Thai tones: the five tones and how to read them
Thai has five tones, and the spelling tells you which one to use. This page shows each tone with a real word, then the rules, worked out by the same tone engine that colors every ThaiCards card.
The five tones
Tone is part of the word. Say the syllable with a different pitch and you have said a different word: มา "to come" (mid tone), หมา "dog" (rising tone), ม้า "horse" (high tone).
| Tone | How it sounds | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| mid | Level, in the middle of your normal speaking voice. | มา ma | to come |
| low | Level, a little below your normal voice. | ใหม่ mai | new |
| falling | Starts high and drops, like a firm "no!" in English. | ไม่ mai | not |
| high | Starts high and rises a little more, tense at the end. | ม้า maa | horse |
| rising | Dips first, then climbs, like a surprised "really?" | หมา maa | dog |
How to read the tone from the spelling
Thai spelling tells you the tone. Three things decide it:
- The class of the first consonant: mid, high or low. See the alphabet for every letter's class.
- Whether the syllable is live or dead. A live syllable ends in a long vowel or in one of ง ญ ณ น ม ย ร ล ว ฬ. A dead syllable ends in a stop sound (k, p, t) or in a short vowel.
- The tone mark, if there is one.
| First consonant | No mark, live syllable | No mark, dead syllable | Mai ek ◌่ | Mai tho ◌้ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid class | mid เป็น to be | low อยาก to want (to do) | low อยู่ to be at / stay | falling ได้ can / to get |
| High class | rising ผม I (male) | low หก six | low หนึ่ง one | falling ให้ to give / for |
| Low class | mid คุณ you | high with a short vowel, falling with a long one ครับ polite particle (m) พูด to speak | falling ค่ะ polite particle (f) | high รู้ to know (facts) |
Each example is a word from the ThaiCards course, and the tone shown is what the app's tone engine computes for it. The same engine colors the syllables on every flashcard.
The four tone marks
| Mark | Name | Tone it gives |
|---|---|---|
| ◌่ | ไม้เอก mai ek | Depends on the class, see the table above |
| ◌้ | ไม้โท mai tho | Depends on the class, see the table above |
| ◌๊ | ไม้ตรี mai tri | Always high |
| ◌๋ | ไม้จัตวา mai chattawa | Always rising |
Mai tri and mai chattawa are rare and appear almost only on mid-class consonants.
Words that differ only by tone
These are the sets ThaiCards uses in its tone drill. Train your ear on them before worrying about the rules.
- มา ma to come mid
- หมา maa dog rising
- ม้า maa horse high
- ไม่ mai not falling
- ไม้ mai wood high
- ใหม่ mai new low
- ไหม mai silk / question particle rising
- ใกล้ glai near falling
- ไกล klai far mid
- เขา khao he/she rising
- เข้า khao to enter falling
- ข้าว khao rice falling
- ขาว khaao white rising
- คาว khaao fishy-smelling mid
- ปา paa to throw mid
- ป่า paa forest low
- ป้า paa aunt (older) falling
- นา naa rice field mid
- หน้า naa face / front falling
- น้า naa aunt/uncle (younger) high
- เสือ suea tiger rising
- เสื่อ suea mat low
- เสื้อ suea shirt falling
- ขา khaa leg rising
- ข่า khaa galangal low
- ค่า khaa value / fee falling
- ฆ่า khaa to kill falling
A few words break the rules
Some very common words are said with a tone their spelling does not predict. The best known is ก็, "also; then", written like a mid tone but said with a falling tone. ThaiCards keeps a list of these so the tone it shows is the tone people say.
Practice this in ThaiCards
Every ThaiCards flashcard shows the tone of each syllable, and the tone drill trains your ear on words that differ only by tone.
Free to start: the Beginner Starter deck and the first 10 letters of the alphabet deck. Premium is $1.99 a month and opens every deck. No account needed to begin.