Lao letter do

It marks a consonant sound inside a Lao word.

For Lao letter do, common romanization uses d at the start of a syllable and t at the end. The letter belongs to the middle consonant class, which contributes to tone alongside the vowel, syllable ending, and any tone mark.

The Lao mnemonic name do dek connects the letter with the word for “child.” It helps identify the letter; it does not translate every word that contains it.

How did Lao writing develop?

The script took shape through connected regional traditions.

An inscription dated 1459 in present-day Laos may have been brought from Thailand. The stone inscription at Tha Khaek, dated 17 April 1494, is described as the oldest apparently genuine example of Lao script.

Fak Kham, rooted in the Sukhothai tradition, is identified as the Lao script’s prototype. Early inscriptions recorded royal and temple matters. Tham writing, brought from Lan Na, was used for religious texts in Pali, a language of Buddhist writings. Reforms in 1960 and 1975 moved Lao spelling toward pronunciation; formal words from Pali and Sanskrit can preserve older consonant spellings.

How do I type Lao letter do?

Use a Lao keyboard layout and enter any left-side vowel first.

A Lao vowel sign can appear before, after, above, or below a consonant. A vowel shown to the left of ດ is encoded before it, so the input sequence may start with the vowel.

Some Lao input tools offer a typewriter layout or phonetic entry. Some insert zero-width spaces between syllables to give software sensible line-break points.