Lao Proverbs

When the water rises, the fish eat the ants; when the water falls, the ants eat the fish.

You know, you teach. You do not know, you learn.

Although he who walks behind an elephant may feel very secure, he is likely to get splattered with elephant dung.

More Proverbs

Most of Laos borders Vietnam and Thailand. The vast majority of Laos contains mountains and forests. Most people in the country belong to one of several Lao ethnicities, and the country’s official language is Lao.

Many Lao people derive from Chinese immigrants who arrived in the region around the 700s AD. The region developed a united kingdom in the 1300s, which split up in the 1700s, and became under French control in the late 1800s. Laos became independent in the 1950s, and its current government was instituted in 1991.

Themes of Laos include Buddhism, taking one’s time, rice, sugarcane, opium, literature, art, music, dancing, and plays.