Lao words and sentences December 17, 2006
Posted by Guido in General, travelling.trackback
It’s always nice to be able to say a few words and sentences when visiting a foreign country. Here you go:
Sabai dee – Hello, How are you?
Sok dee – Good bye (lit. good luck)
Kop chai (lai lai) – Thank you (very much)
Boh pen yang – You’re welcome, it doesn’t matter, it’s fine, don’t worry
Boh kau jai – I don’t understand
Koi – I, me
Tjao – You, your
Lao – He, she, him, her
Tjao seu nyang? – What’s your name?
Koi seu ….. – My name is ….
Pai talat – Go to the market
Pai wat – Go to the temple
Falang – Foreigners
Koh toht – Excuse me, sorry
Tjao – Yes
Boh – No
Juu sai… ? – Where is…?
Hong Haem – Hotel
Hong – Room
Hong naam – Bathroom (lit. water room)
Ahaan – Food
Haan ahaan – Restaurent
Saep – Good (for food or in Dutch “lekker”)
… mii boh? – Do you have….?
Koi jaak seuh … – I want to buy…
Kao – rice
Naam – Water
Toh dai – How much is it? (as is in “what is the price?”)
(Boh) Peng – (not) expensive
Teuk – Cheap
Numbers:
0 – soen
1 – nueng
2 – song
3 – saam
4 – Sii
5 – haa
6 – hok
7 – djed
8 – paed
9 – kao
10 – sib
20 – Saao
30 – Saam-sib
40 – sii-sib
50 – haa-sib
60 – hok-sib
70 – djed-sib
80 – paed-sib
90 – kao-sib
100 – loi / neung-loi
500 – haa-loi
1000 – phan
5000 – haa-pan
10.000 – meun
962 – kao-loi hok-sib song
Sticky Rice 
Please consider that it would seem very strange if you actually TRY to say something in Laos. I don’t recommend TRYING to say a Laos word with an accent like everyone else. Try to just ‘let it go with the flow’. Just a tip.
Haha! I will TRY to let it go with the flow! Still looks like a difficult language. Probably a bit like Dutch 🙂
if you think thats hard try speakin phillipino!!!!!! lol
I work around a lot of asians and the most spoken language is Lao. This is by far more difficult than Tagalog (Phillipino). Phillipino has a wide usage of English and Spanish alaphabit. This makes it very easy, for anyone speaking English, to learn. There are a few main vowels to learn and the rest is a breeze. The vowels are not hard to learn either. As I research more asian languages I find the vowels are relatively close if not the exact same. Also I recramend using chat rooms on yahoo, msn, etc… as you go through researching to help better study the language. This is what helped me with Phillipino. One more thing, I ask everyone to show the up-most respect for our oriental families as at times it may be frustrating to under them. They will usual do what they can to teach you. Lah Kon (Good Luck)
i am hawaiian and half laos and its mad easy so i dont noe wat yall is talkin about i can speak both languages ALOHA…PEOPLES….AND LAGONNN…..
how do i say will you marry me in lao
Well… you don’t. In Lao culture you acquaint yourself with the parents first and let them know your intentions. In Lao culture there is no “Will you marry me?” moment . But I guess if you would tell her that you want to build a family with her and take care of her and that you want to talk to her parents about it, that would amount to the same thing. You could say the following short sentence to her: “Koi jak ma koh jao”, which literally means “I like to come and ask for you”, but which is understood as that you want to come over to her parent to ask for her hand.
If you respect her culture, it would be nice for her if you would officially ask the parents. Traditionally you would bring your parents or somebody that is well-respected in the community (eg. an elderly person) and this person would actually do the talking for you.
Good luck!
how do you say message
can someone please help me translate english sentences to lao…I really need help.. my name is Kelly and my email address is ksxy71@yahoo.com….I really would appreciate someones help..thanks
How do you say ” You are so beautiful” in Lao and ” I will do anything for you” and ” You are an amazing woman”. My gf is Lao and I want to surprise her.
