Burmese by Ear

Burmese By Ear
or
Essential Myanmar
Reference text
to accompany the audio
Burmese By Ear
or
Essential Myanmar
By
John Okell
Available for free download from

http://www.soas.ac.uk/sea/burmese/
The website of
The School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London
Burmese By Ear Acknowledgements
or Essential Myanmar
The author gratefully acknowledges the
assistance of Daw Khin Mya Swe and Daw Yin
First Published in England in 2002 by Audio- Yin May, both of whom read the draft course for
Forum, Sussex Publications Limited, Microworld accuracy. He is also grateful to the following for
House, 4 Foscote Mews, London W9 2HH. ISBN finding time to come to the studio and con-
1 86013 758 x tribute to the recordings:
U Khin Daw Khin Mya Swe
Audio-Forum relinquished publication rights in U Nay Tun Daw Mo Mo Khaing
2006, after which the course was distributed by U Nay Win Daw Saw Yu Win
the author. U Pe Than Daw Tin Htar Swe
U Than Lwin Tun Daw Tin May Aye
From 2009 it has been available for downloading The recordings were made at The School of Ori-
free of charge from the website of The School of ental and African Studies in the University of
Oriental and African Studies in the University of London by Michael Baptista and Bernard
London. Howard. Some vital late-stage electronic editing
would have been impossible without the capable
and generous help of Dr Justin Watkins, Lec-
turer in Burmese at SOAS. And SOAS provided
facilities for computing, printing, copying, tape-
editing, faxing, phoning, email and so on.
CONTENTS
begins on: page nº tape nº

Introductory:
About this course 5
About Burmese 8
Part 1. Foundations
The author 1 Statements and questions, numbers 1-9999, and prices
14 1A
John Okell, a graduate of The Queen's College, 2 Going to do, want to do, please do, and counting
Oxford, was Lecturer in Burmese (Myanmar) at 31 1B
the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London, until his retirement in Part 2. First needs
1999. Since then he has undertaken short-term 3 Language help 43 2A
teaching engagements in Thailand, the USA and 4 Cafés and restaurants 47 2A
London, and is active in developing materials 5 Taxis 55 2B
for the study of Burmese. 6 Shops 70 3A
7 Taking photographs 79 3A
Okell has made numerous visits to Burma 8 Asking the way 83 3A
(Myanmar), is the designer of the Ava Burmese
font for computers, and acts as consultant for
various Burma-related activities. He is a Part 3. First conversations
Research Associate at the School of Oriental and 9 Your visit to Burma 88 3A
African Studies, and Chairman of the Britain- 10 Asking names and ages 104 3B
Burma Society in London. He was awarded the 11 Asking about work 112 4A
Tuttle Grand Prize for 1996 for his work on 12 Asking about family 118 4A
Burmese By Ear. 12+ Parents, brothers and sisters 125 —
In addition to articles on Burmese grammar,

linguistics, and lexicography, Okell has Part 4. Review 4B
published Burmese/Myanmar: a dictionary of On the tapes, the Review sections are all placed together on
grammatical forms (with Anna Allott, 2001), Tape 4 Side B, following the end of the Lessons. In the
Burmese: an introduction (4 vols, 34 tapes, 1993), booklet each Review section is located immediately after
First steps in Burmese (1989), A guide to the the group of Lessons it reviews.
romanization of Burmese (1971), and A reference
grammar of colloquial Burmese (2 vols, 1969).
BURMESE BY EAR or ESSENTIAL MYANMAR
The language has two names: Burmese and Myanmar.
See “About Burmese” below.
Appendices
Outline description of Burmese —
1 pronunciation 127 To start using the course
2 script 136 Simply put Tape 1 in your player and follow the instructions you
3 grammar 144 hear. The tapes carry all the teaching and all the practice for
4 the number system 162 Burmese by Ear, so you can learn everything in the course
5 Topical vocabularies for — without using the booklet at all. The booklet is provided for
5.1 food and drinks 173 reference and backup only. For more detail see “About this
5.2 sites and placenames 178 course” below.
5.3 kin terms 182
5.4 you and I 184
5.5 this, that and what 186 Help yourself to learn: two vital steps
5.6 traditional Burmese clothing 187 1. After each Exercise, wind back the tape and repeat the exer-
6 Further reading 189 cise until you can speak the answers without hesitating.
7 General vocabulary English-Burmese 193 2. At the end of each Unit, insert Tape 4 into your player and
work through the Review Sections on Side B. Wind back and
repeat each Review until you can answer fluently and accu-
The tapes rately.
Side at start —
1A Lesson 1.1 begins
1B Lesson 1.6 continues Why wind back?
2A Lesson 2.2 continues This is a highly compressed course. In order to squeeze all the
2B Lesson 4.5 continues material into the narrow compass of four tapes we had to leave
3A Lesson 6.1 begins out much of the review and repetition that a longer course
3B Lesson 9.2 continues would have given you. This means that you yourself have to
4A Lesson 10.4 continues provide the repetition you need to fix the new material in your
4B Reviews for all Units begin memory. Hence the importance of the two steps above.
EF
EF
Burmese By Ear 5
ABOUT THIS COURSE
BBE is a systematically graded foundation course in

modern colloquial Burmese. It aims to give you a confident and
enjoyable start in speaking Burmese, focussing on what you are
most likely to need when you visit Burma: “survival language”
for cafés, taxis, shops, and so on, and “social language” for
getting to know people and making friends. You will find that
Burmese is a much easier language to learn than many people
think.
BBE has several advantages over the conventional trav-

eller’s phrase book. First, it begins by giving you a grounding in
the rudiments of Burmese grammar, concentrating exclusively
on the high-frequency elements you need for survival and social
purposes. So instead of having to parrot-learn lengthy and un-
memorable phrases, you learn how to make up your own
sentences and say what you want to say.
Secondly, you take a speaking part in the exercises and

