How To Pronounce Laos: Laos Pronunciation
Before visiting a country, it’s important to understand how to pronounce the country’s name.
It’s somewhat uncommon knowledge of how to pronounce Laos. There are many questions surrounding its pronunciation.
What makes it even more confusing, is that the country’s name is pronounced differently in English than in Laos itself.
Luckily for you, I am a full-time traveller and a lot of my blog content focuses on Southeast Asia travel, so I am here to provide a complete guide to how to pronounce Laos to get you up to scratch.
Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
How To Pronounce Laos
As I said in the introduction, Laos is pronounced differently in the English language than how the people of Laos would pronounce their country’s name.
So depending on what pronunciation you came searching for, you have a different answer.
If you are looking to pronounce Laos in English, it is pronounced as “louse”. Like the insect, the singular of lice. Or if you were to say “house” but with an L on the front instead of an H.
Once again, it is pronounced “louse”, like the insect.
If you want to pronounce Laos “correctly”, how it is spoken in Laos, you pronounce it “lou”. This time it’s like saying the insect louse but leaving off the se. It’s the same sound at the beginning.
Or, the same sound as saying house with an L but leaving off the se.
You’ll notice that the only difference is the inclusion or exclusion of the S on the end, so it’s pretty easy to learn both pronunciations and choose which one you use depending on how you are speaking to.
When in Laos, or anywhere in Southeast Asia, it’s best to pronounce it “low” to show respect to the country and to immerse yourself in the culture of Laos.
Hopefully, this clarifies how to pronounce Laos. I remember before I learnt how to say it properly, I would try and say it how it looks. I used to say “lie-os” or something along those lines, but that is completely incorrect.
It’s either “louse” or “lou” depending on whether you want the English interpretation or Laos’s authentic pronunciation.
What Language Do They Speak In Laos?
In Laos, the official language is Lao. But how this language is spoken differs greatly across the country.
There are lots of different dialects used across the huge variety of ethnic groups of Laos. It’s such a beautiful country for diversity, and there are, in fact, 86 recorded languages in Laos!
Lao is a tonal language, which makes it similar to the language of surrounding countries. Thai, for example, is also a tonal language.
As I said, the language differs greatly across Laos. Similar to most countries, it varies in accent, pronunciation and the actual vocabulary used itself.
But the language variations have their own names too! There is Southern Lao, Northern Lao, Central Lao, and pretty much all regions, but the most common is Vientiane Laos which makes sense as Vientiane is the capital city of Laos.
To summarise, the official language of Laos is Lao.
Useful Phrases To Learn Before Visiting Laos
When visiting Laos, or any country for that matter, it’s useful to learn some basic phrases in the local language. Not only does this help you get about the country, it also shows respect and allows for a more authentic experience.
At the end of the day, you are visiting their country. They shouldn’t have to learn to speak your language. So here are 10 phrases worth learning before a trip to Laos.
| Lao | English |
|---|---|
| Sabaidi | Hello |
| Kaluna | Please |
| Khob jai | Thank you |
| Sabaidi (yes, the same as hello) | Goodbye |
| Kho a phai | Excuse me |
| Aemnaelv | Yes |
| Bo | No |
| Khony bokhaochai | I don’t understand |
| Sa bai di bo | How are you? |
For most English speakers, it’s much harder to learn languages like Lao or Thai as they are so different from the languages we are used to. For example, French or German uses the same alphabet and similar sounds, but Lao is so different.
It’s definitely worth learning the basics. The smile you see on the locals’ faces when they see you attempt to speak Lao is unimaginable. A small effort goes a long way, as the saying goes, and this really could not be more true.
Unfortunately, if like me you love learning languages on DuoLingo, this isn’t possible for learning Lao as of March 2023. It isn’t one of the available languages on the app, hopefully, it gets added in the near future.
If you are reading this and Lao is available on DuoLingo, please do let me know and I will be sure to update this article. It would be greatly appreciated.
How To Pronounce Laos: FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions related to how to pronounce Laos along with my answers.
The capital of Laos is Vientiane. You pronounce it as it looks. “Vee-en-tee-an”. Vien is like the start of pronouncing Vietnam. Tiane is like saying “tea an” as if it was those two words. It’s a pretty easy city to pronounce.
Laos in English is pronounced as “louse”. You pronounce it like house with an S instead of an H.
In the English language, Laos is pronounced with an S on the end, but in Lao, the language of Laos, Laos is pronounced without an S on the end. In English, it is “louse”, but in Lao, it is “lou”.
Laos is the country and Laos is the language.
English is spoken pretty commonly in Laos, particularly in big cities. It is part of the country’s education programmes, so most young people will be pretty fluent. The older generations’ fluency can vary from nothing to fluent. You should learn some basic Lao phrases to help you get around Laos.
How To Pronounce Laos: Conclusion
And there you have it, a complete guide for how to pronounce Laos.
Remember, it is pronounced differently in English than in Lao.
In English, Laos is pronounced as “louse”.
In Lao, Laos is pronounced as “lou”.
Hopefully, you have now learnt how to pronounce Laos and you can visit the country with confidence in your pronunciation 🙂
