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Learn to Read Thai

Introduction

Thai is a tonal language which makes it very different to Westerrn languages. Each syllable has a choice between five distinct tones: low, mid, rising, high and falling. To a foreign student, it would seem that the Thai language is made up of groups of words that change in meaning depending on their tone. A famous tongue twister which illustrates this very well is "new wood doesn't burn, does it?" or "mai mai mai mai mai" in Thai.

ไม ใหม ไม ไหม ไหม

mai - mai - mai - mai - mai

high - low - falling - falling - high

To a foreigner studying Thai for the first time, there is only one word in the above example, "mai", and its meaning changes with different tones. However, to a Thai person, these are five distinct words that are not only spelled differently but are pronounced differently. Most foreign students make the mistake of relying too much on transliteration when learning Thai. If you are to master the tones, you must put this behind you and learn how to read properly.

The five tones are:

THE HIGH TONE - เสยงตร

This is a uniform tone pitched well above the level of the speaker’s normal voice and is similar to the tone used in English to denote alarm.

e.g. “keep away”

นก nok A bird

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รก ruk To love

เลก lek Small

THE RISING TONE - เสยงจตวา

This as the name implies has a rising inflection and is something like the tone used in English to denote surprise or a question.

e.g. “Are you going home now?”

ไหม mai A question word

สาม saam Three

หน hin A Stone

THE MID TONE - เสยงสามญ

This is spoken in the speaker’s ordinary tone of voice without any inflection. It is the tone used in English for ordinary conversation.

มา maa Come

ไป bpai Go

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กน gin To eat

THE LOW TONE - เสยงเอก

This is a level tone with no inflection but lower in pitch than common tone.

ดอก dork Flower

หบ heep A box

เกบ gep To keep

THE FALLING TONE - เสยงโท

This is an emphatic and heavily accented tone with a falling inflection and is similar to the tone used in English to denote emphasis.

e.g. “I told you not to go there”

ขาว kao Rice

หา haa Five

ไม mai Not

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It should be noted that the tone applies to a syllable only so that in a polysyllabic word each syllable may and often does have a different tone.

กหลาบ goo-laap low-low

มนษย ma-noot high-high

มะละกอ ma-la-gor high-high-mid

ภาพยนตร pa-pa-yon falling-high-mid

รฐบาล rut-ta-baan high-low-mid

You may find it difficult at first to pronounce all of the syllables of a polysyllabic word in the correct tone but luckily there are very few words of more than two syllables where tonal values of the syllables vary.

By far the best way to learn the tones at the beginning is the way a Thai child does, i.e. by copying a natural Thai speaker. You can do this by listening to us on this web site.

In Thai writing the tones are quite clearly indicated by the use of Tone Marks coupled with a rather complicated set of rules. If you are ready, we will now proceed to teach you these rules.

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Factors

Factors determining the tone.

To determine the tone of any syllable the following four factors have to be considered.

1. Class of the initial consonant.

The Thai consonants are divided up into three groups known respectively as HIGH, MIDDLE and LOW class consonants and the first thing to look at in determining the tone of a word or syllable is the class of the initial consonant.

You will soon discover that there are many cases where the letter ห as an initial

consonant is silent and there are a few cases where the letter อ as an initial consonant

is also silent, but this makes no difference to the rule, the tone is still governed by the class of the initial consonant even though it be a silent consonant.

The HIGH class consonants are; ข ฉ ฐ ถ ผ ฝ ศ ษ ส ห

The MIDDLE class consonants are; ก จ ฎ ฏ ด ต บ ป อ

All the remainders are LOW class consonants.

2. The final sounded consonant.

All words which do not end in a vowel sound must have either M, N, NG, K, P, or T as the final sound.

(Note: Although this is strictly true, you will find that in conversation the final consonant is often slurred and particularly after a long vowel, the final P may sound more like a B and the final T more like a D.)

