It’s no secret that many things are easier said than done. Especially when learning Lao, it’s easier spoken than it is written! But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with this guide to the Lao alphabet.
Getting a good grasp of the Lao alphabet opens up doors to a number of cultural and language-learning experiences. From being able to communicate in writing, to reading Lao books and street signs, learning the Lao alphabet deepens your understanding of the language and country as a whole, and will impress native Lao speakers!
Table Of Contents
The Lao Language
The Lao language, or Phasa Lao (ພາສາລາວ) is a Tai-Kadai language spoken by over 3.2 million people in Laos and the surrounding regions of Northeastern Thailand, Northern Vietnam, Southern China, and Cambodia. It is the official language of the country of Laos, and shares most of its characteristics with the Thai language.
Lao is a tonal language, meaning that the pitch and tone of how a word is pronounced may alter its meaning. The standard Lao dialect spoken in Vientiane has six tones, but other dialects may only have five, such as the Luang Prabang dialect. Keep an ear out for this when listening to speakers from different regions of Laos.
The Lao Script
The Lao alphabet, much like the Thai alphabet, is derived from the Old Khmer script. The written form of the Lao language is written from left to right, without spaces between words, and uses diacritics to distinguish meaning.
With this in mind, let’s get familiar with the different features of the Lao alphabet below!
Lao Consonants
Lao has 27 core consonants, called aksorn (ອັກສອນ), each associated with a specific sound that can be altered depending on their placement within a word. Some are voiced (ຍ,ດ,ບ,…), requiring the vibration of the speaker’s vocal cords, while some are voiceless (ກ,ຂ,ຄ,…), meaning the sound is produced higher in the speaker’s mouth. There are also some that are aspirated (ຖ,ທ,ຜ,…), followed by a burst of air, and non-aspirated (ຈ,ຕ,ອ,…) which aren’t characteristically as ‘breathy.’
A lot of characters in the Lao script share similar sounds. Take the consonants ຂ and ຄ for example, they both are pronounced with the ‘kh’ sound, with the only difference being the tones that they produce when paired with a vowel diacritic. To help students remember the different consonant letters, an official acrophonic system was established, where each sound is associated with a corresponding word.
Memorizing and recognizing the acrophonic patterns can help with improving pronunciation, recall, and reading speed, so you can recognize each consonant in context.
Letter | Pronunciation | Acrophonic | Roman Transcription | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
ກ | K | ກ ໄກ່ | Ko kai | Chicken |
ຂ | Kh | ຂ ໄຂ່ | Kho khai | Egg |
ຄ | Kh | ຄ ຄວາຍ | Kho khuai | Buffalo |
ງ | Ng | ງ ງົວ | Ngo ngua | Cow |
ຈ | Ch | ຈ ຈອກ | Cho chok | Cup |
ສ | S | ສ ເສືອ | So seua | Tiger |
ຊ | X | ຊ ຊ້າງ | Xo xang | Elephant |
ຍ | Ny | ຍ ຍຸງ | Nyo nyung | Mosquito |
ດ | D | ດ ເດັກ | Do dek | Child |
ຕ | T | ຕ ຕາ | To ta | Eye |
ຖ | Th | ຖ ຖົງ | Tho thong | Bag |
ທ | Th | ທ ທຸງ | Tho thung | Flag |
ນ | N | ນ ນົກ | No nok | Bird |
ບ | B | ບ ແບ້ | Bo bae | Goat |
ປ | P | ປ ປາ | Po pa | Fish |
ຜ | Ph | ຜ ເຜິ້ງ | Pho phoeng | Bee |
ຝ | F | ຝ ຝົນ | Fo fon | Rain |
ພ | Ph | ພ ພູ | Pho phou | Mountain |
ຟ | F | ຟ ໄຟ | Fo fai | Fire |
ມ | M | ມ ແມວ | Mo meo | Cat |
ຢ | Y | ຢ ຢາ | Yo ya | Medicine |
ຣ | R | ຣ ຣົດ | Ro rod | Vehicle (archaic) |
ລ | L | ລ ລິງ | Lo ling | Monkey |
ວ | V | ວ ວີ | Vo vee | Hand fan |
ຫ | H | ຫ ຫ່ານ | Ho han | Goose |
ອ | O | ອ ໂອ | O Oh | Water bowl |
ຮ | H | ຮ ເຮືອນ | Ho heuan | House |
Compound Consonants
In addition to the core consonants, there are six special compound consonants formed by pairing ຫ with ງ, ຍ, ນ, ມ, ລ, or ວ. This results in a tone shift from low to high. Although they’re not as commonly used today, understanding these special characters can help when reading older texts and with formal language. See them below!
