Describing Relationships
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Use the particle 'khong' (ຂອງ) to show possession—it acts like the English apostrophe-s or 'of'.
- Place 'khong' between the owner and the object: 'khong' + owner + object (e.g., 'khong khoy' = mine).
- For family members, you can often omit 'khong' (e.g., 'mae khoy' = my mother).
- The word 'khong' literally means 'belonging to' or 'thing'.
Meanings
The particle 'khong' is used to indicate possession, linking an owner to an object.
Possession
Indicating ownership of an item.
“ລົດຂອງລາວ (lot khong lao) - His car.”
“ບ້ານຂອງພວກເຮົາ (ban khong phuak hao) - Our house.”
Possessive Structure Table
| Object | Particle | Owner | Full Phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| ປຶ້ມ (Book) | ຂອງ (khong) | ຂ້ອຍ (I) | ປຶ້ມຂອງຂ້ອຍ (My book) |
| ລົດ (Car) | ຂອງ (khong) | ລາວ (He/She) | ລົດຂອງລາວ (His/Her car) |
| ເຮືອນ (House) | ຂອງ (khong) | ພວກເຮົາ (We) | ເຮືອນຂອງພວກເຮົາ (Our house) |
| ໂທລະສັບ (Phone) | ຂອງ (khong) | ເຈົ້າ (You) | ໂທລະສັບຂອງເຈົ້າ (Your phone) |
| ໝາ (Dog) | ຂອງ (khong) | ເຂົາເຈົ້າ (They) | ໝາຂອງເຂົາເຈົ້າ (Their dog) |
| ກະເປົາ (Bag) | ຂອງ (khong) | ນາງ (She) | ກະເປົາຂອງນາງ (Her bag) |
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Object + khong + Owner | ປຶ້ມຂອງຂ້ອຍ (My book) |
| Negative | Object + bo + khong + Owner | ບໍ່ແມ່ນປຶ້ມຂອງຂ້ອຍ (Not my book) |
| Question | Object + khong + Owner + bo? | ປຶ້ມຂອງເຈົ້າບໍ່? (Is it your book?) |
| Family (Short) | Relative + Owner | ແມ່ຂ້ອຍ (My mother) |
| Possessive Pronoun | khong + Pronoun | ຂອງຂ້ອຍ (Mine) |
| Whose | Object + khong + phai? | ປຶ້ມຂອງໃຜ? (Whose book?) |
Espectro de formalidade
ປຶ້ມຂອງຂ້າພະເຈົ້າ (General)
ປຶ້ມຂອງຂ້ອຍ (General)
ປຶ້ມຂ້ອຍ (General)
ປຶ້ມຂ້ອຍເອງ (General)
Possession Map
Owners
- ຂ້ອຍ I
- ເຈົ້າ You
Objects
- ປຶ້ມ Book
- ລົດ Car
Examples by Level
ປຶ້ມຂອງຂ້ອຍ
My book
ລົດຂອງລາວ
His car
ເຮືອນຂອງພວກເຮົາ
Our house
ໂທລະສັບຂອງເຈົ້າ
Your phone
ນີ້ແມ່ນປຶ້ມຂອງໃຜ?
Whose book is this?
ໝາຂອງຂ້ອຍຊື່ດຳ
My dog's name is Dam
ກະເປົາຂອງນາງງາມຫຼາຍ
Her bag is very beautiful
ກຸນແຈຂອງພໍ່ຢູ່ໃສ?
Where is father's key?
ຄວາມຄິດຂອງລາວໜ້າສົນໃຈ
His idea is interesting
ບັນຫາຂອງບໍລິສັດນີ້ໃຫຍ່ຫຼາຍ
This company's problem is huge
ຄວາມຮັກຂອງເຂົາເຈົ້າໝັ້ນຄົງ
Their love is stable
ຜົນງານຂອງນັກຮຽນດີເດັ່ນ
The student's work is excellent
ສິດທິຂອງພົນລະເມືອງທຸກຄົນ
The rights of every citizen
ການຕັດສິນໃຈຂອງຄະນະກຳມະການ
The committee's decision
ຄວາມຮັບຜິດຊອບຂອງຂ້ອຍແມ່ນຫຍັງ?
What is my responsibility?
