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Thai vs Lao


Lao
Lao
Lao vs Thai


Countries

Countries
Thailand  
Laos  

Total No. Of Countries
1  
14
1  
14

National Language
Thailand  
Laos, Northeastern Thailand  

Second Language
Not spoken in any of the countries  
Not spoken in any of the countries  

Speaking Continents
Asia  
Asia  

Minority Language
Burma, Cambodia, Laos  
Not spoken in any of the countries  

Regulated By
Royal Society of Thailand (ราชบัณฑิตยสภา)  
Not Available  

Interesting Facts
  • Thai is tonal language and also it is very repetitive and exaggerative language.
  • You should learn thai language with native speakers and not with books or recorders, since speaking and writing in thai are not the same.
  
  • There is no space left between words, only between phrases or sentences in Lao language.
  • The Lao alphabets has been reformed many times over the past 50 years.
  

Similar To
Lao Language  
Thai Language  

Derived From
Khmer Language  
Pali, Sanskrit and Old Khmer Languages  

Alphabets

Alphabets in
Thai-Alphabets.jpg#200  
Lao-Alphabets.jpg#200  

Alphabets
44  
24
53  
32

Phonology
  
  

How Many Vowels
32  
21
28  
20

How Many Consonants
44  
33
27  
17

Scripts
Thai  
Thai and Lao Braille  

Writing Direction
Left-To-Right, Horizontal  
Left-To-Right, Horizontal  

Hard to Learn
  
  

Language Levels
3  
2
6  
5

Time Taken to Learn
44 weeks  
11
44 weeks  
11

Greetings

Hello
สวัสดี (S̄wạs̄dī)  
ສະບາຍດີ (sába̖ai-di̖i)  

Thank You
ขอบคุณ (K̄hxbkhuṇ)  
ຂອບໃຈ (khàwp ja̖i)  

How Are You?
คุณเป็นอย่างไร? (Khuṇ pĕn xỳāngrị?)  
ສະບາຍດີບ (sába̖ai-di̖i baw?)  

Good Night
นอนหลับฝันดี (Nxn h̄lạb f̄ạn dī)  
ໃນຕອນກາງຄືນ ທີ່ດີ (naitonkangkhun thidi)  

Good Evening
สวัสดี (S̄wạs̄dī)  
ສະ​ບາຍ​ດີ​ຕອນ​ແລງ (sa bai di ton aelng)  

Good Afternoon
สวัสดีตอนบ่าย (S̄wạs̄dī txn b̀āy)  
ສະ​ບາຍ​ດີ​ຕອນ​ສວາຍ (sa bai di ton suaai)  

Good Morning
อรุณสวัสดิ์ (Xruṇ s̄wạs̄di̒)  
ສະ​ບາຍ​ດີ​ຕອນ​ເຊົ້າ (sa bai di ton sao)  

Please
โปรด (Pord)  
ກະລຸນາ (kaluna)  

Sorry
ขอโทษ (K̄hxthos̄ʹ)  
ຂໍອະໄພ (khooaphai)  

Bye
ลาก่อน (Lā k̀xn)  
Sôhk dii der  

I Love You
ผมรักคุณ (P̄hm rạk khuṇ)  
ຂ້ອຍ​ຮັກ​ເຈົ້າ (khony hak chao)  

Excuse Me
ขอโทษ (K̄hxthos̄ʹ)  
ຂໍ​ໂທດ (kho othd)  

Dialects

Dialect 1
Isan  
Vientiane Lao  

Where They Speak
Isan  
Laos  

How Many People Speak
20,000,000.00  
10
Not Available  

Dialect 2
Northern Thai  
Northern Lao  

Where They Speak
Northern Thailand  
Laos  

How Many People Speak
6,000,000.00  
13
Not Available  

Dialect 3
Southern Thai  
Central Lao  

Where They Speak
Kedah, Kelantan, Southern Thailand, Tanintharyi  
Laos  

How Many People Speak
4,500,000.00  
8
Not Available  

Total No. Of Dialects
9  
9
6  
6

How Many People Speak

How Many People Speak?
60.00 million  
27
25.00 million  
40

Speaking Population
0.85 %  
23
Not Available  

Native Speakers
20.00 million  
37
25.00 million  
32

Second Language Speakers
40.00 million  
15
Not Available  

Native Name
ภาษาไทย  
ພາສາລາວ (pháasaa láo)  

Alternative Names
Siamese, Standard Thai, Thaiklang  
Eastern Thai, Lào, Lao Kao, Lao Wiang, Lao-Lum, Lao-Noi, Lao-Tai, Laotian, Laotian Tai, Lum Lao, Phou Lao, Rong Kong, Tai Lao  

French Name
thaï  
lao  

German Name
Thailändisch  
Laotisch  

Pronunciation
[pʰāːsǎː tʰāj]  
pʰáːsǎː láːw  

Ethnicity
Central Thai and Thai Chinese  
Not Available  

History

Origin
1283 CE  
1283 CE  

Language Family
Tai-Kadai Family  
Tai-Kadai Family  

Subgroup
Tai  
Tai  

Branch
Not Available  
Not Available  

Language Forms
  
  

Early Forms
Old Thai  
No Early forms  

Standard Forms
Thai  
Lao  

Language Position
47  
34
Not Available  

Signed Forms
Thai Sign Language  
Not Available  

Scope
Individual  
Individual  

Code

ISO 639 1
th  
lo  

ISO 639 2
  
  

ISO 639 2/T
tha  
lao  

ISO 639 2/B
tha  
lao  

ISO 639 3
tha  
lao  

ISO 639 6
Not Available  
Not Available  

Glottocode
thai1261  
laoo1244  

Linguasphere
47-AAA-b  
No data available  

Types of Language
  
  

Language Type
Living  
Living  

Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Verb-Object  
Subject-Verb-Object  

Language Morphological Typology
Analytic, Isolating  
Isolating  

Countries >>
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Thai and Lao Language History

Comparison of Thai vs Lao language history gives us differences between origin of Thai and Lao language. History of Thai language states that this language originated in 1283 CE whereas history of Lao language states that this language originated in 1283 CE. Family of the language also forms a part of history of that language. More on language families of these languages can be found out on Thai and Lao Language History.

Compare Most Spoken Languages

Thai and Lao Greetings

People around the world use different languages to interact with each other. Even if we cannot communicate fluently in any language, it will always be beneficial to know about some of the common greetings or phrases from that language. This is where Thai and Lao greetings helps you to understand basic phrases in Thai and Lao language. Thai word for "Hello" is สวัสดี (S̄wạs̄dī) or Lao word for "Thank You" is ຂອບໃຈ (khàwp ja̖i). Find more of such common Thai Greetings and Lao Greetings. These greetings will help you to be more confident when conversing with natives that speak these languages.

Thai vs Lao Difficulty

The Thai vs Lao difficulty level basically depends on the number of Thai Alphabets and Lao Alphabets. Also the number of vowels and consonants in the language plays an important role in deciding the difficulty level of that language. The important points to be considered when we compare Thai and Lao are the origin, speaking countries, language family, different greetings, speaking population of these languages. Want to know in Thai and Lao, which language is harder to learn? Time required to learn Thai is 44 weeks while to learn Lao time required is 44 weeks.

Most Spoken Languages

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