dialogues in BBE, so you have active practice in talking, and
what you learn takes root.
Thirdly, because you take in the whole course through your

ear you achieve an accurate pronunciation effortlessly from the
start — instead of having to try and make sense of baffling
romanized spellings and inadequate written descriptions of
sounds.
Fourthly, you can listen to the tapes when your eyes and
hands are occupied, so instead of having to find time in the day
to sit down and study, you can learn Burmese while you’re
walking or washing or travelling or driving.
Course structure
The course is divided into four “Parts”. Before you can feel
at all confident with a new language you need to get to know the
6 Burmese By Ear Burmese By Ear 7
common sentence types — how to make statements, how to ask In some of the practice dialogues you will find — as you
questions, and so on — so Part 1 of BBE concentrates on just that. will in real life — that the Burmese speaker says something you
You can get by in Burmese with surprisingly few sentence types, can’t follow. These passages are put in deliberately. They are
so the focus of the lessons soon changes from sentence types to there to acclimatise you to the experience (so you won’t panic
situations: talking to waiters, talking to shopkeepers, and so on. when it happens for real) and to give you practice in making
appropriate responses: “Could you say that again?”, “I’m sorry: I
Also built into Part 1 are lessons on the Burmese number don’t understand”, and so on.
system and counting, and separate sections on pronunciation.
Many of the sounds of Burmese are the same as the sounds of What’s in the book
English, so if you’re a speaker of English it won’t be hard to get
those sounds right. However, there are other sounds in Burmese All the explanations and practice of the course are on the
that English speakers often get wrong, and if you do, the results tapes. The book is an unnecessary extra. It provides —
can be quite serious: you can find you’ve said something quite
different from what you meant to say — sometimes disastrously 1. a summary, for each lesson, of the new structures and words
different. The separate sections for pronunciation training are you have learned from the tapes, helpful if you want a quick
there to ensure that you don’t fall into that trap. overview of what you learned last time, or a reminder of some
words or structures you’ve forgotten
Part 2 is about “first needs”: the kinds of things you’re 2. a written reminder of the orally presented material, helpful for
likely to want to say and understand soon after you arrive in those who can memorise language more easily if they see it
Burma — talking to waiters and shopkeepers, asking the way written down — but don’t let the romanization mislead you
and so on; and Part 3 is about meeting people socially: introduc- into producing strange pronunciations
ing yourself, making friends, and finding out about each other. 3. notes and explanations that are too detailed for the tape
4. in the appendices, for reference purposes, a brief outline of
Part 4 is the Review Section. Most of the course is made up Burmese grammar, of the pronunciation, of the script, and the
of short “lessons”: each one introduces you to two or three new number system; and a vocabulary.
words or phrases or structures, and gives you some practice with
them. Every now and again the tape will advise you to listen to In the book, Burmese words and phrases are written both
the relevant Review. The Review runs through all the language in Burmese script and in a romanization. There is no widely
you’ve learned in the last few lessons, giving you an overview of accepted system for romanizing Burmese. Some methods fail to
what you’ve covered, and reminding you of any words and make all the distinctions you need to make in pronunciation, and
structures that may be slipping from your memory. other methods are awkward to read, so no one system has yet
been devised that satisfies everyone. The system used in the
Another way you may find the Review Section helpful is book is just one among many. Rather than relying on a roman-
when some weeks or months have passed since you worked ization it is better to learn words by ear, or to learn to read the
through the lessons, and you just want to brush up what you script.
learned. The Review Section lets you have some practice with-
out having to listen to the explanations in the lessons all over
again.
ABOUT BURMESE Not everyone accepts the change of name. International

organizations like the UN have naturally acted on notification
Burmese and Myanmar from the government; and the international business community,
who need to avoid governmental displeasure, have adopted the
The indigenous population of Burma is made up of several new name without reservation. Foreigners and Burmese expa-
different ethnic and linguistic groups. Just as the United King- triates who oppose the miltary government, and contest its right
dom has its Scots and Welsh and English inhabitants, so does to rule, deliberately persist in using the old names Burmese and
Burma have Karens, Shan, Kayah, Mon, Kachin, and others. The Burma as a symbol of their opposition and defiance. A third
largest of these groups is the Burmese, who account for nearly group, which includes the author of this course, continue to use
70% of the total population. the old names on the grounds that those are the names their
audience is familiar with, whereas there are still many people
The Burmese name for themselves and their language has who don’t yet know the new name Myanmar.
two forms: you use Myanmar in formal contexts (e.g. in book
titles or the names of university departments), and Bamar in Speakers of Burmese
informal conversation. The name of the country in other
languages — English, French, German, Thai, Japanese — is based The population of Burma is estimated at around 45 million.
on the informal version. The difference between the two forms is Of these, around 70% are mother tongue speakers of Burmese,
rather like the way speakers of English talk informally about and most members of the ethnic minorities learn Burmese at
going to “Holland” but address letters to “The Netherlands”. school or in the course of trading and travelling. Outside Burma
there are groups of speakers in Thailand and Bangladesh, many
In 1989 the government announced that they wanted of them refugees fleeing persecution. There are also quite large
foreigners to stop using the words “Burma” and “Burmese”. expatriate groups in Australia (particularly Perth), the US, the
Instead they wanted the world to use “Myanmar” for the coun- UK, and Japan.
try and its indigenous people, and “Bamar” for the majority
ethnic and linguistic group. So members of the ethnic minorities You will find many people in Burma who can speak
— Karen, for example — would be Myanmar by nationality and English well, and others who remember a bit from schooldays.
Karen by race; while the majority group would also be Myanmar All staff in immigration, customs, tourist shops and most hotels
by nationality, but their race would be Bamar. Previously, the are English speakers. However, it is useful to learn to speak at
same distinction was made by using “Burmese” for the national- least a little Burmese for two reasons. One is that you will find
ity and “Burman” for the race. that English speakers are less common once you are off the
beaten track. The other reason is that a foreign speaker of
The language you learn from this course is the language of Burmese is still a rarity, and it gives genuine pleasure to many
the “Bamar”, but as it is recognized as the national language of Burmese to find that you have taken the trouble to try and learn
the country and is used as a lingua franca by the Karen and Shan the language. And you will receive a warmer reception as a
and other ethnic groups, the government refers to it as result.
“Myanmar”.
The Burmese language includes a three-way contrast (voiced, voiceless and aspirate, e.g.
g-k-kh) at five points of articulation, it has six pairs of plain and
Precise relationships among many of the languages related breathed continuants (e.g. l-hl), and distinguishes four types of
to Burmese are not yet fully worked out, but the following family syllable by means of a combination of pitch and voice quality
tree will give an idea of current thinking among specialists. (high vs low, creaky vs plain). Notable features of Burmese
syntax are that the verb is always final in the sentence, that all
Sino-Tibetan subordinate clauses precede the main clause, that relative clauses
precede their head noun, that markers corresponding to English
prepositions follow the noun, and that the counting system uses
Sinitic Tibeto-Burman classifiers.
The two styles of Burmese

