Slang

1. ལགས།

   La

   -la (politeness particle)

   Usage

   Appended to a name or a sentence to show respect — the single most important word for a visitor. Adding it to a greeting makes it markedly politer. Always use it with elders, strangers and anyone senior; you can drop it with close friends your own age

2. ལགས་སོ།

   La so

   Yes, certainly

   Usage

   The polite way to accept a request, for elders and people you have just met. With friends, "a le" sounds more natural

3. ཨ་ལས།

   A le

   OK / I see

   Usage

   An all-purpose "OK" or acknowledgement, for friends and peers. With someone senior, use "la so" or add the -la particle

4. ཨོ་རེད།

   O re

   That's right

   Usage

   An agreement token dropped lightly into conversation. Safe with anyone, though adding the -la particle suits someone senior

5. ཨ་ཙི།

   A tsi

   Oh! / Oh dear

   Usage

   An exclamation of surprise or dismay. Not coarse, so fine in any company

6. ཨ་ཇོ།

   A jo

   Older brother (address for a man)

   Usage

   An address for an older man, no kinship needed — good for hailing a driver or a shopkeeper. Adding -la makes it politer still

7. ཨ་ཅག

   A chag

   Older sister (address for a woman)

   Usage

   The female counterpart of a jo, for a market seller or a landlady. No closing shad because it ends in ga; adding -la makes it politer

8. ཨ་མ་ལགས།

   A ma la

   Mother (respectful address for an older woman)

   Usage

   Used for one's own mother and, just as widely, as a respectful address for any older woman — the safest way to speak to an elderly woman you meet

9. ཨ་ཕ་ལགས།

   A pa la

   Father (respectful address for an older man)

   Usage

   The male counterpart of a ma la, widely used as a respectful address for an older man

Browse all TravelPhrases languages