Small wordsล่ะ (la) in Thai: what it means and how to use it
ล่ะlâ is the follow-up particle: “what about…?”, “…then?”.
then? what about…? (in follow-up questions) particle
- lâ falling
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
How to use it
ล่ะlâ follows up. After a noun it asks "what about…?", as in แล้วคุณล่ะláew kun lâ, and you? After a question word it adds curiosity or a little impatience, "…then?": ไปไหนล่ะbpai nǎi lâ, so where are you going? At the end of a statement it marks a decision, "right, …": ไปล่ะนะbpai lâ ná, I'm off then. In chats it's often typed ละlá, the same spelling as "per".
Don't mix it up
-
ละlá
per, each
High instead of falling: อันละan lá, each, per piece.
Other spellings you'll see
There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:
- lah
- laa
More small words in Thai
All small words
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones