老撾

See also: 老挝

Chinese

	phonetic
trad. (老撾)	老	撾
simp. (老挝)	老	挝
alternative forms	老抓 historical

Etymology

Attested since the Ming dynasty, with the second character pronounced like zhuā. Its usage was gradually surpassed by 寮國, until it was reintroduced as the official name for Laos in the 1950s by PRC marshal Chen Yi. The wō pronunciation for the second character is relatively recent (from the 1960s), most likely since 老撾 as a whole was re-interpreted as a transcription of Lao ລາວ (lāo, “Lao”).

The first character 老 (lǎo) is from Lao ລາວ (lāo), the autonym of the Lao people.

The origin of the second character is less clear:

According to Dianlüe (滇略), written by the Ming dynasty writer Xie Zhaozhe (謝肇淛), 撾 is a corruption of 爪 (zhuǎ, “animal claws (which the Lao people used as ornaments)”).
Alternatively, modern writer Cai Wencong (蔡文欉) postulates that 撾 comes from Lao ຊວາ (suā, “Sua, the ancient name of Luang Prabang”).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): Lǎowō, Lǎozhuā

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˇ ㄨㄛ, ㄌㄠˇ ㄓㄨㄚ
Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁵ wo¹, lou⁵ gwo¹
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): Láu-o / Lāu-o / Láu-choa

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: Lǎowō
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ㄨㄛ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: Lǎowo
  - Wade–Giles: Lao³-wo¹
  - Yale: Lǎu-wō
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Laouo
  - Palladius: Лаово (Laovo)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ wɔ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: Lǎozhuā
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ㄓㄨㄚ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: Lǎojhua
  - Wade–Giles: Lao³-chua¹
  - Yale: Lǎu-jwā
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Laojua
  - Palladius: Лаочжуа (Laočžua)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂu̯ä⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: lou⁵ wo¹, lou⁵ gwo¹
  - Yale: lóuh wō, lóuh gwō
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁵ wo¹, lou⁵ gwo¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: lou⁵ wo¹, lou⁵ guo¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯¹³ wɔː⁵⁵/, /lou̯¹³ kʷɔː⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Láu-o
  - Tâi-lô: Láu-o
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lawoy
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /lau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ o⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /lau⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ o³³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lāu-o
  - Tâi-lô: Lāu-o
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lauxoy
  - IPA (Xiamen): /lau²²⁻²¹ o⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Láu-choa
  - Tâi-lô: Láu-tsua
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lawzoaf
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /lau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sua⁴⁴/

Proper noun

老撾

(chiefly Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore) Laos (a country in Southeast Asia)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 老撾 (“Laos”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		老撾 Mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, 寮國 Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore
Mandarin	Taiwan	寮國
	Malaysia	老撾, 寮國
	Singapore	老撾, 寮國
	Dagudi (Maliba)	老撾, 寮國
	Reshuitang (Longling)	老撾, 寮國
	Mae Salong (Lancang)	老撾, 寮國
	Mae Sai (Tengchong)	老撾
Cantonese	Hong Kong	老撾, 寮國 now uncommon
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	寮國
	Móng Cái	老撾
	Mandalay (Taishan)	老撾
Southern Min	Xiamen	老撾
	Quanzhou	老撾
	Zhangzhou	老撾
	Penang (Hokkien)	寮國

Derived terms

老撾人／老挝人 (lǎowōrén)
老撾人民民主共和國／老挝人民民主共和国 (Lǎowō Rénmín Mínzhǔ Gònghéguó)
老撾語／老挝语 (lǎowōyǔ)

Descendants

→ Zhuang: Laujvoh

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