Hi Michael,
Since you have a Lao girlfriend, I’m sure you are also aware that in general, Lao people can be quite shy. That said, being too expressive or direct with your emotion can be an embarrassing thing for most. There are really no direct ways of translating the things that you’d like to say because things are expressed slightly different in Lao. In this case, I will try to translate the things closest to what you’d like to say.
You are so beautiful: Chao ngam lai.
I want to give you everything: Koi yak mob tuk yang hai jao
You are important to me: Chao bhen kon sumkun sum rub koi
I want to be everything to you: Koi yak bhen tuk yang sum rub chao
You are everything to me: Chao bhen tuk yang sum rub koi
You are the woman of my dreams: Chao bhen pu ying nai fun kong koi
Good luck!!! And I wish you lots of happiness with your Lao love.
My fiance is lao and I’ve been learning lao a little here and there from websites and his mother (ma), and…my fiance (pua), of course. I have always wondered why he is SO quiet and shy, but had no idea that it is common in Lao people to be that way, until I went to your site…so, thank you! Also, I got a tattoo on my back that reads ” Oudone’s Angel ” in Lao language. But, since I cannot read Lao (nor can my fiance), I need to see it written in Lao to compare with my tattoo. Is there any way someone could show me what ” Oudone’s Angel ” looks like written in Lao???
Thank You very much (kop jai lai lai)
how do you say im trying to eat in lao??
to say im trying to eat is Ya kouan koi, koi geen kow.
Hi,
could anyone tell me how to say: in which direction lies China? in Lao
thanks
Charlotte
its great and can u put some bad word
What does koi boh yaak vow mean?
“Koi boh yaak wow” means “I don’t want to talk”
Yes, Laos numbers 🙂
I’m fully Laos, but I never did learn the numbers.
“Sa bai dee, konoy soo Janine” (i dont think i spelled that right)
i was in the nang songkran thing didn’t win though, we had to “jok salat” (i dont think i spelled that right) lao champa didn’t show my interview on T.V 😦 it was at wat buddhasamakee or something like that. Wat Thapnimith is the wat thats closest to me, where there is a temple there is usually a lao community around it. my parents usually make me say “doi” to be respectful, and i have too bow or “nop” when i meat some one new
how do you spell Oubonh in Loa? My fiancea is loa & i WANT TO get her name tattooed on my chest in the Loa language
I am black and lao….and I am interested in getting a tattoo. An Egyptian symbol of an ANKH on my left wirst, and I am looking for a Lao symbol to put on my right wrist…even if it means the 1st letter in my name which is an “I”….my name is Ivette. CAN SOMEONE/ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE?!!?!?!!?!?!
hey homie i got draw a tattoo for my dad is gonna say rip dad or father and 1941-2009 i got the numbers down but i dont know to write r.i.p. and dad or father please help me out
what does lok nok dek no mean, my laos g/f has starting saying this when we finish our call and she will not tell me what it means. thanx
is a 1,000,000 bht dowry unheard of, this is what i am being told to offer.
Saibai dee !
haha i am 100% laotion so if you wanna know words
just hit me up on myspace or facebook !
my facebook emial is : k.siravanh@yahoo.com
and my myspace email is : ksiravanh@yahoo.com
so hit me up !
saibai dee koi pen nong sao.
Hello all or Sabai dee! I am trying to learn a few phrases in Lao. Could someone tell me how to say “It feels good to hear your voice.” in lao
For some beginner vocabulary, you guys can go to youtube and check out vaolao. He makes videos that show you common words, how to say them and spell them, and what they mean literally and comprehensively. He also discusses tones! He was a great help to me…
sok dee der!
rphondeth
How do I say “I love to hear your voice” in Lao?
