The five tones at a glance

Every Thai syllable has one of five tones. Our romanization shows it with an accent.

The 11 lessons

From the five tones to connected speech: each lesson trains one thing until you can hear it and say it.

1 Tones 1: mid and low Know what a tone is, and hear and say the mid and low tones. 8 min · 6 minimal pairs · tone drills
2 Tones 2: falling and high Hear and say the falling and high tones, and stop mixing up châi (yes) and chái (use). 8 min · 11 minimal pairs · tone drills
3 Tones 3: rising, and all five together Hear and say the rising tone, and tell all five tones apart on one syllable. 8 min · 9 minimal pairs · tone drills
4 Tone pairs and triples Tell apart the word sets learners mix up most, by ear and in your own speech. 8 min · 8 minimal pairs · tone drills
5 Long and short vowels Hear and make the difference between long and short vowels, which changes meaning. 8 min · 11 minimal pairs · tone drills
6 With or without a puff: k/g, p/bp/b, t/dt/d Say g, bp and dt without a puff of air and k, p and t with one, and hear the difference. 8 min · 17 minimal pairs · tone drills
7 Final sounds: k, t, p you don't release End syllables cleanly with unreleased k, t, p and keep m, n and ng apart. 8 min · 7 minimal pairs · tone drills
8 New sounds: ng at the start, and the vowels ue and oe Start words with ng, and say the two vowels English doesn't have. 8 min · 8 minimal pairs · tone drills
9 r, l and clusters Tell r from l, say clusters like kr, pl and kw in one beat, and understand the casual short forms. 8 min · 9 minimal pairs · tone drills
10 Polite particles: kráp, kâ and ká Say the polite particles with the right tone, and use kâ and ká in the right places. 8 min · 4 minimal pairs · tone drills
11 Tones in real speech, and common mistakes Keep your tones in full sentences and fix the mistakes English speakers make most. 8 min · 6 minimal pairs · tone drills

Keep exploring

Questions about Thai pronunciation

Is Thai pronunciation hard for English speakers?

Some parts are new: tones, vowel length and the difference between ป (bp) and พ (p). None of them is hard once you can hear it, which is why the course starts with listening, minimal pairs and lots of audio before it asks you to speak.

How many tones does Thai have?

Five: mid, low, falling, high and rising. Every syllable has one, and the tone can change the meaning completely: มา (maa) means come, ม้า (máa) horse and หมา (mǎa) dog.

What is an aspirated consonant?

One said with a small puff of air, like the p in "pin". Thai has pairs with and without that puff: พ (p, puff) and ป (bp, no puff), ท (t) and ต (dt), ค (k) and ก (g). Hold your hand in front of your mouth to feel the difference.

Why do Thai words seem to stop suddenly at the end?

Final k, t and p are not released in Thai: you close your mouth or tongue and stop, with no puff of air. ปาก (bpàak, mouth) ends in a silent k, not "bpaak-h".

How can I check my own Thai pronunciation?

In the app, the speech trainer listens to you say a word or sentence and gives feedback on each word, including the tone. You can also record yourself and compare with the native audio on every page.