The phrase "พ่อค้าฟันทองซื้อช้างฮ่อ" can be broken down to represent these following consonants. Click practice to hear how to pronounce the name of each letter and practice writing.

พ่อ (father, dad) พ.พาน

พาน is a special tray that Thai people use to carry offerings. พ่อ in the phrase by itself means a father, a dad, but in this context it is พ่อค้า which means a male vendor if you put แม่(mother) instead of พ่อ and you get แม่ค้า, that'll give you a female vendor instead. It makes a "P" sound like in English, as in "pingpong", "pie", "potatoes", etc.

ค้า(commerce) ค.ควาย

ควาย means a water buffalo, it is also a slang to call someone stupid, so if you see an idiot just yell ควาย they'll get the message. The word ค้า in the phrase is anything related to commerce so พ่อค้า is a commerce daddy or a vendor. It makes a "K" sound like in English, as in "kite", "kitchen", "kids", etc.

ฟัน(tooth) ฟ.ฟัน

ฟัน means a tooth, or teeth. Thai people don't really care about plurals that much. It makes a "f" sound like in English, as in "fish", "fry", "frog", etc.

ทอง(gold) ท.ทหาร

ทหาร means a soldier. The word ทอง in the phrase means gold. It makes a "t" sound like in English, as in "tan", "table", "tape", etc.

ซื้อ(to buy) ซ.โซ่

โซ่ means a chain. The word ซื้อ in the phrase means to buy something. It makes an "S" sound like in English, as in "sand", "safe", "sit", etc.

ช้าง(elephant) ช.ช้าง

ช้าง means an elephant. It makes a "ch" sound like in English, as in "chimney", "chair", "chase", etc.

ฮ่อ(a region in China) ฮ.นกฮูก

นกฮูก means an owl. The word ฮ่อ in the phrase is a very old word used to refer to Southern Chinese traders from Yunan back in the days. It makes a "H" sound like in English, as in "ham", "hen", "happy", etc.

Practice your ears

Try out this practice to see if you can identify the letters with just what sounds they make.

Try out this practice to see if you can identify the letters from their names.

Now can you tell which category each consonant is in?

If you need help with the game above. Take this practice to memorize the phrases so you know which consonant belongs where.

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