Language/Lao/Grammar/Questions
Hi Lao learners! ๐
In this lesson, we will focus on the question words and how to form questions in Lao.
Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Personal pronouns, Negation, Give your Opinion & Plurals.
Basic Questions[edit | edit source]
Forming basic questions in Lao is quite simple. You only need to add the question word at the beginning of the statement. For example, the question word "เปเบเบปเปเบฒ" (chao) means "you" and can be added to the beginning of the sentence to form a question about the person you are talking to. The intonation should be raised at the end of the question sentence.
- เปเบเบปเปเบฒเบกเบตเบเบฒเบเปเบเบทเปเบญ? (chao mai nang tae?) - Do you have a younger sister?
Here are some of the most common question words to use:
| Lao | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| เบซเบฒเบ | hark | if/whether |
| เบเบตเป | din | how much/many |
| เปเบกเบทเบญเบ | maung | where |
| เบงเบฑเบเปเบเบทเบญเบ | van daen | when |
| เบซเบงเบฝเบ | hwaid | how |
| เบเบปเบ | chong | what |
| เบเบงเบ | bok | why |
For example:
- เปเบเบปเปเบฒเบกเบฒเบเบฐเบเบตเปเบเบทเบเบฒเบเบเบญเบเปเบเบปเปเบฒเบชเบนเบเปเบเบเปเบงเบเบซเปเบญเบ? (khao ma ja bok pikkan boat khao sun dai wai hong?) - Why do you want to join the army with the room?
Forming Questions with เปเบฅเบฐ (lae)[edit | edit source]
Another way to form questions in Lao is to use the word "เปเบฅเบฐ" (lae) which means "and" or "as well as". This word is added at the end of a statement to form a question.
- เบเปเบญเบเบกเบตเปเบเบตเปเบกเบเบตเปเบชเบนเบเปเบเปเบเบปเปเบฒเบชเบนเบเบซเปเบญเบเปเบฅเบฐเบกเบตเปเบเบเปเบฒเบชเบปเปเบก เบซเบฒเบเปเบเบปเปเบฒเบชเบนเบเปเบเปเบฅเบตเบเปเบเบปเปเบฒเปเบเปเปเบงเปเบเป? (khoy moi phuem boat sun dai khao sun wai hong lae mai fai sama kao boat lai?)- Do you have a big room and a small window since when did you buy them?
Dialogue[edit | edit source]
Let's see some examples of questions being used in a dialogue:
- Person 1: เบเบดเบเบเบฒเบกเปเบเบเบญเบเปเบเบปเปเบฒเบเบตเปเปเบเบตเบ? (tid tamai now kong chao ti gap dao?) - What did you eat for breakfast?
- Person 2: เบเปเบญเบเบเบฐเบเบณเบเบดเบ เบซเบผเบทเบเบฐเบเบณเบเบฐเปเบเบเบญเบฒเบซเบฒเบ เบเบตเปเบฅเบฐเบเบปเบ เบเปเบญเบเปเบเปเบเบณเปเบเบปเปเบฒเบซเบผเบฒเบเบเบงเปเบฒเปเบเบเบงเบฒเบกเปเบเบตเบ (khoy katham ching ho kgatham paepan ti leebok khoy dai nam khoy nai yuaga kao ti khamked) - I ate porridge or rice depending on the menu. I ate more than usual because I was hungry.
Tips[edit | edit source]
1. To improve your Lao Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions! 2. To learn more about Lao Grammar, check out the Lao Wikipedia page Language.
Sources[edit | edit source]
โก If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
โก Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. ๐
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Demonstrative Pronouns
- Negation
- Conditional Mood
- Adjectives
- How to Use Be
- Give your Opinion
- Personal pronouns
- Future Tense
- Pronouns