ຖ້າຫາກວ່າ
[tah-hahk-wah]
if Conjunction
Example —
ຖ້າ ເຈົ້າ ຢາກ ກິນ ເຂົ້າ ກໍ ເຮັດ ເອງ*
[tah jao yahk giin khao gor het ehng]
If you want to eat, then make it yourself.
* Note — Lao sentences and phrases are not typically spaced out by syllables. But, this is helpful for recognizing where syllables start and end.
Tips:
ຖ້າຫາກວ່າ [tah hahk wah] can be simplified to ຖ້າວ່າ [tah wah], or just ຖ້າ [tah]. But, ຖ້າ can also be the verb “to wait.”
Tone Breakdown
ຖ້າ [tah] — this syllable has a high-class consonant and a long vowel. This normally produces a rising tone, but this syllable has a ໄມ້ໂທ /mai toh/ tone mark. Therefore, the tone of the syllable is a low-falling tone.
ຫາກ [hahk] — this syllable has a high-class consonant, long vowel, and unreleased-stop final consonant. As a result, this produces a low-falling 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.