Learning the national languages of each destinations of Indochina is not required, especially when travelers sightsee Indochina with the assistance of a professional tour guide; however, it is beneficial to pick up basic Lao, Khmer and Vietnamese words, phrases and expressions well in hand. Although the crash understanding of these languages will not turn tourists into linguistic specialists, it will facilitate an easier and rewarding packaged tour with warm welcome as well as goodwill from the local people.
Lao is considered as an impressive language characterized by the large variety of expressions. Learn some following useful words and phrases below to enjoy a good time practicing the mother tongue of Laotian.
| Language used for | English | Lao equivalents |
| Hello/Hi | Chang dai (Sa bai dee) | |
| Good morning/afternoon/evening | Sa bai dee | |
| How are you? | Chao sa bai dee baw? | |
| I’m fine, thanks | Khoy sa bai dee, Khob chai | |
| Nice to meet you | Khoy dee chai lai thee dai phob chao | |
| Greeting | Good bye! | La kon |
| Thank you | Khop Chai | |
| Excuse me | Khor Thod | |
| Sorry | Kho thot | |
| No thank you | Bo khop tchaï | |
| Yes / No | Tchao / Bo | |
| You’re welcome | Than nyinditonhab | |
| How much is it? | Laka tao daï? | |
| It is very cheap | Bo peng | |
| It is too expensive! | Peng phôt | |
| Can you lower the price? | Lout laka daï bo? | |
| Shopping | I would like to buy … this one! | Khaphachao yakcha su… thini |
| I like it / I don’t like it | Khaphachao hak / Khaphachao sang | |
| Money | Ngoen | |
| I’m just looking around. | Khaphachao phiangaet sokha | |
| How much is it? | Laka tao daï ? | |
| It is very cheap | Bo peng | |
| It is too expensive! | Peng phôt | |
| Where is the…? | Sa tha nee…. Yu sai? | |
| Bus | Lot me | |
| Taxi | Lot taxi | |
| How much to go to…? | Thao dai/chak kip pai ha…? | |
| Transportation | Too expensive | Pheng lai/ pheng thae |
| What time does it leave? | Chak mong heua cha awk? | |
| Plane | Gnyone | |
| Boat | Heua | |
| Train | Kanfukobhom | |
| Is there any hotels/guest house near here? | Yu nee mee hong haem/ban phak baw? | |
| Accommodation | Can I/we stay here? | Khoy /phuak hao phak yu nee dai baw? |
|
Do you have a room? |
Chao mee hong phak baw? | |
| How much per night? | Kheun neung thao dai? |
The national language in Cambodia is known as Khmer, so take a look at common language used for greeting and farewell, transportation, shopping and accommodations to simply experience the cross-culture in Cambodia.
| Khmer used for | English words/phrases | Khmer equivalents |
| Hello | joohm ree-up soo-a | |
| Greeting | How are you? | sok-sa bai jee-a tay? |
| Goodbye | joohm ree-up lea | |
| See you again! | joo-up k’neer dee-ut! | |
| Common words | Thank you! | Arkun! |
| Yes/ No | Baat/ a-dtay | |
| Sorry | som-dtoah | |
| Please | soam-un-jern | |
| Do you understand? | Ta nee-uk yoo-ul knyom tay? | |
| Where is..? | noo ai-na? | |
| Bus | laan krong | |
| plane | g’bul hoh | |
| Transportation and directions | Taxi | laan ch’nool |
| How far is it? | Ta veer chom ngai pbon-maan na? | |
| Turn left | bot ch’wayng | |
| Stop here | chop tee-nih | |
| Turn right | bot s’dum | |
| I want to buy…. | Knyom chong dting…. | |
| Shopping | How much? | bpon maan? |
| Any discount? | Joh baan tik baan tay? | |
| It’s expensive! | Veer t’lai na! | |
| Double room | baan-dtoop moy kreh-pee | |
| Could I see the room? | k’nyom soam merl baan-dtoop baan tay? | |
| Hotels/ Guesthouses | Single room | baan-dtoop moy kreh-moy |
| How much per night? | moy yuhp t’lay bpon-maan? | |
| Cheap room | baan-dtoop tauk | |
| Do you have a room left? | mee-un baan-dtoop dtum-neh tay? |
Head to Vietnam, learning a few Vietnamese words also brings several benefits to your travels. Here are the powerful table provided with advantageous Vietnamese language to prevent your journey away from unpredictable challenges and misunderstandings.
| For | English expressions | Vietnamese equivalents |
| Hello! | Xin chao! | |
| Good bye! | Tam biet! | |
| Greeting and farewell | I’m pleased to meet you. | Rat han hanh duoc gap ong/ba |
| How are you? | Ong/ba khoe khong? | |
| What is your name? | Ong/ba ten la gi? | |
| Restaurant | Is there any restaurant near here? | Co nha hang nao gan day khong a? |
| Please, give me…. | Cho toi xin | |
| Spoon | Muong/ Thia | |
| Mineral water | Nuoc suoi | |
| Knife | Dao | |
| Can I order food? | Cho toi goi mon | |
| Beer | Bia | |
| Fork | Nia | |
| Bill, please | Xin tinh tien | |
| Basic words | Yes | Phai |
| No | Khong | |
| I don’t understand | Toi khong hieu | |
| I would like to buy…. | Toi muon mua… | |
| Shopping | How much is it? | Cai nay gia bao nhieu? |
| It’s too expensive | Dat qua | |
| Could you lower the price? | Co bot khong? | |
| Cheap | Re | |
| It is too small. | Cai nay nho qua. | |
| Can I have a look? | Toi co the xem chut duoc khong? | |
| I will take this one | Toi se lay cai nay. | |
| Where is….? | ….o dau? | |
| Bus station | Ben xe bus | |
| I want to go to… | Toi muon di den….. | |
| Transportation and direction | Taxi | Tac-xi |
| Train | Tau hoa | |
| Turn left | Re trai | |
| Turn right | Re phai | |
| Go straight ahead | Đi thẳng |
