Hmong Daw builds most everyday speech from a small core of words: pronouns, classifiers, and a set of verbs that never change form no matter who's doing the action or when. Learning these hundred words first gives you a real foothold in the language, without getting lost in the tone system all at once.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Hmong Daw | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | kuv | I / me | Kuv nyob hauv tsev.I am at home. |
| 2 | koj | you | Koj mus qhov twg?Where are you going? |
| 3 | nws | he / she / it | Nws yog kuv tus phooj ywg.He is my friend. |
| 4 | peb | we / us | Peb mus rau hauv tsev.We go into the house. |
| 5 | nej | you all | Nej puas nyob hauv tsev?Are you all at home? |
| 6 | lawv | they | Lawv tsis nyob hauv tsev.They are not at home. |
| 7 | yog | to be / yes | Nws yog kuv txiv.He is my father. |
| 8 | tsis | not | Kuv tsis paub.I don't know. |
| 9 | muaj | to have / there is | Kuv muaj ob tus me nyuam.I have two children. |
| 10 | mus | to go | Peb yuav mus tsev.We will go home. |
| 11 | los | to come | Koj los ntawm twg?Where do you come from? |
| 12 | noj | to eat | Kuv noj thiab haus.I eat and drink. |
| 13 | haus | to drink | Kuv haus dej.I drink water. |
| 14 | hais | to say / speak | Kuv hais lus Hmoob.I speak Hmong. |
| 15 | pom | to see | Kuv pom ib lub tsheb tshiab.I saw a new car. |
| 16 | xav | to think / want | Kuv xav mus tsev.I want to go home. |
| 17 | nyiam | to like | Kuv nyiam koj.I like you. |
| 18 | ua | to do / make | Nws ua haujlwm hauv tsev.He works from home. |
| 19 | nyob | to live / stay / be located | Kuv nyob hauv lub tsev loj.I live in a big house. |
| 20 | paub | to know | Kuv paub koj.I know you. |
| 21 | kawm | to study / learn | Kuv kawm lus Hmoob.I am studying Hmong. |
| 22 | pab | to help | Koj puas pab tau kuv?Can you help me? |
| 23 | tau | to get / can (able to) | Kuv tau pom nws.I already saw him. |
| 24 | yuav | will / to buy | Nws yuav los tag kis.He will come tomorrow. |
| 25 | tuaj | to come (toward the speaker) | Nws tuaj xyuas kuv txiv.He comes to visit my father. |
| 26 | rov | to return / again | Kuv rov qab mus tsev.I am going back home. |
| 27 | nrog | with / to accompany | Kuv nrog koj mus.I'll go with you. |
| 28 | thiab | and | Kuv thiab koj yog phooj ywg.You and I are friends. |
| 29 | los yog | or | Koj xav mus los yog nyob?Do you want to go or stay? |
| 30 | tab sis | but | Kuv xav mus, tab sis kuv tsis muaj sijhawm.I want to go, but I don't have time. |
| 31 | vim | because | Kuv tsis mus vim kuv mob.I'm not going because I'm sick. |
| 32 | thaum | when | Thaum kuv me, kuv nyob nrog kuv niam.When I was young, I lived with my mother. |
| 33 | rau | to / for / into | Qhov no yog rau koj.This is for you. |
| 34 | hauv | inside / in | Nws nyob hauv lub tsev loj.He is inside the big house. |
| 35 | saum | on top of | Lub tsheb nyob saum roob.The car is on top of the mountain. |
| 36 | ntawm | at / near | Kuv nyob ntawm lub tsev.I am near the house. |
| 37 | txog | about / to arrive at | Peb txog tsev lawm.We already arrived home. |
| 38 | puas | (yes/no question particle) | Koj puas nyiam kuv?Do you like me? |
| 39 | li cas | how / what | Koj ua li cas?What are you doing? |
| 40 | dab tsi | what | Koj xav noj dab tsi?What do you want to eat? |
| 41 | twg | which / where | Nws nyob twg?Where is he? |
| 42 | qhov twg | where | Lub tsev nyob qhov twg?Where is the house? |
| 43 | pes tsawg | how many | Koj muaj pes tsawg tus me nyuam?How many children do you have? |
| 44 | tus | (classifier for people / animals) | Nws yog ib tus neeg zoo.He is a good person. |
| 45 | lub | (general classifier for objects) | Kuv muaj ib lub tsheb.I have a car. |
| 46 | daim | (classifier for flat objects) | Kuv pom ib daim ntawv.I saw a piece of paper. |
| 47 | rab | (classifier for tools) | Nws muaj ib rab riam.He has a knife. |
| 48 | ib | one | Kuv xav tau ib lub tsheb tshiab heev.I really want a new car. |
| 49 | ob | two | Peb muaj ob tus tub.We have two sons. |
| 50 | plaub | four | Nws muaj plaub tus ntxhais.He has four daughters. |
| 51 | tsib | five | Kuv muaj tsib xyoo.I am five years old. |
| 52 | xya | seven | Kuv muaj xya tus me nyuam.I have seven children. |
| 53 | yim | eight | Nws muaj yim xyoo.He is eight years old. |
| 54 | cuaj | nine | Peb muaj cuaj tus neeg.We have nine people. |
| 55 | kaum | ten | Nws muaj kaum xyoo.He is ten years old. |
| 56 | niam | mother | Kuv niam yog neeg zoo.My mother is a good person. |
| 57 | txiv | father | Kuv txiv nyob hauv teb.My father is in the field. |
| 58 | tub | son | Kuv tus tub kawm ntawv.My son studies. |
