Tone Rules

Tone rules are the heart of Thai reading. Thai has five tones, and the tone of every syllable is determined by a combination of four factors: the consonant class, the tone mark (if any), the vowel length, and whether the syllable is live or dead. Master these rules and you can correctly pronounce any Thai word.

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The Five Thai Tones

#	Tone	Thai Name	Description	Example
1	Mid	สามัญ (sǎa-man)	Flat, neutral pitch — your normal speaking voice	กา (gaa) — crow
2	Low	เอก (èek)	Below your normal pitch, flat	ก่า (gàa)
3	Falling	โท (thoo)	Starts high, drops down sharply	ก้า (gâa)
4	High	ตรี (dtrii)	Above your normal pitch, flat or slightly rising	ค้า (kháa) — trade
5	Rising	จัตวา (jàt-dtà-waa)	Starts low, rises up (like an English question)	ขา (khǎa) — leg

Tone contour diagram:

High:     ——————         ↗ (Rising)
           ↘ (Falling)
Mid:  ——————
Low:  ——————

Mid tone:     ——— (flat, middle pitch)
Low tone:      ——— (flat, below middle)
Falling tone:  ↘ (high to low)
High tone:     ——— (flat, above middle)
Rising tone:   ↗ (low to high)

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The Four Factors That Determine Tone

Factor 1: Consonant Class

Class	Consonants
Middle	ก จ ฎ ฏ ด ต บ ป อ
High	ข ฃ ฉ ถ ฐ ผ ฝ ศ ษ ส ห
Low	ค ฅ ฆ ช ซ ฌ ท ธ ฑ ฒ พ ภ ฟ ฮ ง ญ ณ น ม ย ร ล ว ฬ

Factor 2: Tone Mark

Mark	Thai Name	Used With
่	ไม้เอก (mái èek)	All three classes
้	ไม้โท (mái thoo)	All three classes
๊	ไม้ตรี (mái dtrii)	Middle class only
๋	ไม้จัตวา (mái jàt-dtà-waa)	Middle class only

Factor 3: Vowel Length

• Short vowel — ะ, -ิ, -ึ, -ุ, -ำ, and any vowel with ะ
• Long vowel — า, -ี, -ือ, -ู, เ-, แ-, โ-, -อ, เ-อ, เ-ีย, เ-ือ, -ัว

Factor 4: Live or Dead Syllable

Type	Ending	Examples
Live	Long vowel with no final, or ends in sonorant (น, ม, ง, ย, ว, ร, ล)	กา, กิน, กาง
Dead	Short vowel with no final, or ends in stop (ก, บ, ด/ต/จ/ช/ซ/ศ/ษ/ส)	กะ, กับ, กัด

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The Complete Tone Rules Table

This is the master reference for Thai tones:

Live Syllables (with tone marks)

Tone Mark	Middle Class	High Class	Low Class
No mark	Mid	Rising	Mid
่ (mai ek)	Low	Low	Falling
้ (mai tho)	Falling	Falling	High
๊ (mai tri)	High	—	—
๋ (mai jattawa)	Rising	—	—

Dead Syllables (no tone marks used)

Vowel Length	Middle Class	High Class	Low Class
Short	Low	Low	High
Long	Low	Low	Falling

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Step-by-Step Process for Determining Tone

Follow these steps for any Thai syllable:

Step 1: Identify the INITIAL consonant
Step 2: Determine its CLASS (middle, high, or low)
Step 3: Check for a TONE MARK (่ ้ ๊ ๋)
Step 4: If no tone mark, determine if syllable is LIVE or DEAD
Step 5: If dead, determine if the vowel is SHORT or LONG
Step 6: Look up the tone in the master table

Worked Examples