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Tone Rules for Thai Syllables

Listen, think about the spelling, then refer to the tone rules below to find the correct rule.

ส้ม

consonant rule:
vowel length:
final position:
syllable type:
tone mark:
tone to use:
high class
short
sonorant final
live
mái toe
falling

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Tone Rules for Middle Class:

If no tone mark is present, then there are two tones possible:

Live Syllable = Mid Tone
Dead Syllable = Low Tone

With tone marks, all five tones are possible:


low

falling

high

rising

* Rising tone and it's tone mark are not used with dead syllables.

Tone Rules for High Class:

If no tone mark is present, then there are two tones possible:

Live Syllable = Rising Tone
Dead Syllable = Low Tone

With tone marks, three tones are possible:


low

falling

Tone Rules for Low Class:

There are three tones possible:

Live Syllable = Mid Tone
Short Dead Syllable = High Tone
Long Dead Syllable = Falling Tone

These marks are used to change the tone:


falling

high

Lesson Navigation:

Application Settings:
Gender  (Recordings for your gender)
Transliterations  (Thai words in English)
Interpretations  (What the words mean)

More to come . . .

Active Thai is a work in progress, supported by our users. Please tell your friends!

Lesson Navigation:

More to come . . .

Active Thai is a work in progress, supported by our users. Please tell your friends!