Bodic Baric Burmic Kareni
c When Burmese speakers write a letter to a friend they write
just as they speak. However, when they are writing something
weighty, like an academic article or an application to a govern-
varieties Tibetan Kuki-Chin Lolo- other varieties ment department or a notice to display on the wall, they use a
of Kanauri Naga Burmese langs of Karen markedly different style. The normal conversational style is
Chinese Gurung, Meithei (E Burma, usually called the “colloquial” style, and the formal one is called
Tamang Jinghpaw etc W the “literary” style. The difference lies almost entirely in the
Limbu (Assam, Thailand) grammar words: the words for if, but, when, from, and, and so on.
(N India, Manipur, N You use one set of grammar words in the colloquial style and a
Nepal, Burma, different set for the literary style. For example:
Himalayas) Yunnan) The Burmese for: from because but plural
In colloquial style: gá ló dáw dwe
In literary style: hmá ywé mu myá
Loloish: Burmish: Apart from a few exceptions, all the other words — nouns and
Lolo (Yi), Lahu, Lisu Burmese, Maru, verbs and so on — remain the same in both styles.
Akha Atsi
(Yunnan, N Burma, (Burma, Yunnan) The contrast between the two styles can be seen most
Thailand, Vietnam) clearly in fiction. All the narrative in the text is written in literary
style, but the dialogue, when the characters are saying things to
Table adapted from data in A guide to the languages of the
world by Merritt Ruhlen (1987) and The major languages of
each other, is all written in the colloquial style.
East and Southeast Asia by Bernard Comrie (1990, London,
Routledge). What you learn in this course is all in the colloquial style.
To study the literary style you need to learn to read the script.
The sound system and structure of Burmese and its rela-
tives differ from English and the more familiar European
languages in several striking ways. The phonology of Burmese
Burmese script and literature the roman letters, but not many agree on how the sounds of
Burmese should be spelled in the alien alphabet. You’ll find the
Burmese has its own script. It was adapted for Burmese same sound romanized as Me or May or Mei or Mey or Mae, and
around 1100 AD from the script used by the Mon people for their many other sounds have just as many variants.
language, and that in turn was derived ultimately from a script
devised and used in India between 500 BC and 300 AD. Many of The problem is that Burmese has several sounds for which
the languages of India and South East Asia are written in scripts there are no obvious characters in the roman alphabet. The best
derived from the same source, so, although at first sight the you can hope for is that any one book should be consistent from
characters of Burmese, Thai, Javanese, Khmer and the rest may beginning to end, and that the letters it chooses to represent the
not look much like each other, they do share many common sounds of Burmese are not too implausible. Remember that any
features. You will find an outline of the Burmese script system romanization system, however carefully designed, can’t avoid
in Appendix 2. using some letters that stand for one sound in English and
another in Burmese. So you need to make a conscious effort to
The earliest texts in Burmese are stone inscriptions record- produce the sound you hear on the tapes, not the sound you
ing the foundation of monasteries and pagodas, and donations of think you ought to hear when you read the romanization.
land to the Buddhist religion. From around the 1400s and 1500s
we have long poems on Buddhist history and teaching, and Body language
others in praise of the king and his exploits. There are also early
prose texts on law and history. In succeeding centuries there Every culture has its set of conventional signs and gestures
were several innovations in literary creation, of which the most that show respect or cause offence. Things to remember in
momentous was the introduction of fiction in the early 1900s. Burma:
Contemporary Burmese publishing covers much the same range Treat older people and Buddhist monks with respect. Also
as any modern culture: newspapers and magazines, novels and Buddha images and other religious objects.
short stories (historical, thriller, detective, courtroom, propa- Don’t tower over people senior to yourself: lower your head a
gandist, allegorical, romantic, comical, social, psychological, etc), little if you have to pass close in front of them.
comic strips, plays, poems, memoirs, travelogues, biographies, Don’t point your feet towards a senior person.
autobiographies, essays, educative writing and manuals and Don’t touch people on the head.
studies of literature, history, economics, technology, religion, Behave modestly: don’t wear revealing clothing, and avoid
medicine, business, etc. There is also an active film and video hugging and kissing in public.
industry. All publications in whatever medium are subject to Use both hands to hand something to a person senior to
strict state censorship. yourself, and to receive something from them.
Take off shoes and socks before entering a house or the
Romanizing Burmese grounds of a monastery or pagoda.
Keep calm and courteous in all situations.
People who can’t read and write Burmese script have to
find a way of representing Burmese words and names in other For a full account of what’s polite and what’s offensive in
writing systems. Ever since the first days of contact with visitors Burmese society, see Culture shock Burma, by Saw Myat Yin
from the West people have attempted to write Burmese words in (details in Appendix 6).
14 Burmese By Ear Unit 1: First words 15
SUMMARY AND NOTES phrases like “isn’t it?”, “don’t you?”, “won’t they?”, and so
FOR THE LESSONS ON THE TAPES on.
-deh is a suffix that has two functions:
REMINDER 1. It is used to show you are making a statement, as in:
All the essential information this course contains is on the Pu-deh. It’s hot.
tapes, along with all the practice in talking and listening. É -deh. It’s cold.
This booklet only contains summaries, additional notes, and
reference lists. On its own it will not help you learn to
2. It is used when you are talking about individual Burmese
speak Burmese. words, as in:
Pu-deh. To be hot.
PART 1. FIRST WORDS AND SENTENCE TYPES É -deh. To be cold.
For a summary of essential Burmese grammar see Appendix
UNIT 1. STATEMENTS AND QUESTIONS, 3.
NUMBERS 1-9999, AND PRICES Adjectives. Although we have to translate pu-deh , é-deh and the
others with the English adjectives: “hot”, “cold”, and so on, in
1.1. IT IS …, ISN’T IT? terms of Burmese grammar they must be classified as verbs:
“to be hot”, “to be cold”, etc.
New words “It”. Burmese does have words for “it”, but when it’s obvious
pu-deh p¨ty\ to be hot, it is hot what you’re talking about you normally leave them out. So in
é-deh eA;ty\ to be cold, it is cold the question —
kaún-deh ekac\;ty\ to be good, it is good K aún-deh-naw? It’s good, isn’t it?
yá-deh rty\ to be all right, it is all right all you are actually saying in Burmese is “Is good, right?”
Sentences Writing and pronouncing Burmese. Burmese is normally written

