What are the Thai special characters?
The Thai special characters are the tone marks and other signs below.
Each sign is shown on a dotted circle, which stands for the consonant it is written with.
- ◌่
- ◌้
- ◌๊
- ◌๋
- ◌์
- ◌็
- ◌ั
- ๆ
- ฯ
How does a Thai tone mark change the tone?
A Thai tone mark changes the tone together with the class of the consonant it sits on.
With a middle-class consonant, the first mark gives a low tone and the second a falling tone; with a low-class consonant, the same two marks give a falling and a high tone. The third and fourth marks are used almost only with middle-class consonants. Thai tones has the full rules.
What does the silent mark do?
The silent mark, gaa-ran, tells you not to say the consonant it sits on.
You will see it mostly in words borrowed from English, Sanskrit and Pali, where the spelling keeps a letter the Thai pronunciation drops.
What is the Thai repeat sign?
The Thai repeat sign, máai yá-mók, means "say that word again".
It is written after the word. Thai uses repetition for plurals, emphasis and a softer, more casual tone, and this sign saves writing the word twice.
Is there an app for learning the Thai tone marks?
Yes, there is an app for learning the Thai tone marks: Mooteach, whose alphabet reference plays the name of every tone mark and sign, whose writing practice has you trace each one stroke by stroke, and whose romanization shows the tone each mark gives.
See how Mooteach compares with other Thai apps.
