Kmhmu'

Khmu

Austroasiatic (Khmuic)

FamilyAustroasiatic (Khmuic) Speakers~700K (predominantly in Laos ~600K, with speakers in northern Vietnam, Thailand, and China ScriptLatin (multiple competing orthographies; no single national standard) Official inNo (recognized minority language)

Data sourced from langmap wordmap_seo.json (generated 2026-06-21). ISO 639-3 code: xkk (not kjg). Language: Khmu (Kammu), primary language of Khmu people, one of largest minority groups in Laos. Family: Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer, Khmuic branch). Register language with two phonation types (clear vs. breathy/tense) rather than tonal contrast. Coordinates represent approximate center of speech area. Surface forms provided in standard Latin romanization per Svantesson (1983) and Ethnologue. IPA trans [Provisional - limited documentation; readings pending native-speaker verification.]

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Khmu

Water

ɔm

/ʔɔm/

Fire

ʔus

/ʔus/

Sun

maŋ

/maŋ/

Moon

kee

/keː/

Mother

mɔɔʔ

/mɔːʔ/

Father

ʔaaʔ

/ʔaːʔ/

Eat

caa

/tʃaː/

Drink

ɲɔɔp

/ɲɔːp/

Love

kɔɔh

/kɔːh/

Heart

kruɛŋ

/kruɛŋ/

Tree

cmuul

/tʃmuːl/

House

kaaŋ

/kaːŋ/

Dog

/tʃɔ/

Cat

meeo

/meːo/

Hand

tii

/tiː/

Eye

ŋtaa

/ŋtaː/

Hello

lɔh

/lɔh/

Thank you

ɔrkun

/ʔɔrkun/

One

muei

/muei/

Good

gee

/ɡeː/

Words compared

Compared with related Austroasiatic (Khmuic) languages

Meaning KhmuKhmuParauk WaShwe PalaungMlabriJiamaoWa
Water ɔm /ʔɔm/ ɔm /ʔɔm/ tʃɔː /tʃɔː/ ʔoːm /ʔoːm/ om /om/ noːm /noːm/ rom /rɔm/
Fire ʔus /ʔus/ ʔus /ʔus/ miː /miː/ ŋal /ŋal/ ʔus /ʔus/ hoːi /hoːi/ ngo /ŋo/
Sun maŋ /maŋ/ maŋ /maŋ/ waː /waː/ saŋi /saŋi/ ŋay /ŋai/ mau /mau/ cangaiʔ /tʃaŋaiʔ/
Moon kee /keː/ kee /keː/ lɔː /lɔː/ kɨr /kɨr/ thel /tʰel/ naː /naː/ khaiʔ /kʰaiʔ/
Mother mɔɔʔ /mɔːʔ/ mɔɔʔ /mɔːʔ/ maː /maː/ mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ miə /miə/ yaʔ /jaʔ/
Father ʔaaʔ /ʔaːʔ/ ʔaaʔ /ʔaːʔ/ pʰaː /pʰaː/ paʔ /paʔ/ paʔ /paʔ/ paː /paː/ paiʔ /paiʔ/
Eat caa /tʃaː/ caa /tʃaː/ sɛː /sɛː/ cha /tʃa/ ʔiʔ /ʔiʔ/ kɛːn /kɛːn/ cha /tʃa/
Drink ɲɔɔp /ɲɔːp/ ɲɔɔp /ɲɔːp/ /pə/ ʔoːk /ʔoːk/ ʔaa /ʔaː/ ɲom /ɲom/ ɔk /ɔk/
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