Pu-deh-naw? p¨ty\ena\" It’s hot, isn’t it? in its own script, which is what you see in the central column
É -deh-naw? eA;ty\ena\" It’s cold, isn’t it? above. Learners who haven’t yet learned to read Burmese script
K aún-deh-naw? ekac\;ty\ena\" It’s good, isn’t it? have to use a romanization — a method of representing Burmese
Y á-deh-naw? rty\ena\" It’s all right, isn’t it? sounds in roman letters. That is what you see in the left hand
column. As Burmese has some sounds which are not used in
Notes English, and a romanization has to try and represent them with
Suffixes. Any word which is attached to the end of other words familiar roman letters, not all the letters stand for the sounds you
is called a “suffix”. For example, in English -ing is a suffix: may expect. That is one of the reasons why it it is far more
you add it to talk to make talking, to fill to make filling and so effective to learn through your ears from the tapes rather than
on. Suffixes are very important in Burmese, because they are from the printed page. Guidance on pronunciation is given on
the bits that carry almost all the grammar: ideas like “did”, the tape in each of the first eight lessons. Always follow the
“don’t”, “will”, “in”, “if” and many others. pronunciation you hear on the tape, and don’t try to read new
- n a w is a suffix that you add to a statement when you want words aloud from the page. At the end of this booklet you will
someone to agree with you. You can think of it as meaning find a description of all the sounds of Burmese, a note of which
“right?”, but it’s often more appropriate to translate -naw with
Pronounce ei as in vein, ai as in Thailand, ou as in though, au as in Sauerkraut. Pronounce ei as in vein, ai as in Thailand, ou as in though, au as in Sauerkraut.
roman letters we use to represent them, and an outline of the 1.2. YES, IT IS.
Burmese writing system.
Sentences
Pronunciation points S1 stands for “Speaker 1”, and S2 for “Speaker 2”. We use this
Pronunciation points that need attention are mentioned convention to show when one sentence is a response to another.
on the tape as they occur in the first few Lessons. For an S1 Pu-deh-naw? p¨ty\ena\" It’s hot, isn’t it?
overview of the sounds of Burmese, and the roman S2 H ouq-kéh. Pu-ba-deh. hut\k´." p¨påty\" Yes, it is.
symbols used here to represent them, see Appendix 1. S1 É -deh-naw? eA;ty\ena\" It’s cold, isn’t it?
S2 H ouq-kéh. hu t k
\ "
. ´ Yes, it is.
Plain P and aspirate P: É -ba-deh. eA;påty\"
pán-deh, p ’án-deh pn\;ty\' Pm\;ty\" to spurt, to catch S1 K aún-deh-naw? ekac\;ty\ena\" It’s good, isn’t it?
Plain K and aspirate K: S2 H ouq-kéh. hut\k´." Yes, it is.
koun-bi, k ’oun-bi. kun\®p^' Kun\®p^" It’s all gone, It’s K aún-ba-deh. ekac\;påty\"
started jumping. S1 Y á-deh-naw? rty\ena\" It’s all right, isn’t it?
High tone and low tone: S2 H ouq-kéh. Y á-ba-deh. hut\k´." rpåty\" Yes, it is.
pu-deh, pú-deh p¨ty\' p¨;ty\ to be hot, to be
stuck together Notes
H ouq-kéh. Literally “It is so.” Used like “Yes” in English to show
Numbers you agree with what someone has said. Also to show you are
´ n—lé
tiq— hniq— thou 1—2—3—4
ts\_N˙s\_quM;_el; following what they say — you hear it a lot when someone is
For figures in Burmese script see Appendix 2 (outline of Burmese listening to a caller on the phone.
script). -ba (in pu-ba-deh etc) is a suffix people add in to show they are
being polite. So both Pu-ba-deh and Pu-deh mean “It’s hot”,
Pronunciation points but the first is a little more polite and courteous, the second a
Plain T and aspirate T: little more casual, even brusque. For practice on the tape we
taún-deh, etac\;ty\' to ask, use the politer option […]-ba-deh throughout. Note that -ba is
t ’aún-deh eTac\;ty\ to thump not needed in questions: it is perfectly polite to ask P u-deh-
Plain N and breathed N: naw? (rather than Pu-ba-deh-naw? )
na, hna na' N˙a sore, nose
niq, hniq ns\' N˙s\ sink, two Pronunciation point
Glottal stop: Vowels e and eh:
tiq, hniq, c ’auq one, two, six
ts\' N˙s\' e®Kak\ lé-deh, léh-deh el;ty\' l´ty\ to be heavy, to fall over
For a summary of the Burmese number system see Appendix 4. we-deh, weh-deh ewty\' wy\ty\ to share out, to buy
Numbers
lé—ngá el;_cå; 4—5
c ’auq—k ’ un-hniq e®Kak\_KuN˙s\ 6—7
Pronunciation point Numbers

