Tones 3: rising, and all five together

The last tone is the one many English speakers enjoy most.

Rising

It starts low, dips a little, then climbs clearly, like a surprised "Really?" or a doubtful "Hmm?". Make it reach the top:

• หมาmǎa dog
• สามsǎam three
• ขาkǎa leg
• สวยsǔay beautiful

Rising or high?

These two get mixed up most. High starts high and stays there; rising starts low and travels up. The classic learner mistake is ม้าmáa (horse) for หมาmǎa (dog).

All five on one syllable

Thai teachers love this set:

• คาkaa stuck: mid
• ข่าkàa galangal: low
• ค่าkâa value, fee: falling
• ค้าkáa trade: high
• ขาkǎa leg: rising

Say it like a little tune, until each tone feels different in your throat.

Questions keep their tones

The question word ไหมmǎi is rising. Keep it rising, and don't add an English question lift to the words before it: in ไปไหมbpai mǎi (want to go?), ไปbpai stays mid.

Pronouns

ฉันchǎn (I, women), ผมpǒm (I, men) and เขาkǎo (he, she) are rising. In fast speech you'll also hear them high; both are understood.

Hand signs for all five

• mid: flat
• low: flat and lower
• falling: from high down
• high: up and held
• rising: a dip, then up

Typical mistake: a rising tone that never rises far enough. If it feels like too much, it's probably just right.