| 59 | ntxhais | daughter | Nws tus ntxhais me heev.His daughter is very young. |
| 60 | poj niam | wife / woman | Nws poj niam zoo nkauj.His wife is beautiful. |
| 61 | txiv neej | husband / man | Tus txiv neej ntawd yog kuv txiv.That man is my father. |
| 62 | me nyuam | child | Tus me nyuam mus kawm ntawv.The child goes to study. |
| 63 | phooj ywg | friend | Kuv phooj ywg tuaj xyuas kuv.My friend comes to visit me. |
| 64 | neeg | person | Muaj ib tus neeg nyob ntawm lub tsev.There is a person near the house. |
| 65 | dej | water | Peb tsis muaj dej haus.We don't have any water to drink. |
| 66 | teb | field / land | Nws nyob hauv teb.He is in the field. |
| 67 | tsev | house | Lub tsev loj heev.The house is very big. |
| 68 | tsheb | car / vehicle | Kuv lub tsheb tshiab heev.My car is very new. |
| 69 | hnub | day / sun | Hnub no kuv mus kawm ntawv.Today I go to study. |
| 70 | hli | moon / month | Kuv yuav nyob ntawd ib hli.I will stay there for one month. |
| 71 | xyoo | year | Xyoo no zoo heev.This year is very good. |
| 72 | nag | rain | Hnub no nag los.Today it's raining. |
| 73 | ntuj | sky | Lub ntuj tsaus lawm.The sky has grown dark. |
| 74 | av | earth / ground | Av ntawm no qhuav.The ground here is dry. |
| 75 | roob | mountain | Lub roob no siab heev.This mountain is very tall. |
| 76 | loj | big | Lub tsheb ntawd loj heev.That car is very big. |
| 77 | me | small | Lub tsheb no me heev.This car is very small. |
| 78 | zoo | good | Kuv niam hais lus zoo heev.My mother speaks very well. |
| 79 | phem | bad | Hnub no huab cua phem.Today the weather is bad. |
| 80 | tshiab | new | Kuv muaj ib lub tsev tshiab.I have a new house. |
| 81 | qub | old | Nws muaj ib lub tsev qub.He has an old house. |
| 82 | ntev | long | Txoj kev ntev heev.The road is very long. |
| 83 | dawb | white | Lub tsev ntawd dawb heev.That house is very white. |
| 84 | dub | black | Nws lub tsheb dub.His car is black. |
| 85 | liab | red | Lub tsheb no liab heev.This car is very red. |
| 86 | xiav | blue | Nws lub tsho xiav.His shirt is blue. |
| 87 | ntsuab | green | Roob ntawd ntsuab heev.That mountain is very green. |
| 88 | daj | yellow | Lub tsheb no daj.This car is yellow. |
| 89 | sov | warm | Dej no sov heev.This water is very warm. |
| 90 | txias | cold | Hnub no txias heev.Today is very cold. |
| 91 | qhuav | dry | Kuv lub tsho qhuav lawm.My shirt is dry now. |
| 92 | ntub | wet | Kuv lub tsho ntub dej.My shirt is wet with water. |
| 93 | hnub no | today | Hnub no kuv tsis mus ua haujlwm.Today I am not going to work. |
| 94 | tag kis | tomorrow | Tag kis peb yuav mus xyuas kuv niam.Tomorrow we will go visit my mother. |
| 95 | nag hmo | yesterday | Nag hmo kuv mob heev.Yesterday I was very sick. |
| 96 | nyiaj | money | Kuv tsis muaj nyiaj.I don't have money. |
| 97 | mob | sick / pain | Kuv tus me nyuam mob.My child is sick. |
| 98 | qhib | to open | Thov koj qhib qhov rooj.Please open the door. |
| 99 | kaw | to close | Nws kaw qhov rooj lawm.He already closed the door. |
| 100 | hu | to call | Kuv hu koj lub npe.I call your name. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
Final letters mark tone, not sound
Letters like -b, -j, -v, -s, -m, and -g at the end of a Hmong Daw word are not pronounced as consonants at all. They mark one of the language's tones. 'Koj' (you) ends in -j for a high-falling tone, it is not pronounced like an English 'j' sound.
peb means both 'we' and 'three'
'Peb' is a genuine homophone: it means 'we/us' in one context and the number 'three' in another. Listeners tell them apart from context alone, the same way English speakers separate 'to,' 'too,' and 'two.'
rau means both 'six' and 'to/for'
The same is true of 'rau,' which is the number six and also a common preposition meaning 'to,' 'for,' or 'into,' as in 'Qhov no yog rau koj' (this is for you). Context, not spelling, tells you which one is meant.
tus vs. lub (classifiers)
Hmong Daw requires a classifier before most nouns, similar to how English says 'a piece of paper' rather than just 'a paper.' 'Tus' is used for people and animals, while 'lub' is the general classifier used for many everyday objects like houses and cars. Picking the wrong one is a common learner mistake.
Verbs never change form
Hmong Daw verbs stay exactly the same no matter the subject or the time being talked about. There is no conjugation at all. Instead, separate words carry that information, such as 'yuav' for future actions or 'tau' for something already completed, alongside time words like 'nag hmo' (yesterday) and 'tag kis' (tomorrow).
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Hmong Daw and following it.