Consonant ng-: k ’ un-hniq—shiq KuN˙s\_r˙s\ 7—8
ngá cå; five kó—tăs ’ eh kui;_ts\Sy\ 9—10
1.3. NEW WORDS Pronunciation point

á-deh Aa;ty\ to be free Vowels o and aw :
hlá-deh l˙ty\ to be pretty o-deh, aw-deh Auity\' eAa\ty\ to be old, to shout
saq-teh sp\ty\ to be hot (to taste)
caiq-teh ’kik\ty\ to like 1.4. NO, IT ISN’T.
Notes Sentences
-t eh. After a word ending in -q the suffix -deh (see 1.1) is pro- S1 Caiq-teh-naw? ’kik\ty\ena\" You like it, don’t you?
nounced -t eh , as in saq-t eh and caiq-t eh above. In the same S2 Măcaiq-pa-bú. m’kik\påB¨;" No, I don’t.
way after a word ending in - q the suffix - b a (see 1.2) is S1 Y á-deh-naw? rty\ena\" It’s all right, isn’t it?
pronounced -pa ; example: S2 Măyá-ba-bú. mrpåB¨;" No, it isn’t.
S2 Saq-pa-deh. sp\påty\" It is hot to taste
( not Saq-ba-deh.) Notes
These two changes are examples of the “Voicing Rule”. For M ă […] -b a -b ú . “It isn’t […]” or “I don’t […]” etc. M ă - is the
more, see Appendix 1. When we need to refer to these two “negative prefix”: it is attached to the beginning of a word,
suffixes again, we give both the normal and the voiced forms: and conveys the meaning “not”; and when you’re making a
-pa/-ba , -teh/-deh . negative statement, instead of using the suffix -teh/- deh , you
“You” and “I”. Burmese does have words for “you” and “I”, as use the suffix -p ’ú/-bú .
it does for “it”, but most of the time it’s quite clear from the -ba (in M ăpu-ba-bú etc) is the same polite suffix as the -pa/- ba in
situation who or what you are talking about, so people simply Pu-ba-deh etc. It is a signal that you are being polite. So you
leave out those words. So, for example, in this exchange: will hear people saying both M ăpu-ba-bú and M ăpu-bú . Both
S1 Caiq-teh-naw? You like it, don’t you? mean the same thing, but the first is more polite than the
S2 H ouq-kéh. Caiq-pa-deh. Yes, I do. second.
all you are in fact saying in Burmese is — “No”. Burmese doesn’t use a word that corresponds directly to
S1 Caiq-teh-naw? Like, right? “No”. When you’re asked if you like something and you
S2 H ouq-kéh. Caiq-pa-deh. True. Like. want to answer “No”, you just say “Not like”.
Pronunciation points Pronunciation point

