Thai tones
Three things decide the tone of a syllable: the class of its first consonant, how the syllable ends, and the tone mark. Set them below, or tap any cell of the rule table.
Tone calculator
Change an input and the answer updates instantly.
Long open vowel, or ends in -n -m -ng -y -w
| No mark: the ending decides | Tone mark: the mark decides | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live | Dead · short | Dead · long | máai èek | máai too | máai dtrii | máai jàt-dtà-waa | |
| Mid | |||||||
| High | |||||||
| Low | |||||||
| Mid | High | Low | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No mark: the ending decides | |||
| Live | |||
| Dead · short | |||
| Dead · long | |||
| Tone mark: the mark decides | |||
| máai èek | |||
| máai too | |||
| máai dtrii | |||
| máai jàt-dtà-waa | |||
Live or dead?
Only matters when there is no tone mark.
- Live: the syllable rings on
- A long open vowel (กา), or an ending you can hum: -n, -m, -ng, -y, -w (กัน, ดำ). The vowels กำ, ไก, ใก, เกา count as live even though they are short.
- Dead: the syllable stops short
- A short open vowel (จะ), or a stop ending: -k, -t, -p (มาก, กัด, จบ). On low-class letters, short vs long vowel then picks high vs falling.
The five tones
Pitch curves from the app's speaking targets.
Same syllable, different tone
Play a set back to back; the tone is the whole difference.
The textbook full 5-way: same syllable, every tone.
- คาkaabe stuckMid
- ข่าkàagalangalLow
- ข้าkâaI, slaveFalling
- ค้าkáato tradeHigh
- ขาkǎalegRising
When a word seems to break the rules
Silent ห (ho nam)
A silent ห before ง ญ น ม ย ร ล ว lends them its high class. That is how low-class letters reach the rising and low tones.
- หมาmǎadog · ม → high-class rules → Rising
- หนาnǎathick · น → high-class rules → Rising
- หลายlǎaimany · ล → high-class rules → Rising
- หนึ่งnʉ̀ngone · น + ่ → high-class + mai ek → Low
Silent อ (o nam)
Silent อ before ย makes it mid class. Thai has exactly four such words, all low tone.
- อย่าyàadon't
- อยู่yùuto be at / live
- อย่างyàangkind / way
- อยากyàakto want
Leading consonant (akson nam)
A high- or mid-class first letter quietly rules the low-class syllable after it. So ตลาด is dtà-làat, not dtà-lâat.
- สนุกsà-nùkfun · ส (high) leads น (low)
- ขนมkà-nǒmdessert · ข (high) leads น (low)
- ตลาดdtà-làatmarket · ต (mid) leads ล (low)
The four tone marks
Their names are ordinals, not the tones they give. Trust the rule table.
Not sure of a letter's class?
The whole system leans on knowing whether a syllable starts mid, high, or low. The alphabet chart colour-codes all 44 letters by class.
Common questions
How many tones does Thai have?
Five: mid (สามัญ), low (เอก), falling (โท), high (ตรี), and rising (จัตวา). Every syllable carries exactly one, and changing the tone changes the word: มา (come), ม้า (horse), and หมา (dog) differ only by tone.
How do I know which tone a Thai word has?
Three ingredients decide it: the class of the first consonant (mid, high, or low), whether the syllable is live or dead, and the tone mark, if any. With a written tone mark, only the class and the mark matter; with no mark, the syllable ending decides.
What are live and dead syllables?
A live syllable rings on: it has a long open vowel or ends in a sonorant (-n, -m, -ng, -y, -w). A dead syllable stops short: a short open vowel or a stop ending (-k, -t, -p). The vowels ำ, ไ, ใ, and เ◌า count as live even though they are short.
Do the tone marks always give the same tone?
No, and that is the classic trap. Mai ek (่) gives a low tone on mid- and high-class letters but a falling tone on low-class letters. Only ๊ and ๋ are consistent (high and rising), because they effectively appear only on mid-class letters.
Why doesn't ตลาด follow the tone rules?
It does, through a rule called akson nam. When a high- or mid-class letter leads a low-class sonorant in words like ตลาด, ขนม, or สนุก, the first letter's class governs the second syllable's tone, so ตลาด is dtà-làat rather than dtà-lâat.
More Thai script guides
Mid tone