Typing in Thai is an essential step for practicing your daily communication skills.

The Thai alphabet has 44 consonants and 32 vowels, which makes the digital keyboard look crowded at first glance.

You’ll quickly get used to it once you understand the basic layout and typing rules.

This guide will show you exactly how to install the Thai keyboard on your phone and start typing.

Adding the Thai keyboard on iPhone

Setting up the Thai keyboard on your iOS device takes only a few taps.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Tap on General, then scroll down and select Keyboard.

Tap on Keyboards at the top of the screen, then choose Add New Keyboard.

Scroll through the list of languages and select Thai.

Your iPhone will now have the standard Thai keyboard installed and ready to use.

Adding the Thai keyboard on Android

Android devices use Gboard as the default typing app for most phones.

Open the Settings app on your Android device.

Scroll down and tap on System, then select Languages and input.

Tap on On-screen keyboard and select Gboard.

Choose Languages, tap Add keyboard, and find Thai in the list.

Select the standard Thai (Kedmanee) layout and tap Done to finish the setup.

Understanding the Thai Kedmanee layout

The standard typewriter layout for the Thai language is called Kedmanee.

This layout fits all of the Thai consonants, vowels, and tone marks onto a standard mobile screen.

Because there are more Thai characters than available keys, many letters are hidden behind the shift key.

The main screen shows the most commonly used consonants and basic vowels.

When you press the shift key (the up arrow), the keyboard changes to reveal less common consonants, complex vowels, and Thai numerals.

It’s completely normal to feel slow when you first start looking for specific characters.

With regular practice, muscle memory will take over and your typing speed will naturally increase.

How to type vowels and tone marks

Typing in Thai follows a specific left-to-right visual order.

You must type the characters exactly as they appear visually from left to right, even if the spoken order is different.

Some Thai vowels are written before the consonant, while others go above, below, or after it.

Tone marks always go directly above the initial consonant of the syllable.

If a vowel is already positioned above the consonant, the tone mark sits on top of that vowel.

Here’s a breakdown of the typing sequence for common Thai words.

Notice how in the word for “house”, the tone mark is typed immediately after the consonant it sits on.

If you try to type a top vowel or tone mark before typing a base consonant, your phone won’t allow the character to place correctly.

Switching between English and Thai

Toggling back and forth between your native language and Thai is very simple.

On an iPhone, look for the globe icon in the bottom left corner of your keyboard.

Tapping this globe icon will cycle through all of your installed keyboards.

On an Android device using Gboard, you can also tap the globe icon next to the spacebar.

Alternatively, many Android phones allow you to swipe left or right directly on the spacebar to change languages.

Now you’re ready to start sending messages in Thai.