October 20, 2026
Mai Ek and Mai Tho
That little mark ่ does not always mean low tone, and low-class initials are exactly where it catches you. I worked through the two marks you will meet most often, and the order that makes them readable is class first, mark second.
Start with the friendly half. On a mid-class initial, mai ek lowers the tone, so ป่า reads with a low tone and means forest. A high-class initial behaves the same way, which is why สี่, meaning four, is also low. If those were the only cases, you could treat mai ek as a low-tone symbol and move on.
Low class breaks that shortcut. ค่า carries the very same mai ek, but because ค is low class the tone comes out falling, and the word means fee or value, the kind of word you will see on bills and price notices. Mai tho, the ้ mark, flips the other way. On mid and high initials it gives a falling tone, as in ป้า for aunt, but on a low initial it gives a high tone, so ม้า reads high and means horse. I found the same pattern in both sources I checked, cell for cell, so I trust the flip even though it feels backwards at first.
For tomorrow morning, three words are enough to make the new step stick: ป่า, ค่า, ม้า. Say the class out loud before you say the tone, and notice that ค่า is the trap, because the answer your eye wants to give is low and the class turns it falling. The other two marks, ๊ and ๋, only ever sit on mid-class initials, so they can wait for another day.
When the Week 3 pack arrives on October 25, I will check whether it takes up these marks or goes somewhere else, so your mornings and these notes stay on the same track.