Are you on your way toward learning basic Lao? Then you have landed on the right post since we crafted this article to help you master the terminologies related to the human body parts in Lao. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
As you might be aware, Lao is the official language of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ), known popularly as Laos. Similar to its neighborhood languages like Thai, Zhuang, and Shan, Lao is also a member of the Tai-Kadai language family (also known as Tai-Kradai or Kra-Dai). Pretty interesting, right? Let’s get to know more about this language in the sections below!
Fun fact: Thai and Lao, the two national languages of the Tai-Kadai group, have more than half the total Tai-Kadai speakers between them!
Do You Need To Learn All The Translations?
You might often wonder how much vocabulary would be enough to add to your kitty to learn the basics of any language. Well, there is not a definite answer to this question. One can understand the entire grammatical and semantic structure or the semantic relations of a language.
But it is never enough when it comes to knowing its complete set of vocabulary. Still, one can always strive to fill one’s coffers with as many new words as possible. The most significant ones are those that help you describe yourself, present yourself to others, and ask basic questions about your stay and travel.
Why Learn The Lao Terms For Body Parts?
Let us see why it is essential to learn Lao words to describe the human body or body parts, especially when traveling the country.
1) Comes in Handy During Medical Emergency
Learning human body part terms in a foreign language or the language of your host country should be encouraged. It helps you immensely in medical situations or emergencies, especially if you choose to be a solo traveler traveling in areas with a scanty number of English speakers. Moreover, in case of medical emergencies, you can’t rely on hand gestures and communication via signs and symbols.
2) Helps In Making Compliments
What is a better way of winning hearts and making friends in a foreign land than being genuinely appreciative of people? Complimenting new acquaintances, colleagues, or even your local vendors in a new country, that too in their language, is bound to gain you some warmth. Learning body part terms in Lao words can help you compliment someone’s kind eyes, pretty smile, sharp brain, warm heart, and so on. Learning semantic relations can help you form friendly relations pretty quickly!
3) Helps With Nominal Expressions
Nominal expressions are sentences sans verbs. For example, “What a good day!” Knowing a certain vocabulary for body part terms helps you make such nominal expressions. Moreover, it could help you avoid putting your ‘foot in your mouth’ (tin nai pak – ຕີນໃນປາກ). Or, help you ‘play it by ear’ (rin man duany hu – ຫຼິ້ນມັນດ້ວຍຫູ) by adding to your vocab kitty.
Lao Words For Body Part Terms
Parts Of The Face
| Name | Lao Script | Roman Script |
| Skull | ກະໂຫຼກ | Ka ork |
| Head | ຫົວ | Houa |
| Hair | ຜົມ | Phom |
| Forehead | ໜ້າຜາກ | Na phak |
| Nose | ດັງ | Dang |
| Eye | ຕາ | Ta |
| Eyebrow | ຄິ້ວ | Kiw |
| Ear | ຫູ | Hou |
| Cheek | ແກ້ມ | Gaem |
| Mouth | ປາກ | Pak |
| Lips | ສົບ | Sob |
| Tongue | ລີ້ນ | Lin |
| Tooth | ແຂ້ວ | Kaew |
| Chin | ຄາງ | Khang |
| Jaw | ຄາງກະໄຕ | Khang ga tai |
| Face | ໃບຫນ້າ | Bai na |
Upper Body Parts In Lao
| Name | Lao Script | Roman Script |
| Neck | ຄໍ | Ko |
| Shoulder | ໄຫລ່ | Lai |
| Breast | ເຕົ້ານົມ | Tao nom |
| Chest | ຫນ້າເອິກ | Naooek |
| Arm | ແຂນ | Khaem |
| Armpit | ຂີ້ແຮ້ | Ki hae |
| Elbow | ສອກ | Sok |
| Hand | ມື | Mue |
| Wrist | ຂໍ້ມື | Kho mue |
| Thumb | ໂປ້ມື | Niu pom |
| Finger | ນິ້ວມື | Ni mue |
| Nail | ເລັບມື | Tapu |
| Palm | ຝ່າ | Pha mue |
Middle & Lower Body Parts
| Name | Lao Script | Roman Script |
| Belly | ທ້ອງ | Thong |
| Stomach | ກະເພາະອາຫານ | Kapho ahan |
| Navel | ສາຢບື | Sa due |
| Bone | ກະດູກ | Kaduk |
| Back | ກັບຄືນໄປບ່ອນ | Kabkhunpai bon |
| Waist | ແອວ | Aaew |
| Hips | ກະໂພກ | Sa phok |
| Buttock | ກົ້ນ | Gon |
| Thigh | ກົກຂາ | Ton kha |
| Leg | ຂາ | Kha |
| Knee | ຫົວເຂົ່າ | Houa Khao |
| Calf | ນ່ອງ | Kaf |
| Shin | ລຳແຄ່ງ | Na khaeng |
| Ankle | ຂໍ້ຕີນ | Kho tin |
| Foot | ຕີນ | Tin |
| Toe | ນິ້ວຕີນ | Niu tin |
Important Organs In The Whole System
| Name | Lao Script | Roman Script |
| Brain | ສະຫມອງ | Samong |
| Skin | ຜິວຫນັງ | Sam |
| Heart | ຫົວໃຈ | Hua chai |
| Lungs | ປອດ | Pod |
| Blood | ເລືອດ | Leuod |
| Intestine | ລໍາໄສ້ | Lao sai |
| Liver | ຕັບ | Tab |
| Kidney | ຫມາກໄຂ່ຫຼັງ | Mak khai rang |
Lao Expressions Related To Body Parts
While you are already learning Lao terms for body parts, you might want to try your hand at knowing some popular Lao expressions associated with them.
| Expression | Lao Script | Roman Script |
| My brain has too many tabs open | ສະໝອງຂອງຂ້ອຍມີແຖບເປີດຫຼາຍເກີນໄປ | Samong khongkhony mi aethb poed rai koenpai |
| I’m on a seafood diet. I see food, and then I eat it | ຂ້ອຍຢູ່ໃນອາຫານທະເລ. ຂ້ອຍເຫັນອາຫານ, ແລະຫຼັງຈາກນັ້ນຂ້ອຍກິນມັນ | Khony yunai ahanthale khony henoahan lae rangchaknan khony kin man |
| Skinny legs | ຜິວເນື້ອສີຂາ | Phiv neu si kha |
| Dirty mind | ໃຈເປື້ອນ | Chai peuon |
| Nosey husband | ຜົວ | Phua nosy |
Learn Lao With Ling
Wasn’t it fun to learn about Lao body parts and other different parts of the anatomy in this article? One can memorize the Lao body terms quite quickly. Still, it takes an inquisitive mind and a keen heart to learn language sciences while possessing a respectful curiosity toward the culture the language is associated with. With the Ling app, you can do so quite efficiently without spending a dime!
You can download the Ling app absolutely free from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and take your Lao learning enthusiasm a notch higher. Get started now!
