Lao Number to Words in JavaScript (lo-LA)

Use lo-LA when your application needs Lao number words for invoicing in Laos, checkout flows, or documents that print totals in full words.

Locale codes: lo-LA · Numbering system: ພັນ 10³, ແສນ 10⁵, ລ້ານ 10⁶ · Currency: ກີບ (Kip) · Script: Lao

Install

npm install to-words

Basic Conversion

import { ToWords } from 'to-words';

const tw = new ToWords({ localeCode: 'lo-LA' });

tw.convert(100); // ໜຶ່ງຮ້ອຍ
tw.convert(1000); // ໜຶ່ງພັນ
tw.convert(1000000); // ໜຶ່ງລ້ານ

Lao has a named scale word at 100,000 (ແສນ) but reads 10,000 as ສິບພັນ — "ten thousand" — which is the form used in Lao banking and finance:

tw.convert(10000); // ສິບພັນ
tw.convert(100000); // ໜຶ່ງແສນ
tw.convert(792581); // ເຈັດແສນເກົ້າສິບສອງພັນຫ້າຮ້ອຍແປດສິບເອັດ

A trailing 1 after any ten is ເອັດ, not ໜຶ່ງ, and 20 is ຊາວ rather than a compound of ສອງ and ສິບ:

tw.convert(11); // ສິບເອັດ
tw.convert(20); // ຊາວ
tw.convert(21); // ຊາວເອັດ

Currency - Kip

The kip subunit (ອັດ / att) is defunct, so fractional amounts are read as a decimal with ຈຸດ rather than being given a subunit name:

tw.convert(1234.56, { currency: true });
// ໜຶ່ງພັນສອງຮ້ອຍສາມສິບສີ່ກີບຈຸດຫ້າສິບຫົກຖ້ວນ

tw.convert(500, { currency: true });
// ຫ້າຮ້ອຍກີບຖ້ວນ

Ordinal Numbers

Lao ordinals are formed with the prefix ທີ:

tw.toOrdinal(1); // ທີໜຶ່ງ
tw.toOrdinal(10); // ທີສິບ
tw.toOrdinal(100); // ທີໜຶ່ງຮ້ອຍ

Tree-shakeable (single-locale) import

import { toWords, toCurrency, toOrdinal } from 'to-words/lo-LA';

toWords(1000);
toCurrency(999.99);

Locale Codes

Locale code	Country	Currency	Notes
lo-LA	Laos	ກີບ / ອັດ	Lao script

Related

• Currency guide
• Ordinal guide
• All locales

FAQ

Q: Which locale code should I use for Lao number-to-words output? Use lo-LA.

Q: Does to-words output Lao in the Lao script? Yes. lo-LA produces output in the Lao script.

Q: Why is 10,000 ສິບພັນ and not ໝື່ນ? ໝື່ນ is common in speech, but written Lao finance reads 10,000 as ສິບພັນ. lo-LA follows the written banking convention. 100,000 still uses the named scale word ແສນ.

Q: Does lo-LA spell out a subunit for the kip? No. The att is no longer in circulation, so currency: true renders any fractional part as ຈຸດ plus the digits.