Where there is no tone mark, the tone of the syllable or word will depend on both the class of the initial consonant and on whether it ends with the M, N, NG sounds or the K, P, T sounds. It should be noted that a final

consonant with the sign - (MY TUNTAKAHT) over it is not sounded and hence can

have no effect on the tone.

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3. The type of final vowel.

If the word has no tone mark and ends in a final vowel, the tone is dependent on whether this final vowel is a long or short one.

The short vowels for tonal purposes are -ะ, -, - , - , - , the

inherent “a”, the inherent “o” and all vowels shortened by the sign - over the consonant or by the addition of the vowel -ะ at the end.

All the others are long vowels.

4. The tone mark.

There are altogether four tone marks but only two namely (- ) MYAYK and (- ) MYTO

are in common use.

The other two (- ) MYDTREE and (- ) MYJUDTAWAH are used only in a few words

beginning with middle class consonants.

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Tone Bloopers

For foreigners speaking Thai for the first time, it can be embarrassing if they get the tone wrong. Fortunately for you, you have chosen to learn the Thai language. When you travel in Thailand you will find the Thai people to be very supportive when they find out that you are trying to learn Thai. They will help you a lot without laughing!

Probably one of the main problem words you will come across is for "near" and "far". Although they are opposite in meaning, in Thai they are very similar sound.

ใกล glai near

ไกล glai far

Obviously, if you ask someone if it is far to the train station, you must know your tones. Is it far or near!

A popular activity you might like to do while in Thailand is horse back riding. However, be careful if you say to a Thai person that you want to ride a horse. If you get the tone wrong, they might think you want something else!

ขมา kee maa ride horse

ขมา kee maa horse excretement

Actually, kee is not really a bad word. It is used often for things like "sleep in your eyes" (kee dtaa), bogies up your nose (kee mook) and also ear wax (kee hoo). Oh yes, can you guess what dandruff would be? Yes, kee hua!

The word maa can mean different things depending on the spelling

มา maa Come

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มา maa Horse

หมา maa Dog

Another difficult word for foreigners to get right is khao. Be careful, you might be saying you want to eat rice, or if you get the tone wrong, people might think you are a canibal!

เขา khao enter

ขาว khao white

ขาว khao rice

เขา khao mountain

เขา khao he/she

ขาว khao news

A story that Mike told us on the message forums was quite embarrassing. He was asking around for the person who sold tickects. He wanted to catch a train. However, he got a tone wrong and people were shocked when they thought he was asking for a prostitute!

คนขายตว khon kai dtua ticket seller

คนขายตว khon kai dtua prostitute

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If you are staying with some Thai people, be careful when you are saying good night!

ฟนด fun dee good teeth

ฝนด fun dee good dream

This is another of those words which change its meaning with the tone.

มน mun it

หมน mun sterile

หมน mun often

หมน mun engagement

Foreigners learn how to say "beautiful" quite quickly. But, be careful, you might be cursing a woman instead of saying how pretty she is!

ซวย suay curse

สวย suay beautiful

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Don't mix up your older sibling with a ghost!

พ pee letter "P"

พ pee older sibling

ผ pee ghost

Or your younger sibling and pus!

นอง nong calf

นอง nong younger sibling

หนอง nong pus

Do you want some water or thorns?

น า nam water

หนาม nam thorn

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OK, be very careful here!

จ ม jim dip

จ ม jim vagina

The last one is the funniest. Do you want milk with your coffee or do you want her to shake her breasts!!!

ใสนม sai nom pour in milk

สายนม sai nom shake your breasts

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Consonants

The Low Class Consonants.

The following are the Low Class consonants.

ค ฆ ง ช ซ ฌ ญ ฑ ฒ ณ ท ธ น พ ฟ ภ ม ย ล ร ว ฬ ฮ

A small tip, this is the biggest group. It is not necessary to try and learn these low class consonants since if you have learned the high and middle class consonants, it follows that everything else is a low class consonant.

