lawm

White Hmong

Etymology

Borrowed from Chinese (le, “perfective marker”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /laɨ̯˩̰/

Particle

lawm

  1. perfective marker, sign of completed action or past tense
    mus teb lawmwent to the fields
    Peb mus lawm.We are going (i.e. the start of our departure has been accomplished).

References

  • Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary[1], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 108.
  1. ^ Ratliff, Martha (2010) Hmong-Mien language history (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN, page 227.