Days of the week are one of those things you'll use constantly, whether you're making plans or just saying what you did yesterday. Here's everything you need, plus a bit of the culture behind them.
Days of the week in Lao
In Lao, every day of the week starts with ວັນ van, which means day. Same as how we use "-day" in English (Mon-day, Tues-day, Wednes-day). Here's the complete list:
- Monday - ວັນຈັນ van chan
- Tuesday - ວັນອັງຄານ van angkhaan, ວັນຄານ van khaan*
- Wednesday - ວັນພຸດ van phood
- Thursday - ວັນພະຫັດ van phahad
- Friday - ວັນສຸກ van sook
- Saturday - ວັນເສົາ van sao
- Sunday - ວັນອາທິດ van aathid, ວັນທິດ van thid*
*simplified version
Where the names come from
Each day in Lao has a special connection to a part of our solar system, like the sun, the moon and the planets. For the sun and the moon, replace ວັນ van with ດວງ dooang, which means sphere. And for the planets, replace it with ດາວ daao, which means star.
- Monday → Moon, ດວງຈັນ dooang chan
- Tuesday → Mars, ດາວອັງຄານ daao angkhaan
- Wednesday → Mercury, ດາວພຸດ daao phood
- Thursday → Jupiter, ດາວພະຫັດ daao phahad
- Friday → Venus, ດາວສຸກ daao sook
- Saturday → Saturn, ດາວເສົາ daao sao
- Sunday → Sun, ດວງອາທິດ dooang aathid
The day you were born
In the Lao culture, the day of the week you were born on really does hold a special significance, especially if you follow Buddhist teachings or believe in astrology. According to these beliefs, each of us carries merit and karma from our past lives into this one, and into the ones that come after.
There's so much more to explore with this than one blog post could ever cover, but here are the basics of what your birth day can represent, including the Buddha postures:
Each day has its own colour, and you'll find a lucky day and an unlucky day linked to the one you were born on too:
- Monday 💛 Yellow
Lucky day: Saturday
Unlucky day: Sunday - Tuesday 🩷 Pink
Lucky day: Thursday
Unlucky day: Monday - Wednesday 💚 Green
Lucky day: Wednesday
Unlucky day: Tuesday - Thursday 🧡 Gold, Orange
Lucky day: Sunday
Unlucky day: Saturday - Friday 💙 Blue
Lucky day: Tuesday
Unlucky day: Wednesday - Saturday 💜 Purple
Lucky day: Friday
Unlucky day: Wednesday - Sunday ❤️ Red
Lucky day: Wednesday
Unlucky day: Friday
This post came from a question one of our members asked. Got one of your own? Ask me in the LES Community.
Using them day to day
- Monday to Friday - ວັນຈັນຫາວັນສຸກ van chan haa van sook
- Weekday, normal day - ວັນທໍາມະດາ van thammadaa
- Weekend - ວັນເສົາອາທິດ van sao aathid
- Beginning of the week - ຕົ້ນອາທິດ ton aathid
- End of the week - ທ້າຍອາທິດ thaai aathid
And here are a few examples of how you'd actually use them:
- I work Mondays to Fridays - ຂ້ອຍເຮັດວຽກວັນຈັນຫາວັນສຸກ khoi hed viak van chan haa van sook
- Today is a weekday/normal day - ມື້ນີ້ແມ່ນວັນທໍາມະດາ meunee maen van thammadaa
- I'm off every weekend - ຂ້ອຍພັກທຸກໆວັນເສົາອາທິດ khoi phak thookx2 van sao aathid
ວັນ van and ມື້ meu
In Lao there are two different words for "day", and it's well worth knowing which one goes where.
Use ວັນ van when you're specifically talking about the days of the week, and ມື້ meu when you're talking about days more generally:
- Today - ມື້ນີ້ meunee
- Tomorrow - ມື້ອື່ນ meu-eun
- Yesterday - ມື້ວານນີ້ meu-vaan-nee
A few tips
To help you remember the days of the week in Lao:
- Every single one begins with ວັນ van, so that's a good chunk of the work done already.
- Practise them in your daily life! Saying out loud what day it is each morning takes two seconds.
- Flashcards are always handy if you like them, whether you write them by hand or use something like Anki or Quizlet.
Putting it into practice
So that's the days of the week covered! The quickest way to make these stick is simply to use them, so if you're not quite sure where to start, do have a go at writing your own to-do list in Lao. Writing the date out every day means you'll have these down within a week or two. You've got this 🥰
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