#26 of forty-four · mid class
บ
bo baimai
บ ใบไม้ · leaf
Mid class อักษรกลาง
Mid class is tonally neutral — every tone mark maps to exactly one tone.
A consonant’s class exists for one reason: it decides the tone. Mid class is tonally neutral — every tone mark maps to exactly one tone. Here’s every outcome for บ as the initial:
| Syllable | – No mark | ◌่ mái èek | ◌้ mái thoo | ◌๊ mái trii | ◌๋ chattawa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liveopen or sonorant end | mid | low | falling | high | rising |
| Deadstop end or short vowel | low | low | falling | — | — |
Live syllable — open or sonorant end
Dead syllable — stop end or short vowel
Change the initial to another class and the same marks produce different tones — that shift is what makes tone a small system, not 44 separate facts. Derive tones on the Tones surface →
Looks like — watch the shape
The tell: ป is บ with a tall flagpole rising from the top-right corner; บ has no ascender.บ is /b/ mid · ป is /p/ mid.
Sounds like — watch the spelling
Same initial /b/:
บ stands alone — no other consonant makes this initial sound, so it’s always บ. One of the easy ones to spell.
Same final /p/ — identical at a word’s end:
Stroke-order animation isn’t available for this letter yet. Nearly every Thai letter begins at its head — the little loop — then one continuous stroke.
Native Thai /b/ — from Khmer ប (Sanskrit b became พ).