Plain L and breathed L: Plain C and aspirate C:
laun-deh, elac\ty\' to burn, ceq-teh, c ’ eq-teh k¥k\ty\' K¥k\ty\ to learn by heart, to cook
hlaun-deh el˙ac\ty\ to store away
Plain high tone and creaky high tone: Numbers
yá-deh, yá-deh rty\' ya;ty\ to be all right, to itch thoun-nyá quv 0
S1 Teh-li-p ’oún nan-baq ty\l^Pun\; nMpåt\ What’s your Ná măleh-ba-bú. na;mlv\påB¨;" I don’t understand.
beh-lauq-léh? By\elak\l´" telephone Zé măcı́´ -ba-bú. eZ;mÂk^ ; påB¨ ;" It isn’t expensive.
number? You don’t say Măná-leh-ba-bú or Măzé-cı́´ -ba-bú.
S2 Lé-lé-k ’un-k’un-thoún- el;el;K∑n\K∑n\quM;på" It’s 44773.
ba. Numbers
tăs ’ eh—hnăs ’ eh ts\Sy\_N˙s\Sy\ 10–20–30
Teh-li-p ’oún nan-baq “telephone number”. Examples of English thoún-zeh quM;Sy\
words that have been adopted into Burmese. Some speakers lé-zeh—ngá-zeh el;Sy\_cå;Sy\ 40–50–60
pronounce English loanwords with a good English accent c ’auq-s ’ eh e®Kak\Sy\
(usually British English), and others pronounce them with a k ’ un-năs ’ eh—shiq-s’ eh KuN˙s\Sy\_r˙s\Sy\ 70–80–90
strong Burmese accent. kó-zeh kui;Sy\
Beh-lauq-léh “what is?” Literally “how much?” tăya ts\ra 100
K ’ un . A short form of k ’ un-hniq KuN˙s\ often used in saying phone
numbers. -s ’ eh/- zeh “ten”. In compound numbers (e.g. t ăs ’ eh – hnăs ’ eh –
Thoun-nyá “zero”. Take care not to confuse this word with thoún thoún-zeh ) -s ’ eh is voiced to -zeh except after a syllable ending
“three”: apart from the second syllable nyá , a major difference in -q or in -ă . Changing the pronunciation from s ’ to z is
is that “three” has a high tone (thoún ) where “zero” has a low known as “voicing”. For more see “Voicing Rule” in
tone (thoun ). Appendix 1.
- b a (or - p a after a word ending in - q ). A suffix added to a t i q /t ă - “one”. When the numbers t i q, hniq, k ’ un-hniq are
sentence to show you are being polite, like the -pa/- ba in P u- combined with s ’ eh , they are shortened, so instead of tiq-s ’ eh,
ba-deh etc. hniq-s’ eh, k ’ un-hniq-s’ eh you hear: tăs ’ eh, hnăs ’ eh, k ’ un-năs ’ eh .
We call this change from t iq to t ă etc “weakening”. It takes
Pronunciation points place when tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq are combined with any other
Consonant ny-: word: t ăs ’ eh “one ten”, hnăya “two hundreds”, k ’ un-năt ’ aun
thoun-nyá quv zero “seven thousands”, tăk ’weq “one cup”, and so on.
Final nasal -n :
thoún, teh-li-p ’oún quM;' ty\l^Pun\; three, telephone Pronunciation point
Plain S and aspirate S:
1.5. NEW WORDS sán-deh, sm\;ty\' to try out,
s ’án-deh Sn\;ty\ to be strange
ná*leh-deh na;lv\ty\ to understand
Literally “ear (ná ) goes round” 1.6. VERY, A LITTLE, NOT VERY
zé *cı́-deh eZ;Âk^;ty\ to be expensive
Literally “price (zé ) is great”. theiq qip\ very
néh-néh nń´ (or nv\;nv\;) a little
Notes
*. We use the * to remind you that the negative prefix goes Example sentences
before the second element, not before the first: Theiq é-ba-deh. qip\ eA;påty\" It’s very cold.
Theiq caiq-pa-deh. qip\ ’kik\påty\" I like it very much. s ’ éh-tiq, Sy\.ts\'

