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Useful Lao Travel Phrases: Greetings

Writer: Roxy Fleming
Roxy Fleming
Oct 29
3 min read

Spoken in:Ā Laos; also Thailand (Isan region).Ā 

Language known locally as:Ā Phasa Lao.Ā 

Alphabet:Ā Lao script (derived from Khmer script).


Travelling to a Lao speaking country and don't know a word of Lao?


No problem!


Travel With Confidence has you covered!!!


I'm Roxy, a veteran solo traveler who has been on the road since 2008. Every time I visited a new country, I found I needed to know a certain set of phrases to win the smiles of the locals 😃 After a while I realised I had created a master list of travel phrases; and I knew that if I had these phrases translated before landing in my new destination, then I would leave there with more than just photos and memories, I’d leave knowing I’d connected with the people who made each place special.Ā You see I learnt that you don’t need to be fluent in a language to make a big difference; sometimes, just a few simple phrases can turn a stranger into a friend.



  • Travel With Confidence
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I began buying travel phrasebooks but soon realised they were full of unnecessary phrases which were simply added in to fill pages! All that meant was carrying around dead weight. šŸ‘ŽšŸ¼ No thank you!


That's why I decided to create my own phrasebook!


What began as a personal project, evolved into a mission to help fellow travelers worldwide. With the help of native speakers I met along my way, I began translating my list of phrases into 114 languages. Why 114 you ask? There are over 7,000 languages worldwide, but I determined that all you would need is 114 languages to communicate in every single country. 😮


I have now published my translations in a book called Travel With Confidence The World Phrasebook; which is available to download or purchase from Amazon.


In the meantime, here are my useful Lao travel phrases, for free šŸ¤‘


Useful Lao Travel Phrases

Lao Greetings


English

Lao

Pronunciation

Hello

ąŗŖąŗ°ąŗšąŗ²ąŗąŗ”ąŗµ

sah-bye-dee

Good morning

ąŗŖąŗ°ąŗšąŗ²ąŗąŗ”ąŗµąŗ•ąŗ­ąŗ™ą»€ąŗŠąŗ»ą»‰ąŗ²

sa-bai-dee ton chao

Good afternoon

ąŗŖąŗ°ąŗšąŗ²ąŗąŗ”ąŗµąŗ•ąŗ­ąŗ™ąŗšą»ˆąŗ²ąŗ

sah-bye-dee tawn bye

Good evening

ąŗŖąŗ°ąŗšąŗ²ąŗąŗ”ąŗµąŗ•ąŗ­ąŗ™ą»ąŗ„ąŗ‡

sah-bye-dee tawn laeng

Goodnight

ąŗ™ąŗ­ąŗ™ąŗ«ąŗ¼ąŗ±ąŗšąŗąŗ±ąŗ™ąŗ”ąŗµ

nawn lap fan dee

Goodbye

ąŗ„ąŗ²ąŗą»ˆąŗ­ąŗ™

lah khawn

Have a nice day

ąŗ‚ą»ą»ƒąŗ«ą»‰ąŗ”ąŗµąŗ”ąŗ·ą»‰ąŗ”ąŗµ

kaw hai mee meu dee

How are you?

ąŗŖąŗ°ąŗšąŗ²ąŗąŗ”ąŗµąŗšą»?

sah-bye-dee baw?

I’m good, and you?

ąŗ‚ą»‰ąŗ­ąŗąŗŖąŗ°ąŗšąŗ²ąŗąŗ”ąŗµ, ą»ąŗ„ą»‰ąŗ§ą»€ąŗˆąŗ»ą»‰ąŗ²ą»€ąŗ”?

Khony sabaidi aelv chao de

Please

ກະຄຸນນາ

kah-loo-nah

Thank you

ąŗ‚ąŗ­ąŗšą»ƒąŗˆ

khawp chai

You’re welcome

ąŗšą»ą»ˆą»€ąŗ›ąŗ±ąŗ™ąŗ«ąŗąŗ±ąŗ‡

baw pen nyahng

Enjoy your meal

ą»€ąŗŠąŗµąŗ™ą»ąŗŠąŗš

Soenaesb

I love you

ąŗ‚ą»‰ąŗ­ąŗąŗ®ąŗ±ąŗą»€ąŗˆąŗ»ą»‰ąŗ²

khoy hak chow

What’s your name?

ą»€ąŗˆąŗ»ą»‰ąŗ²ąŗŠąŗ·ą»ˆąŗ«ąŗąŗ±ąŗ‡?

chow seu nyahng?

My name is ____

ąŗ‚ą»‰ąŗ­ąŗąŗŠąŗ·ą»ˆĀ ____

khoy seu ____

Nice to meet you

ąŗąŗ“ąŗ™ąŗ”ąŗµąŗ—ąŗµą»ˆą»„ąŗ”ą»‰ąŗ®ąŗ¹ą»‰ąŗˆąŗ±ąŗ

nin dee tee dai hoo jak

Where are you from?

ą»€ąŗˆąŗ»ą»‰ąŗ²ąŗ”ąŗ²ąŗˆąŗ²ąŗą»ƒąŗŖ?

chow mah chak sai?

I’m from ____

ąŗ‚ą»‰ąŗ­ąŗąŗ”ąŗ²ąŗˆąŗ²ąŗĀ ____

khoy mah chak ____

I’m ____

ąŗ‚ą»‰ąŗ­ąŗą»ąŗ”ą»ˆąŗ™Ā ____

khoy maen ____

Cheers!

ąŗąŗ»ąŗ!

Nyok!


Now you've got all the Lao Greetings travel phrases nailed, search through my other blogs to find:


  • Lao Travel Basics Travel Phrases

  • Lao Food & Dining Travel Phrases

  • Lao Days & Numbers Travel Phrases


I'm busy uploading my entire book onto this website, so you can have it all for free. Why? Because I know that not everyone can afford to buy everything they want. I was a poor traveler for MANY years myself, so I know the struggle!


Therefore these blogs are my gift to travelers worldwide šŸŽ


However, if you don't want to spend all day searching through blogs and want your very own copy of my book to have at hand, when and where you need it, then head over to Amazon now and grab a copy.


The best thing about having your very own copy is:


You won't ever have to rely on wifi or data to communicate what you need!


From my many years of travel, this is without a doubt THE BEST REASON TO OWN MY BOOK!


You may think that everywhere has wifi or signal these days because that's the world you are used to. But when you land in a third world country or you trek out into remote locations, you quickly realise that your phone is absolutely useless in your new environment!


So make sure you're prepared for all eventualities and don't get caught out!



Want to look inside the book?


Download a sample version here šŸ‘‡šŸ½


Travel With Confidence The World Phrasebook

The Perfect Travel Companion!


Don't shop on Amazon? Send me an email at travelwithconfidence.world@gmail.comĀ and I'll arrange a personal copy direct to you!


Stay safe and happy travels,

Roxy.

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