Thai alphabet · tone marks

Thai tone marks: mai ek, mai tho, mai tri and mai chattawa

Four small marks above the consonant. The trick: what each one does depends on the consonant's class.

Quick answer

Thai has four tone marks, written above the consonant: mai ek ◌่, mai tho ◌้, mai tri ◌๊ and mai chattawa ◌๋. The tone they give depends on the consonant class: mai ek makes a mid- or high-class syllable low (ไก่gài) but a low-class syllable falling (แม่mâe).

Tone marks chart

Find the consonant's class, then read across. A dash means the mark isn't used with that class.

Mark	Mid class	High class	Low class
◌่ ไม้เอกmái-èek	low	low	falling
◌้ ไม้โทmái-too	falling	falling	high
◌๊ ไม้ตรีmái-dtrii	high	–	–
◌๋ ไม้จัตวาmái-jàt-dtà-waa	rising	–	–

Mai ek (ไม้เอก) ◌่

low tone on mid- and high-class letters, falling tone on low-class letters

◌่ ไม้เอก mái-èek · first tone mark

ไก่ gài
chicken
ป่า bpàa
forest
ไข่ kài
egg
สี่ sìi
four
แม่ mâe
mother
ค่า kâa
value; fee

Mai tho (ไม้โท) ◌้

falling tone on mid- and high-class letters, high tone on low-class letters

◌้ ไม้โท mái-too · second tone mark

ได้ dâi
can; get
ป้า bpâa
aunt
ข้าว kâao
rice
ห้า hâa
five
ม้า máa
horse
น้ำ náam
water

Mai tri (ไม้ตรี) ◌๊

high tone (mid-class letters only)

◌๊ ไม้ตรี mái-dtrii · third tone mark

โต๊ะ dtó
table
ก๊อก gáwk
tap, faucet

Mai chattawa (ไม้จัตวา) ◌๋

rising tone (mid-class letters only)

◌๋ ไม้จัตวา mái-jàt-dtà-waa · fourth tone mark

ตั๋ว dtǔa
ticket
ก๋วยเตี๋ยว gǔay-dtǐaw
noodle soup

What if there is no tone mark?

Most syllables have no mark. Their tone comes from three things: the consonant's class, whether the syllable is live or dead (ends in a long vowel, m, n, ng, w or y, or in k, t, p or a short vowel), and for low-class dead syllables, the vowel length. For example ขาkǎa (high class, live) is rising and มากmâak (low class, dead, long vowel) is falling, without any mark.

All the combinations are on one page in the Thai tone rules chart, with a calculator that works out the tone for you.

Learn the tone marks step by step

Thai tone marks FAQ

What are the four Thai tone marks?

ไม้เอก mai ek (◌่), ไม้โท mai tho (◌้), ไม้ตรี mai tri (◌๊) and ไม้จัตวา mai chattawa (◌๋). The first two are everywhere; mai tri and mai chattawa are only used on mid-class letters, mostly in loanwords and Chinese-Thai words.

Why does the same tone mark give different tones?

Because the result depends on the consonant class. Mai ek gives a low tone on mid- and high-class letters (ไก่ gài, ไข่ kài) but a falling tone on low-class letters (แม่ mâe). Mai tho gives falling on mid and high class (ได้ dâi) and high on low class (ม้า máa).

Do all Thai words have tone marks?

No. Most syllables have no tone mark at all: their tone comes from the consonant class, the vowel length and the final sound. ดี (dii), ขา (kǎa) and มาก (mâak) all get their tones without a mark.

Where is the tone mark written?

Above the first consonant of the syllable, or above the upper vowel if there is one (ซื้อ súue, buy). In a cluster or after a silent leading ห or อ, it sits on the second consonant: ใกล้ (glâi), อย่า (yàa).

What does the name "mai ek" mean?

ไม้ (mái) is "stroke" or "mark", and เอก, โท, ตรี, จัตวา are old words for first, second, third and fourth. So the marks are simply named first, second, third and fourth tone mark.