Sabai 
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The five Thai tones
Thai uses pitch to tell words apart, so the same syllable said five ways is five different words. Every example below has its own audio - play them back to back and the difference stops being theoretical.
1. Mid สามัญ
Level pitch in the middle of your voice
กา
gaa
crow
มา
maa
to come
ตา
dtaa
eye
ดี
dii
good
2. Low เอก
Low, flat pitch - slightly below normal speech
ป่า
bpàa
forest
ข่า
kàa
galangal
ไก่
gài
chicken
เก่า
gào
old (thing)
3. Falling โท
Starts high and falls sharply
ข้าว
kâao
rice
ข้า
kâa
I (formal)
ก้าว
gâao
step forward
บ้าน
bâan
house
4. High ตรี
High pitch - sounds tense and emphatic
ม้า
máa
horse
น้ำ
náam
water
ช้าง
cháang
elephant
รถ
rót
car
5. Rising จัตวา
Starts low, dips, then rises
ขา
kăa
leg
หมา
măa
dog
สวย
sŭay
beautiful
เสือ
sŭea
tiger
Tone is not something you choose. It is decided by the spelling: the
consonant's class, the tone mark, and whether the syllable is live or dead.
Those are the rules, and the
tone checker applies them to any syllable you type.
Train your ear in the app
A tone quiz that plays the real audio until you can hear the difference. Free, forever.
Get told when it launches