Néh-néh saq-pa- nń´ sp\påty\" It’s a bit hot to taste. s ’ éh-hniq, etc Sy\.N˙s\' sqv\
deh.
Néh-néh zé*cı́´ -ba- nń´ eZ;Âk^;påty\" It’s a bit expensive. Variant.
deh. In place of c ’auq-s ’ éh-lé etc you may sometimes hear c ’auq-s ’ eh-
Theiq măpu-ba-bú. qip\ mp¨påB¨;" It’s not very hot. néh lé , literally “sixty and four”. More examples:
Theiq ná măleh-ba- qip\ na;mlv\påB¨;" I don’t understand ngá-zéh-kó cå;Sy\.kui; 59
bú. very much. or ngá-zeh-néh kó or cå;Sy\n´≥ kui;
thoún-zéh-c ’auq quM;Sy\.e®Kak\ 36
Notes or thoún-zeh-néh c ’auq or quM;Sy\n´≥ e®Kak\
T h e i q used with a negated verb means “It is so, but not
extremely”; example: 1.7. NEW WORDS
Theiq măpu-ba-bú = “It’s not very hot”,
in the sense of: “It is hot, but not extremely hot”. zé*c ’o-deh eZ;K¥oity\ to be cheap
Word order. Notice that theiq and caiq-pa-deh come in that order: Literally “the price is sweet”
“very much I like” — the opposite order from English. The ne*kaún-deh enekac\;ty\ to be well
rule is that in Burmese all verbs come at the end of the Literally “status is good”. N e *ka ú n -d e h -n a w “You’re well,
sentence. aren’t you?” is a common greeting, like “How are you?”
ăs ’in*pye-deh ASc\e®pty\ to work out well
Pronunciation point Used in connection with, for example, whether your accom-
Consonant t- and consonant th-: modation is satisfactory, or whether you are comfortable in
toún-deh, thoún-deh tuM;ty\' quM;ty\ to be stupid, to use the back seat, etc.
Numbers Numbers
Numbers between the round tens are made in the same way as tăya—hnăya—thoún-ya ts\ra_N˙s\ra_quM;ra 100–200–300
in English; examples: lé-ya—ngá-ya— c ’auq-ya el;ra_cå;ra_e®Kak\ra 400–500–600
c ’auq-s ’ éh-lé e®Kak\Sy\.el; 64 k ’ un-năya—shiq-ya—kó-ya KuN˙s\ra_r˙s\ra_kui;ra 700–800–900
ngá-zéh-kó cå;Sy\.kui; 59 tăt ’aun ts\eTac\ 1000
etc
Weakening. The numbers tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq weaken before ya
Notice that the syllable s ’eh (or zeh ) “ten” is normally changed to “a hundred”, in the same way as they do before s ’ eh/z eh “ten”
s ’ é h (or z é h ) (low tone is changed to creaky tone) when (Lesson 1.5).
followed by another number.
The numbers 11 to 19 inclusive often lose the first syllable. In 1.8. IS IT? DO YOU?
place of —
tăs ’ éh-tiq, ts\Sy\.ts\' 11, Example sentences
tăs ’ éh-hniq, etc ts\Sy\.N˙s\' sqv\ 12, etc S1 Ná leh-dhălá? na;lv\qla;" Do you understand?
you often hear —
S2 H ouq-kéh. hut\k´." Yes, I do. Notice that the syllable ya “hundred” is often changed to yá (low
Ná leh-ba-deh. na;lv\påty\" tone changes to creaky tone) when followed by another number.
S1 Saq-thălá? sp\qla;" Is it hot to taste? You may hear either tăya kó-zéh shiq or tăyá kó-zéh shiq . The
S2 Măsaq-pa-bú. msp\påB¨;" No, it isn’t. same tone change occurs with s ’eh “ten” (Lesson 1.6).
Notes Variant.
Voicing. The suffix -thălá is voiced to -dhălá except after a sylla- In place of tăyá kó-zéh shiq etc you may sometimes hear tăya-néh
ble ending in -q . See “Voicing Rule” in Appendix 1. kó -zé h shiq , literally “a hundred and ninety eight”. More
Questions ending in -naw encourage S2 to answer Yes, whereas examples:
questions ending in -thălá/- dh ălá don’t attempt to push S2 in hnăyá c ’auq-s ’ éh ngá N˙s\ra.e®Kak\Sy\.cå; 265
either direction. Compare these two examples: or hnăya-néh c ’auq-s ’éh ngá or N˙s\ran´≥ e®Kak\Sy\.cå;
Caiq-thălá? ’kik\qla;" Do you like it? k ’ un-năyá-hnăs ’ eh KuN˙s\ra.N˙s\Sy\ 720
Caiq-teh-naw? ’kik\ty\ena\" You do like it, don’t you? or k ’un-năya-néh hnăs ’eh or KuN˙s\ran´≥ N˙s\Sy\
There is a similar variant for numbers in tens and units (Lesson
Earlier you learned Ne-kaún-deh-naw? “You’re well, aren’t you?” 1.6).
as a form of greeting. The question also occurs in three other
versions. Here are all four: 1.9. THIS AND THAT
1 Ne-kaún-deh- enekac\;ty\ena\" You are well, aren't
new? you? da då this (nearer me)
2 Ne-kaún-dhălá? enekac\;qla;" Are you well? éh-da A´då that (nearer you)
3 Ne-kaún-lá? enekac\;la;" Are you well?
4 Ne-kaún-yéh-lá? enekac\;r´.la;" Are you well? Example sentences
Da saq-thălá? då sp\qla;" Is this hot to taste?
As greetings formulae, all four are used interchangeably. The Da é-dhălá? då eA;qla;" Is this cold?
second form in this list uses the regular question ending you É h-da zé cı́´ -dhălá? A´då eZ;*Âk^;qla;" Is that expensive?
have just learned. The third is a reduced version of that. And É h-da caiq-pa-deh. A´då ’kik\påty\" I like that one.
the fourth uses the suffix -yéh in place of the suffix -dhă- : see the
verb suffixes section in Appendix 3 (outline grammar). Notes
In all four cases the answer is the same: Word order. Notice that in sentences like É h-da caiq-pa-deh
Ne-kaún-ba-deh. enekac\;påty\" I’m fine. Burmese word order is the opposite of English. In English
you say “I like that one”, but in Burmese you say “That one I
Numbers like”. The rule is that in Burmese all verbs come at the end of
Numbers between the round hundreds are made in the same the sentence. We noticed the same rule with theiq in Lesson
way as in English; examples: 1.6.
tăyá kó-zéh shiq ts\ra.kui;Sy\.r˙s\ 198 This and that. There is no clear-cut boundary between da and
hnăyá c ’auq-s ’ éh ngá N˙s\ra.e®Kak\Sy\.cå; 265 é h -d a : don’t be surprised if we sometimes translate d a as
etc “that” and éh-da as “this”. The boundary is equally vague in
English: compare (a) “The date: this is what I want to discuss” c ’auq-t ’aun ngá-ya e®Kak\eTac\ cå;ra 6500
with (b) “The date: that is what I want to discuss”. hnăt ’aún kó-ya ngá-zéh N˙ s e
\ Tac\ . ku ;
i ra cå;Sy\ . cå; 2955
Other words for “this” and “that”: see the Topical Vocabulary for ngá
“this, that and what”. tăt ’aún hnăyá thoún-zéh lé ts\eTac\. N˙s\ra. quM;Sy\. el; 1234
Notice that the syllable t ’aun “thousand” may be changed to t ’aún
Numbers (low tone changed to creaky) when followed by another
tăt ’aun— hnăt ’aun ts\eTac\_N˙s\eTac\ 1000–2000 number. You may hear either c ’auq-t ’aun ngá-ya or c ’auq-t ’aún
thoún-daun—lé-daun quM;eTac\_el;eTac\ 3000–4000 ngá-ya . The same tone change occurs with s ’ eh “ten” and ya
ngá-daun—c ’auq-t ’aun cå;eTac\_e®Kak\eTac\ 5000–6000 “a hundred” (Lessons 1.6, 1.8).
k ’ un-năt ’aun—shiq-t ’aun KuN˙s\eTac\_r˙s\eTac\ 7000–8000 Numbers beginning with one thousand often lose the first
kó-daun—tăthaún kui;eTac\_ts\eqac\; 9000–10000 syllable. In place of tăt ’aún tăya (1100), tăt ’aún hnăyá ngá-zeh
(1250) etc, you will hear t ’aún tăya , t ’aún hnăyá ngá-zeh , etc.
Weakening. The numbers tiq, hniq, k ’un-hniq weaken before t ’aun There is a similar variation for numbers beginning with tăs ’ eh
“a thousand” as usual (Lesson 1.5). (Lesson 1.6).
Voicing. T ’ a u n “a thousand” is voiced to d a u n except after a
syllable ending in -q or in -ă . It is obeying the same rule as Variant.
s ’ eh/z eh “ten” (Lesson 1.5). See the examples, and “Voicing In place of c ’auq-t ’aun ngá-ya etc you may sometimes hear c ’auq-
Rule” in Appendix 1. t ’aun-néh ngá-ya , literally “six thousand and five hundred”.
More examples:
1.10. NEW WORDS hnăt ’aún kó-ya ngá-zéh ngá N˙s\eTac\. kui;ra cå;Sy\. cå; 2955
or hnăt ’aun-néh kó-ya ngá- N˙ s e
\ Tac\ n ≥
´ ku ;
i ra cå;Sy\ . cå;
lo-jin-deh luiK¥c\ty\ to want (something) zéh ngá
hma-deh m˙aty\ to order (e.g. a drink in a café) tăt ’aún hnăyá thoún-zéh lé ts\eTac\. N˙s\ra. quM;Sy\. el; 1234
ăthá*pa-deh Aqa;påty\ to have meat in (“meat contain”) or tăt ’aun-néh hnăyá or ts\eTac\n´≥ N˙s\ra. quM;Sy\.
thoún-zéh lé el;
Notes There are similar variants for numbers in tens and units and in
lo-jin-deh. Make sure you keep the low tone on lo- good and low. hundreds and units (Lessons 1.6 and 1.8).
If you pronounce lo with a high tone, the word sounds like a
coarse way of saying you want to have sex. 1.11. WHICH ONE?
Pronunciation point Example sentences

