Tai Tham Letter La

Enter ᩃ as a consonant, then add the vowel signs.

Tai Tham stores vowel signs after the base consonant, even when shaping displays them before or around it. For a consonant stack, put the invisible sakot sign ᩠ before the following consonant. A Tai Tham-aware input method and font handle those sequences.

Why does ᩃ look different in different fonts?

Fonts and neighboring letters can change its shape.

Unicode’s reference chart shows a Khuen/Tai Lue style, not one universal regional form. Fonts also shape ᩃ differently as a standalone consonant and after sakot in a stack. If a vowel sign detaches or the stack breaks, try a Tai Tham-capable font before editing the text.

What sound does ᩃ represent?

In Northern Thai, it represents l as a low-class consonant.

It can begin or end a syllable. The full sound also depends on the vowel, syllable type, and tone mark. Tai Tham serves Northern Thai, Tai Lue, Khün, and Lao Tham writing, so the language and surrounding word matter when reading it.

Tai Tham developed in the Brahmic script family, a tradition that spread from India, with Mon and Pallava connections. Historical records list written sutras in Sipsongpanna in 1277, a Lanna Tham inscription in 1376, and a palm-leaf manuscript in 1471. It served Buddhist and liturgical writing on palm leaves and mulberry paper, as well as chronicles, legal, astrological, medical, and poetic works. The script linked Lanna, Luang Prabang, Kengtung, and Sipsongpanna. As of 2026, Northern Thai use is concentrated in temple manuscripts and heritage work; Tai Lue and Khün also retain living uses.