What are some ways to say that you will “foot the bill” in Lao?
In American English, you might be familiar with idioms and phrases like, “I will pay for it”, “It’s all on me”, “I got this”, “I’ll take care of this”, “Let me take care of the bill.”
In Lao, there are various ways to express that you will pay for someone. Sometimes these words are use interchangeably, but they are different in a way.
Note that the ending ໃຫ້ is just an auxiliary particle verb.
1) ລ້ຽງໃຫ້ (liang hai)
2) ຊື້ໃຫ້ (seu hai)
3) ຈ່າຍໃຫ້ (jaai hai)
Let’s learn how these words are different.
ລ້ຽງໃຫ້ - to raise
The words “ລ້ຽງໃຫ້” by itself means to take care of – as in raising a pet, kids, or taking someone out for a meal.
ຂ້ອຍລ້ຽງສັດ = I raise a pet.
ຂ້ອຍຈະລ້ຽງໃຫ້ = I will take care of it.
ຂ້ອຍລ້ຽງລູກສອງຄົນ= I raise 2 kids.
ຊື້ໃຫ້ - to purchase
The words “ຊື້ໃຫ້” means to purchase. It is more direct and translate to more of buying something for someone.
ຂ້ອຍຊື້ສັດ = I purchase (bought) a pet.
ຂ້ອຍຈະຊື້ໃຫ້ = I will buy it.
ຈ່າຍໃຫ້- to pay
The word “ຈ່າຍໃຫ້” means to pay for it.
Example sentence and breakdown:
ຂ້ອຍຈະຈ່າຍຄ່າໃຫ້ເດີ = I will pay for it.
ຂ້ອຍ = I
ຈະ = will
ຈ່າຍ = pay
ຄ່າ = price/value
ໃຫ້ = give, auxiliary particle (end of sentence or word)
ເດີ = polite ending particle
English
Lao
Pay
ຈ່າຍ
Buy/Purchase
ຊື້
Take Care/Raise
ລ້ຽງ
I will pay for it
ຂ້ອຍ ຈະ ຈ່າຍ ຄ່າ ໃຫ້ ເດີ
I will spend money (literal)/I will foot the bill.
ຂ້ອຍຈະຈ່າຍເງິນ
I will take care of it
ຂ້ອຍຈະຊື້ໃຫ້
If you’re just learning Lao, many will forgive even if you do not know the correct words or saying it incorrectly. They will at least appreciate your generosity (a Lao trait).