ຫລື່ວ່າ
[leu-wah]
or Conjunction
Example —
ລົດ ຂອງ ເຈົ້າ ເເມ່ນ ຄັນ ສີ ດໍາ ຫຼື ວ່າ ຄັນ ສີ ເເດງ*
[loht khorng jao maen khun sii dum leu wah khun sii daeng]
Is your car the black one or the red one?
* Note — Lao sentences and phrases are not typically spaced out by syllables. But, this is helpful for recognizing where syllables start and end.
Tips:
ຫລື່ວ່າ [leu wah] can be simplified to just ຫລື່ [leu].
Tone Breakdown
ຫລື່ [leu] — this syllable has a high-class consonant and a long vowel. This normally produces a rising tone, but this syllable has a ໄມ້ເອກ /mai ehk/ tone mark. Therefore, the tone of the syllable is 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.