Thai Unicode Block
Thai is a script used for writing the Thai language, along with several minority languages in Thailand, and it encodes consonants, vowels, tone marks, and diacritics in a visually distinctive, abugida style where vowels are written above, below, or beside the consonant they modify. The script derives from the ancient Khmer script and is characterized by its rounded, unconnected letterforms, with no spaces between words, relying on explicit punctuation for sentence boundaries. It includes special symbols like the Thai currency sign, repetition marks, and a range of numerals, as well as combining characters that alter consonant sounds or indicate tonal shifts, making it essential for accurately representing the phonology of Thai. The script also supports the phonetic transcription of Pali and Sanskrit, used in religious and historical texts, and includes legacy characters for archaic spellings.