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lao

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

The official language of Laos that is closely related to Thai.

Pronunciation

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low
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IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlaʊ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uncountable

    The official language of Laos that is closely related to Thai.

  2. countable

    A Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia.

  3. A barangay of Ormoc, Leyte, Philippines.

adjective

  1. Of, from, or pertaining to Laos, the Lao people or their Kra-Dai Lao language.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

lao dongroyal laolao governmentlord laolao armylao tanlowland lao

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • lao-tsenounCompound term

    Chinese philosopher regarded as the founder of Taoism (6th century BC).

  • lao-tzunounCompound term

    Chinese philosopher regarded as the founder of Taoism (6th century BC).

  • lao-zinounCompound term

    Chinese philosopher regarded as the founder of Taoism (6th century BC).

  • A mountainous landlocked communist state in southeastern Asia.

  • chang kuo-laonounCompound term

    One of the 8 immortals of Taoism.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: official language of Laos that is closely related to Thai

adjective

Sense: of or from or or pertaining to Laos

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.