OH my. My boyfriend is Laos and i am half Lao and Hmong.. My dad is Hmong and my mom is Lao.. Kinda funny how i was taught to speak in hmong.. I always wanted to learn laos.. At least i can speak a little bit of lao.. OK mayb sample stuff like hello, thank you, Whats the matter, crazy u know like sample stuff but can never put it into a sentence.. But i do sometimes understand what they are saying.. LOL its just weird. I can understand it a little but i can’t speak it.. I guess my tongue isn’t meant to be twisted a little bit more.. but to hear the words..
my family came from laos soo im good
well iam lena and iam white and half lao my dad is from lao and my stepmom was vitem and thai… iam trying to learn how to speak lao again
Can anyone translate this to english
Hoaw hoo gan ma don lie kuam hoo suk cha ot bo dai
@M.J. Translation: “We know each other for so long. Certain feelings can no longer be controlled anymore.”
HI! my boyfriend is Lao and I was wanting a tattoo to say love or happiness in Laos. The question is would it be letters or is there a symbol too use? i have looked all over the internet and can not find the answer. I wanted too surprise him but no luck so far.
could i get this translated please. HUK LAI LAI DER????
I want to know this too Bethany. What is the English translation for “huk lai lai der”??
@Bethany and @Fiona: That means “I love you very much”.
im laos
im 100% lao so i just learned my numbers i never new them i only know the words so i hope yall hak jou lai lai!!!!!!!! lolx
my bad thats khoi
Veomani, after reading your translations, you are well verse in the laotian language. That is awesome! I would like your help to translate some words for me. My appreciation in advance.
How are these words said in lao? Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire
I like this language a lot. [: Because I speak it!
Ei Ma Na..
how do u say “hes so cute”
how you would say he’s so cute is:
pu sigh ngam lai. im mixed lao, thai and indian so i speak full lao. I just hope i spelled that right!!
Sabaidee.. khoi ka pen khon lao der..
pu dai yark hou yung, ka tham khoi lod..
khoi souy jao dai…
Guten Tag ich bin Laote..
ich kann euch auch helfen, wenn ihr eine übersetzung braucht..
aha im 12 i read this i was browsing the internet for a little laos challenge aha i totally passed this~ not bragging hehe but laos yeah i understand if you werent born as a laos person or havent heard it yeah, , it will be difficult but dont worry i wish ya luck for those whose learning. and right now im learning japanese by myself aha soooo wish me luck!
Sabaidee, Buk Lao! how jao vao “sofa and word” in lao.
Kop Chai lai lai dur!!!!
hey layla!! im 12 also!! yeah when i get bored im just browsing on dis 2!!
Some of these words/phrases are wrong:
Tjao seu nyang? should be seu tjao nyang?
Koi seu … should be seu koi …
Juu sai? should be Yuu sai?
Tjao (yes) should Uuhh or Doi, depending on who you are saying it to. Never heard anybody use Tjao as yes.
Other than that, the list looks good. Although this is bare minimum and you’d probably need more words/phrases
Hi Laa. Thanks for the suggestions and your offer to correct some of my Lao. However, some of the phrases are written in certain context with specific sentences in mind. And Tjao (yes) is actually widely used in Laos, especially in the service industry (hotels, restaurants, etc..). So for my guests who came to my wedding in Laos, it makes sense for them to understand that Tjao means yes. I hardly ever use the word when I speak to my friends/family, but in Laos it’s a very common form of “yes” that is exchanged, so I find myself using the same term. Of course in temples and to the elderly, “tjao” is replaced with “doi”.
And to GeeGee, “he’s so cute” is literally “lao na hak lai”. “Lao” is used as a general term for she/he and “na hak” is cute while “lai” is very. Hope that helps. Are you planting these words on a cute Lao guy ;)???
heyyy @Veomani is there a way of saying apple in lao? thnkzx yew!
would you happen to know what “Eee ha muang khon yang” means?
Eee ha Muang Khon Yang.. pae va ka jao vao bor muan lae dai ni..
das heisst: du dumme kuh woher stammst du?
wer hat dir das gesagt?
