Photo by Greg Rodgers
For years, travelers have been debating the finer points of how to pronounce Laos.
While people who haven't visited the country tend to pronounce the 's' at the end, many travelers leave the 's' silent and use the local pronunciation that sounds like 'lao' (rhymes with cow).
Laos was split into three kingdoms, with the residents referring to themselves as 'Lao people' until the French united the three in 1893, added an 's' to make it plural, and began referring to the collective as Laos.
There isn't really a final 's' in the Lao language, so locals don't typically use the European addition. And technically the official name of the country is the Lao People's Democratic Republic, or short, Lao PDR.
I prefer the local pronunciation of 'Lao', however, I've received a few blank stares in conversation with other travelers until we sorted out that the country in question was Laos.
How do you say Laos?
Whichever you prefer, the friendly Lao people would never correct you, and you'll have a blast exploring this beautiful, mountainous part of Southeast Asia!
- See a country profile and some Laos travel essentials.
When you speak English, please pronounce the country as “LAOS” (with the S). When you speak Lao (language), please say the country’s name as “LAO” (without the S). It absolutely does not make any sense to speak English and say you are going to LAO for example. There is no need for you to pretend to know about Laos more than you do. I am a Lao person and I absolutely cannot stand a foreigner or Lao person speaking or writing English and refer to Laos as Lao. Just use LAOS or LAO PDR. Lao in english refers to the people or language, not country. And of course I do not have colonial nostalgia. It is the same thing as people never refer to THAILAND as THAI (the country) in English – you only do that when you speak Thai. Thanks and peace!
@AK: How do you say “Illinois” then? The name of the state of Illinois has a French root as does the name for Laos. The French add an S to indicate plural, but don’t pronounce it. We can still write is as “Laos” but pronounce it as “Lao.”
How about “Vientiane”? I live there. Locals pronounce it “Vienchon” (chon rhymes with Don and Vien sounds more like Ven) I would never speak to a traveller with that pronunciation. And that’s just the start…
Interesting to hear someone from Laos preferring that foreigners say ‘Laos’. Thank you for the input.
The best rule of thumb in most countries is to mimic the locals, so when I pronounce the country as ‘Lao’, I actually do so out of trying to show respect, not to be pretentious or pretend to know more.
I have lived in Laos for years and I regularly instruct others on how to speak, read and write Lao. Just to let you know I have a more than solid background in this country and language…
I agree with the Lao native (AK) who asks that expats say “Laos” when speaking English and not “Lao.” Just like, when speaking English, we say “Thailand” and not just “Thai”, which would refer to either the language or the people in English. Similarly, in English we call the country where Rome is “Italy” and not “Italia.” In English, we say “Spain” and not “Espana.” “Germany” and not “Duetschland”. “Netherlands” and not “Nederland”. “Finland” and not “Suomi”. “Philippines” and not “Pilipinas”. “Albania” and not “Shqipëri”. “Croatia” and not “Hrvatska”.
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