Letter | Pronunciation | Example Word | Roman Transcription | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
ຫງ | Ng | ເຫງົາ | Ngao | Lonely |
ຫຍ | Ny | ຫຍ້າ | Nya | Grass |
ໜ or ຫນ | N | ໜູ | Nu | Mouse |
ໝ or ຫມ | M | ໝາ | Ma | Dog |
ຫຼ or ຫລ | L | ຫຼັງ | Lang | Back |
ຫວ | W | ແຫວນ | Waen | Ring |
Lao Vowels
The 28 vowels of the Lao language are called sala (ສະຫຼະ). They’re categorized into corresponding long and short vowel groups, each consisting of 12 vowels. There are also 4 special vowels, which are independent and don’t have corresponding forms.
Tip: 28 is a big number, but keep in mind that the long and short vowel groups are simply just the same sound, but either lengthened or shortened depending on the appearance of the diacritic.
Take a look at the different types of vowels below.
Short Vowels
Vowel | Vowel Name | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|
ອະ | Sala a | A |
ອິ | Sala i | I |
ອຶ | Sala ue | Ue |
ອຸ | Sala u | U |
ເອະ | Sala e | E |
ແອະ | Sala ae | Ae |
ໂອະ | Sala o | O |
ເອາະ | Sala aw | Aw |
ເອິ | Sala oe | Oe |
ເອັຍ | Sala ia | Ia |
ເອຶອ | Sala uea | Uea |
ອົວະ | Sala ua | Ua |
Long Vowels
Vowel | Vowel Name | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|
ອາ | Sala aa | Aa |
ອີ | Sala ii | Ii |
ອື | Sala uue | Uue |
ອູ | Sala uu | Uu |
ເອ | Sala ee | Ee |
ແອ | Sala aae | Aae |
ໂອ | Sala oo | Oo |
ອໍ | Sala o | O |
ເອີ | Sala ooe | Ooe |
ເອຍ | Sala iia | Iia |
ເອືອ | Sala uuea | Uuea |
ອົວ | Sala uua | Uua |
Special Vowels
Vowel | Vowel Name | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|
ໄອ or ໃອ | Sala ai | Ai |
ເອົາ | Sala ao | Ao |
ອໍາ | Sala am | Am |
Lao Tone Marks
The four tone marks, or vannayut (ວັນນະຍຸດ), are a key feature of syllable and word formation in Lao. They modify the tone of any syllable that they’re placed above.
Although there are four distinct tone marks, only two (x່, x້) are commonly used in spelling, while the other two (x໊, x໋) are reserved for special cases such as foreign loanwords. Their names start with ‘mai’ (ໄມ້) and end with the Sanskrit words for the numbers one to four.
Tone Mark | Name | Indication |
---|---|---|
x່ | Mai ek | Mid tone |
x້ | Mai to | Falling tone |
x໊ | Mai ti | High tone |
x໋ | Mai chadtawa | Rising tone |
How Do You Say ‘Alphabet’ In Lao?
The word for ‘alphabet’ in Lao is tua aksorn (ຕົວອັກສອນ).
Vocabulary Related To The Lao Alphabet
Now that you’ve learned the Lao alphabet, here’s some related Lao vocabulary for you to practice.
English | Lao | Roman Transcription |
---|---|---|
Alphabet | ຕົວອັກສອນ | Tua aksorn |
Consonant | ອັກສອນ | Aksorn |
Vowel | ສະຫຼະ | Sala |
Tone mark | ວັນນະຍຸດ | Vannayut |
Word | ຄໍາ | Kham |
Sentence | ປະໂຫຍກ | Payok |
To spell | ສະກົດ | Sakod |
How do we say this word? | ພວກເຮົາເວົ້າຄໍານີ້ແນວໃດ? | Phuak hao vao kham ni naew dai? |
How do we spell this word? | ພວກເຮົາສະກົດຄຳນີ້ແນວໃດ? | Phuak hao sakod kham ni naew dai? |
Frequently Asked Questions About The Lao Alphabet
1. How Many Letters Are There In The Lao Alphabet?
The Lao alphabet consists of 27 consonants, 6 compound consonants, and 28 vowels, along with various tone marks and vowel diacritics. Although there are 71 unique features, not all are used simultaneously in written Lao.
2. Is Lao A Hard Language To Learn?
For English speakers, learning Lao can be especially challenging due to it being a tonal language and having a unique script. That being said, with regular exposure and practice, it becomes easier to recognize patterns and sounds.
3. Is Lao Similar To Thai?
Lao and Thai are a part of the same Tai-Kadai language family and share historical and cultural roots. Because of this, their grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and scripts are closely related. Lao speakers can understand spoken Thai, and Thai speakers can somewhat understand spoken Lao.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
With the Lao language, consistent practice is often what’s needed to familiarize yourself with its alphabet. Taking advantage of the acrophonic system, practicing reading Lao, and working with friends or family who already know the language can be greatly beneficial when learning it.
Whether it’s working on your Lao pronunciation, Lao vocabulary, or anything in between, daily exposure and practice with resources such as the Ling app is the best way to achieve familiarity with any given language.