HOW YOU WRITE (WELCOME IN LAOS)
i thought “falang” meant france?!?!?
@koipenlao – You’re right, “Falang” literally means “France/French”. But since the French used to occupy Laos, all foreigners in general have been referred to as “Falang.”
http://www.youtube.com/user/GRADVIDEOLCI2K1
Look at my videos to learn Laos Language
How do you say ” will you wear the necklace I gave you”? In Laos please
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all your comments but please realize that this website was created as a guide to Laos for all of my guests who were attending my wedding in 2007. If you are looking for a translating service, I suggest you’d be better off finding someone that does that professionally. Again, thanks for all your comments but perhaps it’s time to move on to other websites where there’s a bit more activity going on? I don’t come here often and hardly check the comments published so if you don’t see a reply, it’s pretty much the reason why.
Best wishes to all of you!
can anyone translate to english plz.
leo jao khit war mouphee nee ka nar si huk kheu meepooh nai jor bor
someone please help. translate to english
mun kheun kub khon yark huk.
hou leo yar bork Toun der
war… kheu va nai tv bor dai pen to bab nee nar…ngong
last one english pleaese.
kh hou leo wao y kan hun
What is the word “us”??
i need it(: thanks guys.
Both my parents speak and they put it as the computer password 😉
fitness centre
It’s appropriate time to make a few plans for the longer term and it is time to be happy. I have learn this post and if I may just I wish to suggest you some attention-grabbing issues or suggestions. Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article. I desire to learn even more issues approximately it!
may I know how to speak Teacher and Friend in Laos Language.
teacher is:
Naa-Koo
and
Friend is:
Moo (be careful because if you pronounce it one way it could come out as the lao word for pig!) 😉
My friend is competing in the Miss Lao New year competition… or nang sang khan. I was actually trying to find out how to write that in lao’s symbols… If someone could direct me to an image or webpage that would be great.
Be careful with Moo. I’ve lived in Northern Thailand for 10 years, speak Lao everyday and even last week at my sons parent teacher day I had everyone in hysterics with ‘moo’
I am willing to help how to say anything in Laos, but not everything I can say because I can only do my best. Have yourself a nice day.
I like dis site
I have a girl dat live in laos but i dont no how to tell her to give me her phone number wot to say. Pls
Pls help me to translat this to english jao man kon lao va
Hi Arshanel,
Thanks for visiting my website but like I said earlier, it’s a personal website that was set up years ago for my friends/family who were traveling to Laos to attend my wedding. Please don’t mistaken it as a place for translating service.
Good luck with your Lao love and all the best of luck.
Veomani
Thx for making this, it really helped me :D.
-Allison Soumphont
Great job!! But the hotel is wrong. It’s actually Long laam.
Thanks for pointing that out Geester but the “L” pronunciation is actually a lazy “R” sound in Thai for the word hotel but in Lao, people pronounce it with the “H” or if you know Lao alphabets, it’s written with a “ຮ”. So many people have come in here to leave a comment but please know that this site was made for my personal use and not to enlighten the general public about Laos, it’s beautiful culture or language but simply to inform my family and friends on how to better prepare themselves for their trip to Laos. I know that everyone wants to contribute and utter their words of advice or version of what they think is correct, but please note that there are many expressions in Lao and sometimes what I’ve suggested here is not commonly used among friends/family (for example, the word yes, which I wrote on here as “jao”) but it is very common in the customer service arena where most of my guests would have encountered during their stay. I am Lao, and therefore, speak, read and write it as well and have traveled to Laos numerous times and have tried my best to create a mini-guide for my guests that would help them navigate Laos like a local. No offense implied to any of my Lao Americans who have yet to make a trip to this very special country.
My name is natasha harris and i’m laos. all of the words are correct.I love being laos. By the way i’m 8 years old.
Hey guys i’m not laos but my hot boyfriend is. My boy friend talks laos to me alot but i understand some words.
