ᨥ

ᨥ (gha)

1. The 12th letter and fourth consonant of the Tai Tham Pali alphabet. In Pali it represents the voiced aspirated velar consonant /gʰ/.
   • Pali ᨴᩦᨥ (dīgha, “long”)
   • Northern Thai ᨥᩁᩣᩅᩤᩈ (khalawasa, “layperson”)

In the modern vernacular languages Northern Thai and Tai Lü, this letter generally represents the voiceless velar fricative consonant /x/. Northern Thai has a marginal distinction between /x/ and /kʰ/, with the latter chiefly found in loan words from or through Siamese; this distinction is not shown in writing.

In the modern vernacular languages Tai Khün and Lao, this letter represents the vernacular velar consonant /kʰ/.

For the modern vernacular languages, Northern Thai, Tai Khün, Tai Lü and Lao, the graphical difference between ᨡ and ᨥ corresponds to a phonetic difference of tone.

For Lao, the graphical difference between ᨣ and ᨥ is etymological; native words typically use ᨣ.

• ᨣ (previous letter in the Pali alphabet)
• ᨦ (next letter in the Pali alphabet)