English Reference

Word

LAO

Phoneticslao

/ˈɫaʊ/

Definition

adj. relating to the country of Laos, its people, or its language.

adj. relating to the nation of Laos, its inhabitants, or the Tai-Kadai language spoken there. Often used attributively to describe cultural or national identity.

Examples

“We enjoyed a delicious Lao dinner last night.”

“The museum features a stunning collection of traditional Lao textiles and hand-woven silk garments.”

“Scholars of Southeast Asian linguistics often study Lao alongside Thai due to the significant degree of mutual intelligibility and shared historical development between the two languages.”

Examples

simple

“We enjoyed a delicious Lao dinner last night.”

contextual

“The museum features a stunning collection of traditional Lao textiles and hand-woven silk garments.”

complex

“Scholars of Southeast Asian linguistics often study Lao alongside Thai due to the significant degree of mutual intelligibility and shared historical development between the two languages.”

Usage

Typically precedes the noun it modifies; when referring to the people as a group, it is often preceded by 'the'.

Pitfall

He is Laotianese

He is Lao

Learners sometimes add incorrect suffixes like '-ese' to the country name; 'Lao' or 'Laotian' are the correct forms.

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/lao

English Reference