Kedmanee vs Pattachote: Thailand's Two Keyboard Layouts Explained
If you have ever switched a phone or laptop into Thai, you have almost certainly been typing on Kedmanee without knowing it. But Thailand actually standardised two Thai keyboard layouts, and the second one — Pattachote — was designed to be faster. This guide explains how they differ and which is worth your time.
Two layouts, one alphabet
Thai has 44 consonants plus a large set of vowels, tone marks, and digits — far more symbols than fit on the base layer of a keyboard. Both Kedmanee and Pattachote solve the same problem: they spread those characters across the base and Shift layers of a standard physical keyboard. They simply make different choices about where each character goes.
Kedmanee: the default everyone uses
Kedmanee (เกษมณี) is the layout you will find pre-installed on virtually every computer, phone, and operating system that supports Thai. Because it is the default, it is what schools teach, what offices use, and what you will encounter on any borrowed device. Its character placement grew out of the mechanical typewriter era rather than from an efficiency study, so some very common letters sit in awkward positions — but its ubiquity is a real advantage.
Pattachote: the efficient challenger
Pattachote (ปัตตโชติ) was developed later as a more ergonomic alternative, with the goal of putting the most frequent Thai letters on or near the home row and balancing the workload between the hands — a similar idea to Dvorak for English. Studies at the time suggested it could reduce finger travel meaningfully. In practice, though, it never displaced Kedmanee, so support and shared muscle memory are harder to come by.
Which should you learn?
For almost everyone, the answer is Kedmanee. You will be able to type on any device without reconfiguring it, and every tutorial and class assumes it. Consider Pattachote only if you type Thai for many hours a day on your own equipment and are willing to invest in re-learning for a long-term comfort gain.
- Learn Kedmanee if you want maximum compatibility and the shortest path to typing anywhere.
- Consider Pattachote if you are a heavy daily typist optimising your own setup and value ergonomics over portability.
- Whichever you pick, commit to one — splitting practice between both slows muscle memory for each.
ThaiTyper supports both layouts so you can try each for a few minutes before deciding. Most learners start a Kedmanee lesson, feel the home row, and never look back.
Related guides
A step-by-step roadmap for learning to touch-type Thai — from the home row to full sentences — without burning out.
Which finger presses which key? A clear finger-zone map for touch-typing the Thai (Kedmanee) keyboard.
The habits that hold Thai typists back — looking down, chasing speed, ignoring Shift — and practical fixes for each.