Language/Lao/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation
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Lao or Laotian (autonym: ພາສາລາວ, /pʰaː˦.saː˨˦.laːw˦/), sometimes referred to as Laotian, is spoken in Laos and northeast Thailand. It is a language of the Tai group, of the so-called Kam-Tai branch of the Tai-Kadai language family. It is the official language of Laos. Like other Tai languages, Lao is a tonal language and has a complex system of relational markers. In this lesson, we will focus on the Lao alphabet and pronunciation. After mastering this lesson, you can also explore other related topics such as Lao Vocabulary - Express Surprise, Lao Vocabulary - Days of the week, and How to Say Goodbye in Lao. Enjoy your journey into the fascinating world of the Lao language! 😊🇱🇦
Alphabet[edit | edit source]
Consonants[edit | edit source]
| Letter | Name | IPA for initial | IPA for final |
|---|---|---|---|
| ກ | ກ ໄກ່ | /k/ | /k/ |
| ຂ | ຂ ໄຂ່ | /kʰ, x/ | /k/ |
| ຄ | ຄ ຄວາຍ | /kʰ, x/ | /k/ |
| ງ | ງ ງົວ, ໂງ່ | /ŋ/ | /ŋ/ |
| ຈ | ຈ ຈອກ | /tɕ/ | /t/ |
| ສ | ສ ເສືອ | /s/ | /t/ |
| ຊ | ຊ ຊ້າງ | /s/ | /t/ |
| ຍ | ຍ ຍຸງ | /ɲ/ | /j/ |
| ດ | ດ ເດັກ | /d/ | /t/ |
| ຕ | ຕ ຕາ | /t/ | /t/ |
| ຖ | ຖ ຖົງ | /tʰ/ | /t/ |
| ທ | ທ ທຸງ | /tʰ/ | /t/ |
| ນ | ນ ນົກ | /n/ | /n/ |
| ບ | ບ ແບ້ | /b/ | /p/ |
| ປ | ປ ປາ | /p/ | |
| ຜ | ຜ ເຜິ້ງ | /pʰ/ | /p/ |
| ຝ | ຝ ຝົນ | /f/ | /p/ |
| ພ | ພ ພູ | /pʰ/ | /p/ |
| ຟ | ຟ ໄຟ | /f/ | |
| ມ | ມ ແມວ | /m/ | /m/ |
| ຢ | ຢ ຢາ | /j/ | |
| ຣ | ຣ ຣົຖ, ຣະຄັງ | /r/,/l/ | /n/ |
| ລ | ລ ລີງ | /l/ | /n/ |
| ວ | ວ ວີ | /ʋ/,/w/ | /w/ |
| ຫ | ຫ ຫ່ານ | /h/ | |
| ຫ | ຫ ຫ່ານ | /h/ | |
| ອ | ອ ໂອ | /ʔ/ | |
| ຮ | ຮ ເຮືອນ | /h/ |
Vowels[edit | edit source]
| Diacritic | IPA |
|---|---|
| ◌ະ, ັ | /a/ |
| ິ | /i/ |
| ຶ | /ɯ/ |
| ຸ | /u/ |
| ເ◌ະ, ເັ | /e/ |
| ແ◌ະ, ແັ | /ɛ/ |
| ໂ◌ະ, ົ | /o/ |
| ເ◌າະ, ັອ | /ɔ/ |
| ເິ | /ɤ/ |
| ◌າ | /aː / |
| ີ | /iː / |
| ື | /ɯː / |
| ູ | /uː / |
| ເ◌ | /eː/ |
| ແ◌ | /ɛː/ |
| ໂ◌ | /oː/ |
| ໍ, ◌ອ | /ɔː/ |
| ເີ | /ɤː/ |
| ເັຍະ, ັຽ | /iə/ |
| ເືອ | /ɯə/ |
| ົວະ, ັວ | /uə/ |
| ໄ◌, ໃ◌, ັຍ | /aj/ |
| ເົາ | /aw/ |
| ເ◌ຍ, ◌ຽ | /iːə/ |
| ເືອ | /ɯːə/ |
| ົວ, ◌ວ | /uːə/ |
| ◌າຍ | /aːj/ |
| ຳ | /am/ |
| ໌ | ∅ |
Phonology[edit | edit source]
Consonant[edit | edit source]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | plain | lab. | |||
| Plosive | voiced | b | d | |||||||
| voiceless | p | t | tɕ | tɕʷ | k | kʷ | ʔ | ʔʷ | ||
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | tʷʰ | kʰ | kʷʰ | |||||
| Fricative | f | s | sʷ | h | ||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋʷ | |||||
| Approximant | ʋ | l | lʷ | j | ||||||
Vowels[edit | edit source]
Short[edit | edit source]
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unr. | rnd. | ||||
| Diphthongs | iə̯ | ɨə̯ ~ ɯə̯ | uə̯ | ||
| Monophthongs | Close | i | ɨ ~ ɯ | u | |
| Close-mid | e | ə ~ ɤ | o | ||
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |||
| Open | a | ||||
Long[edit | edit source]
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unr. | rnd. | ||||
| Diphthongs | iːə̯ | ɨːə̯ ~ ɯːə̯ | uːə̯ | ||
| Monophthongs | Close | iː | ɨː ~ ɯː | uː | |
| Close-mid | eː | əː ~ ɤː | oː | ||
| Open-mid | ɛː | ɔː | |||
| Open | aː | ||||
Videos[edit | edit source]
Lao Online Virtual Keyboard[edit | edit source]