# Lao vs lum

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### Lao
*noun · IPA /laʊ/ · frequency rank #20,406*
A Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia.

### lum
*noun · IPA /lʌm/ · frequency rank #47,736*
A chimney; also, the top part of a chimney.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lao-vs-lum