Tone Rules for Low Class Consonants

(1) Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having no tone mark take the Mid Tone unless they end with K, P or T sounds or in a short vowel.

ค า Word ชา Tea ท า Make, do.

นา Field ง Snake มา Come

ราคา Price ลม Wind ชม Admire

(2) Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having no tone mark but ending in K, P or T sounds, take:

the Falling Tone if the vowel is long. the High Tone if the vowel is short.

Falling Tone.

มาก Many รป Picture เรยก Call

พด Speak ยด Stretch ยาก Difficult

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High Tone.

พก Rest ค ก Prison รก Love

ลด Decrease ค ด Think ช ด Suit

(3) Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having a short open vowel take the High Tone. There are very few complete words of this type.

และ And ม No, not. เพราะ Because

(4) Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having the tone mark MYAYK

(- ) over the initial consonant take the Falling Tone.

ค Pair แม Mother พอ Father

ไม No, not. งาย Easy ว ง Run

รวม Together นง Sit เทา Equal

(5) Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having the tone mark MYTO (- )

over the initial consonant take the High Tone.

มา Horse น า Water ไว Keep

นอย A little ซาย Left side ชาง Elephant

The Middle Class Consonants.

The following are the Middle Class consonants.

ก จ ฎ ฏ ด ต บ ป อ

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Of these the consonant อ should be specially noted. When this occurs as an initial

consonant and is immediately followed by the low class letter ย it is always silent but the

tone of the syllable still follows the tone rules for a syllable having an initial middle class consonant in the normal manner.

There are only four words plus a number of compounds where the silent “อ” occurs, and

you will notice that they all take the low tone.

อยา Prohibition, Don’t อยาก Wish

อยาง Manner อย Live

Tone Rules for Middle Class Consonants.

(1) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having no tone mark take the Mid Tone unless they end with K, P or T sounds or in a short vowel.

กร ง Town บ น To fly ใจ Heart

ด า Black เดยว One only ตรง Straight

เอา Want จน Until ไกล Far

(2) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having no tone mark take the Low Tone if they end in K, P or T sounds.

บอก To tell จบ To kiss ด บ Unripe

ตก Fall ตด Cut เกบ Keep

ป ด Close จบ Seize บาท Tical

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(3) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and ending with a short open vowel take the Low Tone. There are not many words of this type.

ด Cruel จะ Will ปะ Meet

เตะ Kick กะ Estimate ต To blame

(4) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having the tone mark

MYAYK ( - ) over the initial consonant take the Low Tone.

กอน Before ก How many? เกา Old

ไก Fowl ปา Forest เตา Tortoise

(5) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having the tone mark MYTO

( - ) over the initial consonant take the Falling Tone.

เกา Nine จาง To hire ตอง Must

ตน Tree ได Can บาง Some

ป ง Roast ก ง Prawn ใกล Near

(6) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having the tone mark

MYDTREE ( - ) over the initial consonant take the High Tone. There are very few of

these words.

โตะ Table ต Fat, plump. จะ A final particle.

Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having the tone mark

MYJUDTAWAH ( - ) over the initial consonant take the Rising Tone. There are very

few of these words.

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เดยวน Now ตว Ticket บอย Waiter

High Class Consonants & Tone Marks

All of the examples on this page are high class consonants. A reminder of the rules are at the bottom of this page.

Tone Chart: When you listen to each row in the chart below, you will hear these tones each time: rising, low and falling.

1 2 3

ขา ขา ขา

ผา ผา ผา

โห โห โห

เขา เขา เขา

เสอ เสอ เสอ

ใส ใส ใส

แส แส แส

(1) Syllables beginning with a high class consonant and have no tone mark take the Rising Tone unless they end with K, P or T sounds or a short open vowel.

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Syllables beginning with a high class consonant and having no tone mark take the Low Tone if they end in K, P or T sound or with a short open vowel.

