Read & Write Thai Today

Chapter 2

The 5 tone sounds

กา

mid

ก่า

low

ก้า

falling

ก๊า

high

ก๋า

rising

Thai tone rules 1

กา

There is no ending consonant and it’s a long vowel (see vowel chart). is a middle class consonant, so this word is mid-tone.

มา

There is no ending consonant and it’s a long vowel. is a low class consonant, so this word is also mid-tone.

กะ

There is no ending consonant and it’s a short vowel. is a middle class consonant, so this word is low-tone.

มะ

There is no ending consonant and it’s a short vowel. is a low class consonant, so this word is high-tone.

กัม

There is an ending consonant and the initial consonant is middle class, so this word is mid-tone.

มัก

There is an ending consonant and the initial consonant is low class. There is a short vowel, so this word is high-tone.

กาม

There is an ending consonant and the initial consonant is middle class, so this word is mid-tone.

มาก

There is an ending consonant and the initial consonant is low class. There is a long vowel, so this word is falling-tone.