Practice: hearing the five tones
What you will be able to do
Tell Thai tones apart by ear, using real word pairs where the tone is the only difference.
Which word do you hear?
You heard มา maa (to come). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard ม้า máa (horse). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard หมา mǎa (dog). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Near or far?
You heard ใกล้ glâi (near). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Near or far?
You heard ไกล glai (far). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard ไม่ mâi (not). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard ไหม mǎi (question particle). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard ข้าว khâao (rice). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard ขาว khǎao (white). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard เสื้อ sêua (shirt). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard เสื่อ sèua (mat). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Which word do you hear?
You heard ไม้ máai (wood). Listen again and hold the tone in your ear before moving on.
Common mistake
Play each clip as many times as you like before answering. The point is not speed: it is training your ear to hear มา, หมา and ม้า as three different words, the way a Thai speaker does.
Next: Read Thai, step by step