#8 of forty-four · mid class
จ
cho chan
จ จาน · plate
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 จ 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 →
Sounds like — watch the spelling
Same initial /tɕ/:
จ stands alone — no other consonant makes this initial sound, so it’s always จ. One of the easy ones to spell.
Same final /t/ — identical at a word’s end:
Start at the head — the little loop — then one continuous stroke. Written between the guide lines, the body sits in the middle band.
Indic — Sanskrit c.
Practice