Since Thai is a tonal language, which means a word can be pronounced with 5 different tones, with totally different meanings.  Classes of consonants are one of the things that determine the tones of a word. 

Different classes of consonants = different tones = different meanings. 

That’s why it’s important to learn consonants based on 3 classes of consonants. Let me show you!

Example:

Let’s say ก (goor-gai) is a middle-class consonant while ส (soor-suea) is a high-class consonant. We will combine this two consonant with the vowel สระอา (-aa vowel sound):

• กา (g-aa) with a flat tone
• สา (s-ãa) with a rising tone

As you can see, they are in different classes of consonants and have different tone rules. So learning the consonants in each class is the easiest way to master Thai tones.

Common Questions

❓ Question:
Is there anything else that defines tones? 

Answer:
Yes. Not only classes of consonants, but also vowels (short/long sound), ending consonants, and the tone marks.

I know it sounds difficult to understand, but you can master Thai tone rules easily with a constructive guide from our Ultimate Guide to Thai Reading Course. 

❓ Question:

Do we really need to remember the classes when learning consonants? 

Answer:

The only use of the consonant classes is to define tone based on tone rules. If you’d like to be able to write Thai and learn how the tone rule works systematically, you need to know the classes of consonants. 

We Thais, as kids, also learned the classes of consonants to be able to read and write Thai. However, we no longer need it because we know how to pronounce, read, and write words by heart.