Strange as it may seem, English is also a ‘tonal language’. In this article, I will explain how to speak Thai using the correct ‘tones’.

Forget about 'linguistics'. Speaking is mostly a physical skill, like dancing, so it’s relatively easy to learn to speak well. You simply have to practice – a lot – in a deliberate and exaggerated manner and develop your face and mouth muscles.

If you are serious about being able to communicate fluently in Thai then you should start by reading first. But as you probably have to say a few things in real life – now – even if it’s the wrong way to start, let’s just get the tones right when you do speak.

In English, we use tones for emotion. So the correct way to speak in Thai is to put yourself in the appropriate emotional state. You will then find yourself intuitively using the correct tone. That’s all there is to it!

The only caveat is that it’ll be a bit of an emotional roller coaster at first and may feel embarrassing. Don’t worry about this, you’re the only one who’ll be aware of it.

In Thai, there are four tones (don’t believe your teacher when she says there are five):

1. The question tone: asking a question “How are you?” – song? [two] saam? [three].

Notice that your tonality starts deep and rises to a high-pitched inflection – once you become aware of it, it may feel ridiculous, but we do it naturally without thinking about it.

2. The unsure tone: this is almost the same as asking a question, but you feel uncertain or skeptical “Okay?” “We get off here, right?” Is that a raan? [shop] Is this naam? [water] Are you sure that’s a roht? [car/vehicle].

Notice that your tonality starts quite high and ends up even higher in a kind of mousy squeak!

3. The excitement tone: when you feel excited or emphatic about something “Wow!” “Yeah!” – kgeao! [glass] kgao! [nine] khaao! [rice].

Make a fist whenever you say an excitement word. After a while, you can allow yourself to make the fist mentally, but for now do the physical action to help you say it right. This will be the most embarrassing tone for you to make because it feels foolish to express such naked excitement (over a glass or a bowl of rice)! Get used to it, it’s natural.

4. The chant: get into a sad state of deep relaxation and meditation, and extend the sound you make “Ohmmmmmm” – seee [four] baaht [baht]

Strictly speaking the so-called fifth tone is what I call no tone. Just speak in a flat, boring, monotonous voice: “The square of the hypotenuse is the sum of the square of the two opposite sides…” – khraai [who] tammai [why].

There is no tone with these words, so be very careful not to ask a question when asking who? or why? otherwise your voice will rise up naturally; you have to control your emotions and speak in a flat, boring, monotonous tone when asking who? or why? – khraai... tammai...


It actually feels so unnatural to not ask a question when asking a question in Thai, that it's always useful to add the polite ending "khrab?" (if you're a guy) or "kha?" (if you're a woman). Not only will you speak politely, but you will have a nice satisfying ending to each of your questions...