Number 75 is wrong.Hotel is right.Its not long laam.cause im laos.
How do you say “goodnight”. & “dream about me”. Sorry and. “do you think about me”. ??
The last 1 forgot to put, when u at home & work,,,so the last 1 is. “do u ever think about me when u at home & work?”..
How do you say “hope” in Laotian?
Hey Veomani you say Lao people are shy I never knew that because my 100% Lao mother is VERY outgoing and so is the rest of her side of the family except one uncle. ຖ້າທ່ານສາມາດອ່ານນີ້, ຊົມເຊີຍ
If you want to know what the written Lao part of my last comment said, you could out of curiosity copy and paste on google translate 😉
How to say, You have a beautiful smile in laos?
I’m only 70% or 80% Laos because my mom and dad are from Laos but, I’m from America and I really want to know how to write letters in Laos!
Hi to all. Being able to under the modern language is great. Especially for foreigners trying to learn the standard language of Laos. But aware that there are more dialects associated with Laos’ people. There are at least 15 types of dialects or more spoken in Laos’ languages. There’s Lao, Lao Hmong, Lao Mei, Lao Tong and so forth. In the city such as Vientiane, standard Laos’ language is the national spoken language.
hi, plz help me>_<
i want to make my bf surprise!!
im a korean
anyway how can i say "i will alway be by ur side"
and also i m finding foriegn friends.
any country , any nation
plz add me ^^
My coder is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.
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How do I say, “I don’t like her.” I want to tell my mom in law that I dislike someone without them understanding me.
I’m actually a Laos person but its a little hard to speak
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I’m laotian and I speak and understand it. Just can’t speak it as much as I did when I was younger. I was wondering if anyone can tell me a translation for this quote into the Laos language… “Words can’t say what love can do.” I also wanted to know how it’s written also, because I don’t know if google translate will translate it correctly
Inhthong P. Vannachai, please advise of news or gossip related to this person.
[…] Hola/Chau/Como estás se dice “Sabai dee” y se pronuncia “sabadii”. En este link pueden aprender […]
I don’t believe yes is tjao
Tjao means you/your,
I believe yes is doh (do-yeh)
@Nitaya, it’s true, “tjao” (or “chao”) literally means “you” but in the service industry in Laos, everyone says “tjao,” which is another polite form of “yes.” “Doy” is only used when addressing elderly people or religious monks, but they don’t use that term loosely in the service industry. Travel to Laos and you’ll hear everyone say “tjao” throughout the country when you’re a guest in a hotel or restaurant. They use the same term in Northern Thailand in places like Chiangmai as well in case you’re wondering. Just go to Laos. You’ll be pleasantly surprised ;).
Does anyone know of a Lao “love quote” that loosely translates into english as, “May my thoughts land upon only you?” If so, what would that be in Laotion? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this site. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your site? kdadgbfgbdce
hey guys I see abbreviation KL a lot, and it means kon Lao but I still don’t get what kon Lao means, knowing a bit of thai I assumed kon means people, so does KL means people of Laos or smth ? thanks a lot
How do you say what are you doing in lao language
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Cheers!
what is Good Morning everyone in Lao?
I lived 2 years in this lovely Muang lao and got some knowledge about daily speaking and reading. I think anglo-american people do make mistake when they write lao language, putting ,for exemple, r at the end of some words when there is no need. It’s a little pityfull to look at written translation (in English) of lao songs on Ypu tube, for instance.
A guy from Brittany
Sokdee doe
Sabai dee. Big favor could someone help me say this in Lao. Thx a bunch ahead. How do u say/write this in Lao. I will miss you very much . Never forget you will always be my little sister!
I miss speaking Lao and being around kon Lao. I spoke Lao at am intermediate level! Now I’m debating practicing it on mt own.. I no longer have any Lao people to hangout with.
