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Tones

Lao, as spoken in Vientiane, has five tones. 

Chart Showing the Relationship between Syllable Types,
Written Tones, and 5-Tone Vientiane Lao
          

 

 Smooth/Live Syllables*

Checked/Dead Syllables**
Written Tone Marks Inherent Tone Tone 1/ ek.gif (262 bytes) Tone 2/ to.gif (284 bytes)  Long Vowel Short Vowel
Syllable-Initial Consonant Class
High Class [su4uN]
0 l 4 z / s                        
LOW RISING   4

HIGH-MID    #

LOW FALLING   3 LOW    FALLING   3 HIGH RISING   2
Middle Class [kaaN]
d 9 f 8 [ x 1 v
LOW RISING   4 HIGH-MID    # HIGH FALLING    1 LOW   FALLING   3 HIGH RISING   2
Low Class [ta#m]
7 - m r 2 I '  p o , i ] ;
HIGH RISING   2 HIGH-MID    # HIGH FALLING    1 HIGH FALLING   1 HIGH-MID    #
            
*A syllable that ends in a -p, t, k, or glottal stop is a dead/checked syllable.
**A syllable that ends in a long vowel or a final -m, -n, -ng, y, or w is smooth/live

                        

Example of Vientiane Tone

                      

First Consonant Final Consonant / k Syllables Listen
d/k Xhkd dhkd Listen
9/c Xhkd 9hkd
f/d Xhkd fhkd
8/t Xhkd 8hkd
[/b Xhkd [hkd
x/p Xhkd xhkd
1/p Xhkd 1hkd
v/? Xhkd vhkd
         
                 
       
First Consonant Final Consonant/ b Syllables Listen
d/k

Xhk[

 dhk[ Listen
9/c Xhk[ 9hk[
f/d Xhk[ fhk[
8/t Xhk[ 8hk[
[/b Xhk[ [hk[
x/p Xhk[ xhk[
1/p Xhk[ 1hk[
v/? Xhk[ vhk[
     
           
            
              
First Consonant Final Consonant/ d Syllables Listen
d/k Xhkf dhkf Listen
9/c Xhkf 9hkf
f/d Xhkf fhkf
8/t Xhkf 8hkf
[/b Xhkf [hkf
x/p Xhkf xhkf
1/p Xhkf 1hkf
v/? Xhkf vhkf
  
 
Chart Showing the Relationship Between the 4 Written Tone Marks and the 5 Spoken Tones of  Lao

Click on the speaker icon to listen to the pronunciation

  

No Written Tone Mark i_tone.gif (446 bytes) mai_to_tone.gif (481 bytes) mai_tee+tone.gif (557 bytes) mai_jatthawa_tone.gif (471 bytes) Listem
dk / kaa djk dhk dHk dJk Listen
g9k / caw g9jk g9hk g9Hk g9Jk
fu/ dii fuj fuh fuH fuJ
g8/ tee g8j g8h g8H g8J
g[p/ bia g[jp g[hp g[Hp g[Jp
wx/ pay wxj wxh wxH wxJ
c1/ yee c1j c1h c1H c1J
3v/ ?oo 3vj 3vh 3vH 3vJ
                     
      
            
                
                   

Consonants

 
The Lao alphabet is made up of 33 consonants representing 21 sounds.   These consonants are divided into three groups.

Lao consonants, their approximate English equivalents, and IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcriptions appear below:
                      
1. Akson Su4uN/High Class Consonants 

  

Click on each speaker icon and underlined word   to listen to the pronunciation
Lao English IPA Sample English Words Sample Lao Words Sounds & Meanings
kh

Kh
k (aspirated) kh kart w0j kha#i/ egg
 
s

s
s s saw glnv sy4y/ a tiger
d

spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
d d deck gfad de2k/ a child
ph

ph
p (aspirated) ph paw gzyh' phyy1N/ bees
f

f
f f finch /qo fo2n/ rain
 
h

spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
h h hang sjko ha#an/ a goose
ng

ng
ng N song gs'ao Nen / a civet cat
y

y
y y yam sphk ya3a/ grass
m

m
m m man |k ma2a/ a dog
n

n
n n nancy V6 nu2u/ a rat
l

l
l l land s^k la2a/  a spinner
v

v
v v van s;u vii2/ a comb
                    
  
   
 
2. Akson KaaN/Middle Class Consonants 

   

Click on each speaker icon and the underlined word to listen to the pronunciation
Lao English IPA Sample English Words Lao Words Sounds & Meanings
k k
g (unaspirated) k gas wdj ka#i/ chicken
j j
j (voiceless) c jaw Vk9vd ma2ajO3Ok/ a fox
t spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
t (unaspirated) t stay 8k ta4a/ eyes
th th
t (aspirated) th talk 3( tho4/ a jug
b spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
b b boy c[h bE4E/ a goat
p p
p (unaspirated) p spy xk pa4a/ fish
y y
y y young 1k ya4a/ medichine
aw aw
glottal stop ? jaw 3v ?O4O/ a bowl
                         

 

  
   
  
3. Akson Ta#m/Low Class Consonants 

Click on each speaker icon and underlined word   to listen to the pronunciation
Lao English IPA Sample English Words Sample Lao Words Sounds & Meanings
kh kh
k (aspirated) kh kart 7;kp khai 2/ a buffalo
ng ng
ng N hang 'q; Nu2a/ a cow
x x
s s saw -hk' sa1aN/ an elephant
y y
ny y 'nyet' (Russian 'no') p5' yu2N/ a mosquito
th th
t (aspirated) th talk m5' thu2N/ a flag
n n
n n no oqd no#k/ a bird
m m
m m man c,; mE2Ew/ a cat
ph ph
p (aspirated) ph paw r6 phu2u/ mountain
f f
f f finch w2 fa2i/ fire
h h
h h hang gInv hy2a / a boat
l l
l l law ]u' li2N/ a monkey
v v
v (w final) v (w) van ;u wi2i/ a fan
l l
l l      
        
    
   
   
 

Lao Vowels

               
Vowels in the Lao language can appear before, after, above, below, and around consonants.  The vowel itself, however, determines its placement.  For instance, the vowel, k , always appears after the consonant, as in,   dk ( kaa / crow).  The vowel,   6 , always appears below the consonant, as in,   x6 (puu / crab).  Vowels that "wrap around" a consonant are actually two or more vowels combined to form a sound.  For instance, the vowels  g F k F   q  combine to form the sound "ao," like cow.  This vowel would then be placed "around" a consonant, such as  0 to form the word  g0qhk  (kao/ rice).  In the list below, an "X" will be placed to designate the position of the consonant(s).
               
Lao vowels consist of 28 vowels which represent 27 sounds.  Lao vowels can divided into 3 groups following the table below.
 
1.   Lao Short Vowel Sounds - short, final, glottalized
   
   

Click on each speaker icon and underlined word to listen to the pronunciation 

Lao IPA Sample Lao Words Sounds & Meanings
01a.gif (355 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
a? dtfko ka2?daan/ blackbroad
03i.gif (332 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
i? dtxy ka2?pi2?/ shrimp past
05ue.gif (345 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
y s,kdvb maak-y / pumpkin
07u.gif (300 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
u? 75 ku2?/ a bucket
12aa.gif (442 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
E? cdt kE2?/ a sheep
11ae.gif (408 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
e? g8t te2?/ kick
13o1.gif (438 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
o? 38t to / table
16au2.gif (421 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
O? g[kt bO?/ a cushion
21ua.gif (464 bytes) spkr1.gif (932 bytes)
ua? 8q;t