ມໍລະດົກຂອງຊາດລາວ
The heritage of the Lao nation
ທັດສະນະຄະຕິຂອງສັງຄົມຕໍ່ບັນຫານີ້
Society's attitude toward this issue
ອິດທິພົນຂອງວັດທະນະທຳຕ່າງປະເທດ
The influence of foreign culture
ຄວາມຊັບຊ້ອນຂອງພາສາລາວ
The complexity of the Lao language
ການປ່ຽນແປງຂອງສະພາບອາກາດ
The change in climate
ຄວາມເລິກເຊິ່ງຂອງວັນນະຄະດີພື້ນເມືອງ
The depth of folk literature
ການວິວັດທະນາການຂອງສຽງໃນພາສາລາວ
The evolution of sounds in Lao
ຄວາມເປັນເອກະລັກຂອງສິລະປະລາວ
The uniqueness of Lao art
ປັດຊະຍາຂອງການດຳລົງຊີວິດ
The philosophy of living
Easily Confused
The word 'khong' is both a particle and a noun.
Learners of Japanese often confuse the two.
Both indicate possession.
Erros comuns
khoy khong pum
pum khong khoy
pum khoy
pum khong khoy
khong pum khoy
pum khong khoy
pum khong
pum khong khoy
mae khong khoy
mae khoy
pum ni khong khoy
pum ni khong khoy
pum khong phai
pum khong phai
khong khoy pum
pum khong khoy
pum khong khoy ni
pum ni khong khoy
pum khong khoy lae khong chao
pum khong khoy lae khong chao
pum khong khoy
pum khoy
pum khong khoy
pum khong khoy
pum khong khoy
pum khong khoy
Sentence Patterns
___ ຂອງ ___
ນີ້ແມ່ນ ___ ຂອງ ___ ບໍ່?
___ ຂອງ ___ ງາມຫຼາຍ
ຂ້ອຍມັກ ___ ຂອງ ___
Real World Usage
ປຶ້ມຂອງຂ້ອຍຢູ່ໃສ?
ລົດຂອງຂ້ອຍເອງ
ຄວາມຮັບຜິດຊອບຂອງຂ້ອຍແມ່ນ...
ກະເປົາຂອງຂ້ອຍຢູ່ໃສ?
ອາຫານຂອງຂ້ອຍແມ່ນ...
ປຶ້ມຂອງນັກຮຽນ
Keep it simple
Word order matters
Family exception
Politeness
Smart Tips
Always say [thing] + khong + khoy.
Drop the 'khong'.
Add 'phai' at the end.
Use 'khong' with formal pronouns for respect.
Pronúncia
Khong
Pronounced like 'khaw-ng' with a rising tone.
Statement
ປຶ້ມຂອງຂ້ອຍ ↘
Falling tone at the end.
Question
ປຶ້ມຂອງເຈົ້າບໍ່? ↗
Rising tone at the end.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Think of 'khong' as a 'hook' that connects the thing to the person.
Visual Association
Imagine a physical hook hanging between a book and a person. The hook is labeled 'khong'.
Rhyme
To show what is mine, use 'khong' in the line.
Story
I have a book. I want to say it is mine. I put a hook (khong) between the book and me. Now it is 'Book-khong-me'.
Word Web
Desafio
Label 5 items in your room using sticky notes with 'Object + ຂອງ + [Your Name]'.
Notas culturais
In Lao culture, family relationships are very close. Using 'khong' for family can sound distant or overly formal.
The word 'khong' comes from the Tai language family, meaning 'thing' or 'property'.
Conversation Starters
ນີ້ແມ່ນປຶ້ມຂອງໃຜ?
ລົດຂອງເຈົ້າຢູ່ໃສ?
ຄວາມຄິດຂອງເຈົ້າກ່ຽວກັບເລື່ອງນີ້ແມ່ນຫຍັງ?
ວຽກຂອງເຈົ້າເປັນແນວໃດ?
Journal Prompts
Test Yourself
ປຶ້ມ ___ ຂ້ອຍ
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
ລົດຂ້ອຍຂອງ
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
My car
Answer starts with: ລົດ...
ປຶ້ມ ___ ໃຜ?
ເຮືອນ ___ ພວກເຮົາ
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
Score: /8
Exercicios praticos
8 exercisesປຶ້ມ ___ ຂ້ອຍ
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
ລົດຂ້ອຍຂອງ
ຂ້ອຍ / ປຶ້ມ / ຂອງ
My car
ປຶ້ມ ___ ໃຜ?
ເຮືອນ ___ ພວກເຮົາ
ລາວ / ລົດ / ຂອງ
Score: /8
Perguntas frequentes (8)
Yes, it is the universal possessive particle.
It sounds more natural and intimate.
No, it is a particle.
It might sound like you are just listing words.
No, 'khong' is invariant.
Use 'khong phai'.
No, time uses different markers.
It is neutral and used everywhere.
In Other Languages
de
Spanish puts the owner after 'de', similar to Lao.
de
French uses 'de' which can contract with articles.
Genitive case / von
German changes the article based on case.
no
Japanese 'no' is a suffix, not a separate word.
de
Chinese 'de' is a suffix.
Idafa
Arabic does not use a particle, just word order.
