Numbers and classifiers
❃ Numbers and classifiers
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ໜຶ່ງ, ສອງ, ສາມ
[ nung, song, sam ] -
One, two, three.
-
ສີ່, ຫ້າ, ຫົກ
[ si, ha, hok ] -
Four, five, six.
-
ເຈັດ, ແປດ, ເກົ້າ, ສິບ
[ chet, paet, kao, sip ] -
Seven, eight, nine, ten.
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ສິບເອັດ, ຊາວ
[ sip et, sao ] -
Eleven, twenty.
-
ຮ້ອຍ, ພັນ, ໝື່ນ
[ hoi, phan, muen ] -
Hundred, thousand, ten thousand.
-
ຈັກຄົນ?
[ chak khon? ] -
How many people?
-
ສອງຄົນ
[ song khon ] -
Two people.
-
ຈັກອັນ?
[ chak an? ] -
How many items/things?
-
ຂ້ອຍເອົາອັນນີ້ສາມອັນ
[ khoi ao an ni sam an ] -
I'll take three of these.
-
ໜ້ອຍໜຶ່ງ
[ noi nung ] -
A little bit.
-
ຫຼາຍ
[ lai ] -
A lot / Many.
-
ພໍແລ້ວ
[ pho laew ] -
That's enough.
-
ບໍ່ພໍ
[ bo pho ] -
Not enough.
-
ຫຼາຍກວ່ານີ້
[ lai kwa ni ] -
More than this.
-
ໜ້ອຍກວ່ານີ້
[ noi kwa ni ] -
Less than this.
-
ເຄິ່ງໜຶ່ງ
[ khoeng nung ] -
Half.
-
ນໍ້າໜຶ່ງຕຸກ
[ nam nung tuk ] -
One bottle of water.
-
ເບຍສອງຈອກ
[ bia song chok ] -
Two glasses of beer.
-
ອັນທີໜຶ່ງ
[ an thi nung ] -
The first one.
-
ທັງໝົດ
[ thang mot ] -
All of it / Everything.
Learning numbers in Lao is relatively simple: ໜຶ່ງ (nung - 1), ສອງ (song - 2), ສາມ (sam - 3), and so on. However, for an English speaker, counting physical items introduces a brand-new grammatical concept called "classifiers" or "measure words." In English, you can simply say "two beers" or "three people." In Lao, you cannot attach a number directly to a noun unless you use a classifier, much like saying "two glasses of water" or "three pieces of paper," but applied to absolutely everything. The golden rule for ordering or counting is: Noun + Number + Classifier. For example, to order two glasses of beer, you say ເບຍສອງຈອກ (bia song chok) – literally "beer, two, glasses." If you are asking "how many?", the word is ຈັກ (chak), followed by the classifier. "How many people?" becomes ຈັກຄົນ? (chak khon?), where ຄົນ (khon) is the classifier for human beings. For general inanimate objects, the magical, all-purpose classifier is ອັນ (an). If you don't know the specific word for bowls, plates, or souvenirs, you can simply point and say ເອົາອັນນີ້ສອງອັນ (ao an ni song an), meaning "I will take two of these." Mastering the rhythm of Noun + Number + Classifier is essential. It not only makes your Lao grammatically correct but also earns you immense respect from market vendors, who will be delighted by your effort to speak their language properly.
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