Thai tone chart: class, ending, and mark
A Thai syllable's tone is never written directly. It comes from three things together: the initial consonant's class (mid, high, or low), whether the syllable is live or dead, and which of the four tone marks, if any, sits on top. Below are all 17 combinations the language actually uses, each with a real word from the course (10 of them free to hear, the rest part of the paid levels).
For the letters themselves, see the full alphabet chart. For how the rule works and why, read the tone rules explained or the four tone marks explained.
Live and dead syllables
A syllable is live if it ends in a long vowel with nothing after it, or in one of the sonorant finals ง น ม ย ว. A syllable is dead if it ends in a short vowel with nothing after it, or in a stop sound (a ก, ด, or บ ending) — dead syllables split further into short-vowel and long-vowel dead, which only changes the tone for the low class.
Consonant classes
Mid class
| Ending / mark | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Live syllable, no mark | mid (สามัญ) | กา ka, crow; teapot |
| Dead syllable, short vowel, no mark | low (เอก) | กะ ka, with; to estimate |
| Dead syllable, long vowel, no mark | low (เอก) | ปาก pak, mouth |
| Mai ek (่) | low (เอก) | ป่า pa, forest |
| Mai tho (้) | falling (โท) | ป้า pa, aunt (parent's older sister) |
| Mai tri (๊) | high (ตรี) | โอ๊ย oi, ouch! |
| Mai chattawa (๋) | rising (จัตวา) | ก๋า ka, bold; audacious (in ก๋ากั่น) |
High class
| Ending / mark | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Live syllable, no mark | rising (จัตวา) | ขา kha, leg |
| Dead syllable, short vowel, no mark | low (เอก) | ขัด khat, to scrub |
| Dead syllable, long vowel, no mark | low (เอก) | สาก sak, pestle |
| Mai ek (่) | low (เอก) | ข่า kha, galangal |
| Mai tho (้) | falling (โท) | ข้า kha, I; servant (archaic) |
| Mai tri (๊) | Not used on high class consonants in standard Thai spelling. | |
| Mai chattawa (๋) | Not used on high class consonants in standard Thai spelling. | |
Low class
| Ending / mark | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Live syllable, no mark | mid (สามัญ) | มา ma, to come |
| Dead syllable, short vowel, no mark | high (ตรี) | มะ ma, fruit-name prefix (e.g. มะม่วง mango) |
| Dead syllable, long vowel, no mark | falling (โท) | มาก mak, much; many |
| Mai ek (่) | falling (โท) | ค่ะ kha, polite sentence-ending particle (spoken by women): 'yes'; adds politeness to an answer or statement |
| Mai tho (้) | high (ตรี) | ค้า kha, to trade |
| Mai tri (๊) | Not used on low class consonants in standard Thai spelling. | |
| Mai chattawa (๋) | Not used on low class consonants in standard Thai spelling. | |