(2) Syllables beginning with a high class consonant and having the tone mark MYAYK (- ) over the consonant take the Low Tone irrespective of ending.

(3) Syllables beginning with a high class consonant and having the tone mark MYTO (- ) over the consonant take the Falling Tone irrespective of ending.

Examples.

Read through the following words and note the tone of each.

Mid Tone.

คน Night ใคร Who ชาน Dish

นอน Sleep พอ Enough มอ Hand

เมย Wife โมง O’clock ยง Yet

รอ Wait เรา We ย ง Shoot

Falling Tone.

ชาต Nation ญาต Relative รด To iron

คา Price รม Umbrella โง Silly

ชวย Help เร ม Commence เลม Volume

High Tone.

นก Bird รบ Receive มด Ant

ลาง Wash ท ก Every พร ก Chilli

ซอ Buy เนอ Meat น ด Diminutive

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TONE MARKS

Low Class Consonants & Tone Marks

All of the examples on this page are low class consonants. A reminder of the rules are at the bottom of this page.

Tone Chart: When you listen to each row in the chart below, you will hear these tones each time: mid, falling and high.

1 2 3

ค ค ค

พอ พอ พอ

ซ ซ ซ

แม แม แม

ไม ไม ไม

นา นา นา

ลอ ลอ ลอ

เชา เชา เชา

ซอ ซอ ซอ

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(1) Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having no tone mark take the Mid Tone unless they end with K, P or T sounds or in a short vowel.

Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having no tone mark but ending in K, P or T sounds, take:

the Falling Tone if the vowel is long. the High Tone if the vowel is short.

Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having a short open vowel take the High Tone. There are very few complete words of this type.

(2) Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having the tone mark MYAYK (- ) over the initial consonant take the Falling Tone.

(3) Syllables beginning with a low class consonant and having the tone mark MYTO (- )

over the initial consonant take the High Tone.

Middle Class Consonants & Tone Marks

All of the examples on this page are middle class consonants. A reminder of the rules are at the bottom of this page.

Tone Chart: When you listen to each row in the chart below, you will hear these tones each time: mid, low, falling, high and rising.

1 2 3 4 5

แก แก แก แก แก

ปา ปา ปา ปา ปา

เกา เกา เกา เกา เกา

ต ต ต ต ต

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ป ป ป ป ป

ไต ไต ไต ไต ไต

(1) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having no tone mark take the Mid Tone unless they end with K, P or T sounds or in a short vowel.

(2) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having the tone mark

MYAYK (-) over the initial consonant take the Low Tone.

(3) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having the tone mark MATA

(- ) over the initial consonant take the Falling Tone.

(4) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having the tone mark

MYDTREE (- ) over the initial consonant take the High Tone. There are very few of

these words.

(5) Syllables beginning with a middle class consonant and having the tone mark

MYJUDTAWAH (- ) over the initial consonant take the Rising Tone. There are very few

of these words.

High Class Consonants & Tone Marks

All of the examples on this page are high class consonants. A reminder of the rules are at the bottom of this page.

Tone Chart: When you listen to each row in the chart below, you will hear these tones each time: rising, low and falling.

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1 2 3

ขา ขา ขา

ผา ผา ผา

โห โห โห

เขา เขา เขา

เสอ เสอ เสอ

ใส ใส ใส

แส แส แส

(1) Syllables beginning with a high class consonant and have no tone mark take the Rising Tone unless they end with K, P or T sounds or a short open vowel.

Syllables beginning with a high class consonant and having no tone mark take the Low Tone if they end in K, P or T sound or with a short open vowel.

(2) Syllables beginning with a high class consonant and having the tone mark MYAYK (- ) over the consonant take the Low Tone irrespective of ending.

(3) Syllables beginning with a high class consonant and having the tone mark MYTO (- ) over the consonant take the Falling Tone irrespective of ending.

Test: Consonant Classes Sort the Consonants into the correct class