ເພາະວ່າ

[poh-wah]

because Conjunction

Example —
ຂ້ອຍ ບໍ່ ໄດ້ ຊື້ ອັນ ນີ້ ເພາະ ວ່າ ບໍ່ ມີ ເງີນ*
[khoi bor dai seu un nii poh wah bor mii ngern]
I didn’t buy this, because I don’t have money.

* Note — Lao sentences and phrases are not typically spaced out by syllables. But, this is helpful for recognizing where syllables start and end.

Tips:

ເພາະວ່າ [poh wah] can be simplified to ເພາະ [poh].

Tone Breakdown

ເພາະ [poh] — this syllable has a low-class consonant and a short vowel. As a result, this produces a middle tone.

ວ່າ [wah] — this syllable has a low-class consonant and a long vowel. This normally produces a high tone, but this syllable has a ໄມ້ເອກ /mai ehk/ tone mark. Therefore, the tone of the syllable is a middle tone.