The sound ŋ at the beginning of a syllable.
In English the sound ŋ (ng, as in sing) is found only at the end of words or syllables. In Thai, on the other hand, this sound occurs at the beginning as well as at the end of the words or syllables. Therefore you will need a little special practice before you get used to pronouncing ŋ at the beginning of words and syllables.
A helpful stunt is to pronounce the English word singer very slowly several times, first dividing the syllables as sing-er, then dividing them as if the word were si-nger. When you get so you can pause a few seconds between si- and -nger, then you will find that you are able to pronounce ŋ at the beginning of a syllable. For variety you might try saying sing backwards, thus: ngis. Now try the same stunt with other words ending in ng, for example, sang, sung, and song.
By this time you have probably had enough preliminary practice to start working on the Thai examples below. These are selected especially to help you learn to pronounce ŋ at the beginning of a word or syllable (referred to below as 'initial ŋ' ). The first three examples from a series. The first word in the series, which is tɛ̀ɛŋŋaan 'to marry', contains final ŋ followed by initial ŋ. Say this word slowly; then break it into two parts so that you are saying tɛ̀ɛŋ 'to adorn; to compose' followed by ŋaan 'work, ceremony.'
The next examples form the same kind of series and the remaining examples give you the contrast between n and ŋ in both initial and final position.
| Thai | English Equivalents | Aids to Listening | |
| แต่ง | to adorn, to compose | tɛ̀ɛŋ |  |
| งาน | work, job, ceremony | ŋaan | |
| หางงู | the snake's tail | hăaŋ ŋuu | |
| แต่งงาน | to marry, to be married | tɛ̀ɛŋŋaan | |
| หาง | tail | hăaŋ | |
| งู | snake | ŋuu | |
| นาน | to be long (of time) | naan | |
| นาง | Mrs. , lady | naaŋ | |
| โงนเงน | to sway, be unsteady | ŋooŋ ŋeeŋ | |
Back to Hints on Pronunciation
At this stage of your learning you must constantly be on guard when pronouncing words containing difficult vowel-sounds. In particular you must take care to distinguish carefully among ʉʉ, ʉa ,and əə. The practice below gives you a chance to learn to distinguish these sounds in words which otherwise sound alike or nearly alike.
| Thai | English Equivalents | Aids to Listening | |
| หนังสือ | book | năŋsʉ̆ʉ | |
| หนังสือ | tiger-skin | năŋsʉ̆a | |
| เมื่อ | when | mʉˆa | |
| มืด | to be dark | mʉˆʉt | |
| มือ | hand | mʉʉ | |
| เมือง | country or town | mʉaŋ | |
| บรรเจิด | man's name | bancə̀ət | |
| จืด | to be flat (in taste) | cʉ̀ʉt | |
| เดือน | month or moon | dʉan | |
| เดิน | to walk | dəən | |
| ดื่ม | to drink | dʉ̀ʉm | |
Back to Hints on Pronunciation
All words containing ʉa should be pronounce with care; in particular you must guard against a type of faulty pronunciation which permits ʉa to sound too much like ua. If you wish to be understood, you must always keep the two sounds distinct.
| Thai | English Equivalents | Aids to Listening | |
| กวน | to twirl | kuaŋ | |
| เคือง | to be angry | khʉaŋ | |
| เมือง | country or town | mʉaŋ | |
| มวน | clf. for cigarettes | muan | |
| ดวง | clf. for the moon | duaŋ | |
| เดือน | month or moon | dʉan | |
| เดือนหนึ่งดวง | one moon | dʉan nʉ̀ŋ duaŋ | |