Sabai The five Thai tone marks
Four written marks and the absence of one. A mark never gives a tone by itself - it combines with the consonant's class, which is why the same mark can mean two different tones.
◌
no mark ไม่มีวรรณยุกต์
No tone mark - tone determined by consonant class and vowel length.
◌่
mai ek ไม้เอก
Mai Ek (first tone mark) - generally lowers the tone.
◌้
mai tho ไม้โท
Mai Tho (second tone mark) - generally raises or lowers the tone.
◌๊
mai tri ไม้ตรี
Mai Tri (third tone mark) - produces a high tone.
◌๋
mai jattawa ไม้จัตวา
Mai Jattawa (fourth tone mark) - produces a rising tone.
Play each mark's example word in order.
How a mark turns into a tone depends
entirely on the consonant in front of it.
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