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Thai vs 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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