Try
Type or paste Thai text. Each word is split into its spoken syllables using a pronunciation dictionary, and each tone is explained from the spelling.
Select a syllable to see which cell it uses. Tone marks override the live/dead rule. Mai tri and mai chattawa are written almost only on mid-class letters.
Thai has five tones: mid, low, falling, high and rising. The tone of a syllable is not guessed from the sound. It comes from three things in the spelling: the class of the first consonant (mid, high or low), whether the syllable is live or dead, and any tone mark.
A live syllable ends in a long vowel or in m, n, ng, y or w. A dead syllable ends in p, t or k, or in a short vowel. A tone mark (mai ek, mai tho, mai tri or mai chattawa) overrides the live/dead rule, and what it does depends on the consonant class. With no mark, a mid-class live syllable is mid tone, a high-class live syllable is rising, and a low-class live syllable is mid. Dead syllables are low for mid and high class consonants, and high or falling for low class ones, depending on vowel length.
This reader shows the rule behind every syllable it splits. Where a word is not read the way it is spelled, as in many loanwords and Pali or Sanskrit words, it says so and shows the dictionary reading instead. The alphabet page lists every consonant by class, and the tone game and word game let you practise.