 1 — Letter → Sound

Now let’s test your recognition.

Try to answer each one before looking at the answers.

1. ร = ?
2. ล = ?
3. ว = ?
4. ส = ?
5. ห = ?

Answers

1. ร = 🪢 Rope – r
2. ล = 🥌 Handle – l
3. ว = 🚰 Water from a tap – w
4. ส = Distorted S – s
5. ห = H with hoops – h

---

Drill 2 — Memory Hook → Letter

Now let’s go in the opposite direction.

Can you use the memory hook to find the correct Thai letter?

1. 🪢 Rope = ?
2. 🥌 Handle = ?
3. 🚰 Water dripping from a tap = ?
4. Distorted S = ?
5. H with hoops = ?

Answers

1. 🪢 Rope → ร
2. 🥌 Handle → ล
3. 🚰 Water dripping from a tap → ว
4. Distorted S → ส
5. H with hoops → ห

---

🎉 Well Done!

You’ve completed Super Speed Thai Lesson 4 and learned five more Thai consonants!

You can now recognise ร ล ว ส ห and connect each letter to its memory hook and basic sound.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember every letter perfectly yet. That’s completely normal. We’ll keep reviewing them as you continue through the course.

Twenty letters down. You’re making great progress! 🇹🇭