Say a Thai word and see your pitch drawn over a native line, with a match score and three plain notes on what to change. Free in your browser, no signup.
The short answer: a Thai tone checker records you saying a word, tracks your pitch, and draws it over a native reference line. Ravela's Pronunciation Lab does this and gives you a match score: how much of your line sits close to the native one. Try it below: free, in your browser.
Thai has five tones, and the tone is part of the word. มา maa (mid) means come; ม้า máa (high) means horse; หมา mǎa (rising) means dog. If you're not sure what each tone should do, start with the guide to the five Thai tones, then come back and check yourself.
Pick a tone, hear the reference, then say it. Your pitch is drawn over the native line so you can see where it drifts. Nothing is uploaded; it all runs on your device.
A tone is the shape your pitch makes across a syllable. So the checker ignores what you said and looks at how your voice moved while you said it.
You can also play your take back next to the reference.
Look at the lines before the number.
Then read the score as a measure of closeness, not a pass or fail. One low score on one take usually means a messy recording, so try again before changing anything.
A useful test: ป่า bpàa (forest, low) and ป้า bpâa (auntie, falling) differ only in tone. Record both. If your two lines look the same, you've found exactly what to work on.
It measures pitch shape and height. That's what makes a Thai tone, and it's what your own ear struggles to judge.
It isn't a human teacher. It doesn't judge the other things that make Thai sound Thai:
Those are covered in the Thai pronunciation guide. And when you want a Thai ear on an attempt, tap Ask Kru Pook to check it in the app. That sends the recording to Kru Pook, the Thai teacher in Bangkok who reviews all of Ravela's learner-facing content and has taught more than 2,000 lessons.
The checker can only draw what the mic hears.
While you're learning, you hear what you meant to say, not what came out.
English makes it worse. English uses pitch for feeling, not meaning: up for a question, down at the end of a sentence. Those habits leak into Thai without you noticing. A mid tone sinks. A high tone stops short because pushing further feels strained. ใกล้ klâi (near) and ไกล klai (far) differ only by tone, and to your own ear they can sound identical.
That's the whole case for a tone checker. Seeing your pitch line next to a native one takes the guessing out.
The demo above covers the five tones. The Pronunciation Lab in the Ravela app goes further:
The Pronunciation Lab is free, along with the first 24 lessons. Membership unlocks the rest; see pricing.
Yes. Ravela Thai's Pronunciation Lab records you saying a Thai word, draws your pitch line over a native reference line, and gives you a match score: the percentage of your line that sits close to the native line. It also gives three plain notes on direction, distance and height. There is a free in-browser version with no signup at ravelathai.com/thai-tones.html#try.
Compare your pitch with a native speaker's rather than trusting your ear. A tone checker draws both lines together so you can see whether your voice rose or fell like the target, moved as far, and sat at the right height. The match score tells you how closely your tone matches the native one; for a human judgement, a Thai teacher such as Kru Pook can listen to the attempt.
It is the percentage of your pitch line that sits close to the native line, inside the range where native Thai speakers land. A higher score means your tone shape and height are closer to a native speaker's. It is a measure of closeness, not a pass or fail.
Yes. You calibrate it once to your own voice, so it learns your natural pitch range. Tones are relative, so a deep voice and a high voice are each compared from their own starting point.
No. It measures pitch shape and height, which is what makes a tone, but it doesn't judge consonants, vowel length or how natural you sound. In Ravela you can tap Ask Kru Pook to check it to send an attempt to Pook, a Thai teacher in Bangkok, for a Thai ear on it.
Next: know what each tone should do before you check it. The Thai tones guide walks through all five.
Free to start. The Pronunciation Lab and the first 24 lessons, no card needed.
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