What are the five Thai tones?
The five Thai tones are mid, low, falling, high and rising, and Mooteach's tone reference plays all five on real words.
Here is maa said with each tone. Two of the five are practice syllables rather than words; the others mean "to come", "horse" and "dog". In our romanization the tone sits on the vowel: no mark for mid, à for low, â for falling, á for high and ǎ for rising.
- midมา
- lowหม่า
- fallingม่า
- highม้า
- risingหมา
What does each Thai tone sound like?
Each Thai tone sounds like a different shape your voice makes over the syllable.
| Tone | Mark | How it sounds |
|---|---|---|
| Mid | none | level, in the middle of your normal voice |
| Low | à | level and a little below your normal voice |
| Falling | â | starts high, then drops, like a firm "no!" |
| High | á | starts high and rises a little more at the end |
| Rising | ǎ | dips low, then climbs, like a surprised "really?" |
The pitches are relative to your own voice. A deep voice and a high voice say the same tones at different heights; what matters is the shape and the contrast between them.
Do tones really change the meaning?
Yes, tones really change the meaning of Thai words.
Each pair below has the same consonants and vowel, and only the tone tells the words apart. Play them one after the other until you can hear the difference.
- lowไข่
- fallingไข้
- risingเขา
- lowเข่า
- midไกล
- fallingใกล้
- risingเสือ
- fallingเสื้อ
How do you know a word's tone when reading?
You know a word's tone when reading from its spelling, in three steps.
- Find the class of the first consonant: middle, high or low.
- Decide whether the syllable is live or dead.
- Look for a tone mark above the consonant, then read the tone from the tables below.
What are the Thai consonant classes?
The Thai consonant classes are middle, high and low.
There are nine middle-class consonants, eleven high-class and twenty-four low-class. The class does not change how a letter sounds, only the tone of the syllable it starts. The Thai alphabet lists every letter by class, and each letter's page gives its class.
What are live and dead syllables?
Live and dead syllables are the two kinds of Thai syllable the tone rules depend on: one you can hold, and one that is cut short.
A live syllable ends in a long vowel, or in an m, n, ng, w or y sound. You can hold it, the way you can hold the end of "moon". A dead syllable ends in a short vowel, or is cut off by a p, t or k sound, like the end of "cat". The vowels am, ai and ao count as live, because they end in an m, y or w sound.
What are the Thai tone rules?
The Thai tone rules give a syllable's tone from its consonant class, whether it is live or dead, and any tone mark, as the two tables below set out and the tone calculator works out for you.
With no tone mark
| Class | Live syllable | Dead syllable |
|---|---|---|
| Middle | mid | low |
| High | rising | low |
| Low | mid | high with a short vowel, falling with a long one |
With a tone mark
| Mark | Middle class | High class | Low class |
|---|---|---|---|
| máai èek, the first mark | low | low | falling |
| máai toh, the second mark | falling | falling | high |
| máai dtrii, the third mark | high | rarely used | rarely used |
| máai jàt-dtà-waa, the fourth mark | rising | rarely used | rarely used |
The marks themselves, with audio for their names, are on tone marks and special characters. The tone calculator applies these tables for you.
Why do some Thai words start with a silent h?
Some Thai words start with a silent h to give a low-class consonant a high-class tone.
The low-class consonants for the m, n, ng, y, r, l and w sounds have no high-class partner. To give one of them a high-class tone, Thai writes a silent ห in front of it, and the syllable follows the high-class rules. หมาmǎa, "dog", is spelled with that silent h before its m, so it takes the rising tone, while maa, "to come", has no h and is mid.
Four common words do the same with a silent อ before a y, which gives them middle-class tones. อยากyàak, "to want", is one of them.
Why do some Thai words not follow the tone rules?
Some Thai words don't follow the tone rules because a few very common ones are said with a different tone from their spelling.
The question word mǎi is usually said mái in conversation, and kǎo, "he" or "she", is often said káo. Learn these by ear; the rules still hold for almost everything else you read.
Do I need perfect tones to be understood?
No, you don't need perfect tones to be understood, but a few pairs can flip your meaning, so Mooteach has you learn each word with its tone from the start.
In a sentence, context carries a lot, and people will usually understand a slightly wrong tone. But some pairs, like glai, "far", and glâi, "near", fit the same sentence, so a wrong tone can say the opposite of what you mean. Learn each new word with its tone from the start; it is much harder to fix later.
How do I practice Thai tones?
You practice Thai tones by hearing them first and then saying them back, with Mooteach's tone reference playing the five tones on real words as often as you need.
Hear the tones before you learn the rules. Play pairs like the ones above until you can tell them apart, then say them back and compare. Learn the rules as you learn to read, one consonant class at a time, and check each new word's tone against the tables.
Is there an app for Thai tones?
Yes, there is an app for Thai tones: Mooteach, whose tone reference plays the five tones on real words and whose listening practice has you pick a word from four choices that differ only in tone or vowel length, so you train your ear on the differences that change meaning.
See how Mooteach compares with other Thai apps.
