I came across a post on Instagram by @itsthetinatinglish that played on the word “KAO,” and I found it amusing. If you’re looking for Thai-related funny content, definitely check out her Instagram and YouTube.

Different Thai language learning books use various methods of transliterating words, making it challenging for Thai natives to understand which words learners are trying to pronounce. My adult students typically spend around two months on basic reading and memorizing the alphabet and vowels. I know this path is difficult, but investing time in this process early will pay dividends in the long run.

Here is the breakdown of the words starting from the 1 PM position. Essentially, without learning Thai, the following words are typically spelled in English as “Kao.”

เข่า Knee

ข้าว Rice

ข่าว News

ขาว White

เขา He/she

เก้า Nine

เข้า To enter

My kind Thai language professor friend also pointed out that the original post forgot เก่า (old) and กาว (glue).

Happy learning!