I want to impress my friend by learning Laos could anybody tell me is this how to say happy in Laos :souk-saan: And could some body tell me some good things to say to her
I like to learn n know more
Keu-i…keuuu-eye (that’s trying to stress SOUNDS, because they do NOT translate well. Koi is NOT what u want to say! That is the word for the “male genitalia”; not in a polite way, either. Please be careful & ASK someone BEFORE traveling, or go on YouTube & listen. It’s not a phonetic language like English. It’s tonal. Mah, maa, maeh all sound similar. But-one means horse, one means dog & one means mom. And depending on how u properly say it & stress it, is extremely important. You’d find very angry people if you asked about a horse & they misunderstood & think u called them a dog. (Extremely offensive!) best of luck learning the language, it is tricky to learn the words but it’s not hard once you comprehend the vocabulary to make sentences. 😊👍
My wife is Laotian and we have been married for 22 yrs. I am pretty sure that “Hom” is the word for male genitalia and “Hee” is the word for female genitalia. “Nyai” is large and “Noi” is small. “Min” is smelly as in “Thot Min” or stinky feet. Hom Noi or Hee Noi is commonly used to refer to little boy or girl.
how do you say i love you to the moon and back in laos?
love you
WHAT DOES KOO SEE KAH EE HA NEE DEE KHON MEAN?
@LaoGirl
Excellent point in distinguishing the different tones and correct enunciation when using Lao words that sound similar but have different meaning.
@John
Congratulations on being married for 22 years John. However, your understanding of Lao language needs a little help. “Koi” is commonly used when referring to self when speaking amongst peers. There are other words you’d use when speaking to elders or when speaking formally but I won’t go into that. So, “Koy” sounds very similar to “Koi” but “Koy” refers to the male genitalia, specifically the male fallace itself. Also, it’s improper for anyone to refer to a male child as “hom noi” or a female child as “hee noi”… Instead we say “dek noi” which is small children in general. Or we say ” sai noi ” for young boy or “sao noi ” for young girl.
@demi
Please be wary around whoever is saying this to you because what you’re saying loosely translates to
” I’m going to kill this b**ch “
I am half laotian and half white. However I was not raised in Lao culture at all. My dad, the one who is Laotian, lives in another state, we speak occassionally but I dont know the language. My sister and I want sister tattoos and decided we would like the word sister or older sister and younger sister in lao. Its something small that represents that part of us. I was just hoping someone could point me to a site that shows what those words look like in lao. I googled the words and found them. I dont to get a tattoo that is incorrect though so I want to be sure its right. Thanks in advance.
Thank You
delighted to stumble onto your post
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Easy to learn.. Thank you
Okay so my boyfriend is Loa and i never know what hes talking about with his friends…i ask but i know hes probably lieing. Its his actions and the way he speaks certain words. SOO what im asking is, Anyone translate certain words in loa..there pretty dirty so can someone who speaks Loa really good and knows for sure what these words im curious about are…Email me please!! The words i wanna know about are sexual. I have a feeling he’s messed around on me and im just trying to find out please. Email me plzz.
My Email:: lilcutevixenxoxo@gmail.com
i still don’t understand how and where does the translator got the spelling for older sister in Laos as “euony or eunoni or eunay or eui or euoi or hoi? i guess the closest one will be hoi or euoi :):):) Besides, our Lao words were not spelled or written in/with A,B,C alphabets even though our country was colonized by the French. With all respects to the French, we Lao should at least keep some of our words spelling in French and not by someone making up the spelling for us young people 🙂
Such words like:
Mother – is mere – not mea or mae
Underwear – is salip – not gon gaine nai (that’s thai)
I think numbers like 11, 21, 31 etc etc. would be a good inclusion. It’s the meaning of a number and 1 so someone isn’t saying Sib-nueng for example.
11 – Sib-et
21 – Saao-et
31 – Saam-sib-et
And so forth.
But very helpful post.
Thanks Christian.
Hi, anyone knows how the greeting of “Hello Friend” is said or written in Laos? Thanks