Plain M and breathed M: Beh-ha By\ha Which one has meat in?
maq-teh, mt\ty\' to be steep, ăthá*pa-dhăléh? Aqa;*påql´"
hmaq-teh m˙t\ty\ to make a mark Beh-ha saq- By\ha Which one is hot to taste?
thăléh? sp\ql´"
Numbers Beh-ha By\ha Which one is cool?
Numbers between the round thousands are made in the same é-dhăléh? eA;ql´" Which ones are
way as in English; examples: cooler/the coolest?
Notes REVIEW FOR UNIT 1: FOUNDATIONS, PART 1

Beh-ha : literally “which thing?” “which one?”. Also used where Review exercises are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4
English speakers would say “which things?” “which ones?”: Side B.
Burmese does have ways of distinguishing singular and
plural, but you don’t always have to use them. Phone numbers
Questions that ask Which? What? Why? etc (in this case beh-ha ) Tape Learner
end in -thăléh (or its voiced version -dhăléh ). Questions that thoún-c ’auq- 36369 quM;e®Kak\quM;e®Kak\kui; 36369
can be answered with a Yes or a No end in -thălá/-dhălá . Com- thoún-c ’auq-kó
pare these two: tiq-thoun-nya-tiq- 10104 ts\quvts\quvel; 10104
Beh-ha pu-dhăléh? By\ha p¨ql´" Which one is the hot one? thoun-nya-lé
É h-da pu-dhălá? A´då p¨qla;" Is that one hot? hniq-k ’ un-hniq- 27558 N˙s\KuN˙s\cå;cå;r˙s\ 27558
ngá-ngá-shiq
Numbers Tape Learner
S1 Da beh-lauq-léh? då By\elak\l´" How much is that? What’s your Teh-li-p ’oún nan-baq beh- ty\l^Pun\;nMpåt\
S2 Lé-zéh c ’auq-caq-pa. el;Sy\. It’s 46 kyats. phone number? lauq-léh? By\elak\l´"
e®Kak\k¥p\på" It’s 33669 Thoún-thoún-c ’auq-c ’auq-kó-ba. 33669-på"
caq “kyat”. The unit of Burmese currency. In 2009 the official It’s 11005 Tiq-tiq-thoun-nyá-thoun-nyá-ngá-ba. 11005-på"
exchange rate was 6 kyats to US dollar, but on the street you It’s 42278 Lé-hniq-hniq-k ’ un-niq-shiq-pa. 42278-på"
could get around 1000 kyats to the dollar.
Update on prices in 2009 Prices in Burmese currency
This course was written in 1996. In the intervening years the cost of
living in Burma has risen spectacularly. A cup of tea, for example, that
Tape Learner
cost under 20 kyats in 1996 cost 200 kyats in 2009. A ball point pen tăjaq 1-k¥p\ 1 kyat
that cost 8 kyats at the time of writing would cost around 750 kyats in shiq-s ’ éh hnăcaq 82-k¥p\ 82 kyat
2009. As a general rule, 50 kyats is now the lowest denomination in thoún-zéh k ’ un- 37-k¥p\ 37 kyat
use, and the example prices used in BBE should be multiplied by
about 10 to reflect 2009 prices. năcaq
Voicing. In compounds the word caq is voiced to jaq except after c ’auq-ya ngá-zeh 650/- 650 kyat
-q , or after hnă or k ’ un-nă . With t ă- however, you say t ăjaq . lé-daún kó-ya 4900-/- 4900 kyat
For more see “Voicing Rule” in Appendix 1. Tape Learner
Weakening. The numbers tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq weaken before caq How much is Da beh-lauq-léh? då By\elak\l´"
“kyat” as usual (Lesson 1.5). this?
Round numbers. When a number of kyats ends in a 0, the word It’s 6 kyat. C ’auq-caq-pa. 6-k¥p\på"
caq is omitted; examples: It’s 21 kyat. H năs ’ éh tăjaq-pa. 21-k¥p\på"
tăt ’aun ts\eTac\ 1000 kyats It’s 174 kyat. Tăyá k ’ un-năs ’ éh lé- 174-k¥p\på"
ngá-ya cå;ra 500 kyats jaq-pa.
If there’s any ambiguity, people may add a word meaning It’s 10 kyat. Tăs ’ eh-ba. 10-på"
“money”: n g w e n g á -ya , or a word meaning “Burmese It’s 530 kyat. Ngá-ya thoún-zeh- 530-på"
currency”: Bă ma ngwe ngá-ya . ba.
It’s 8900 kyat. Shiq-t ’aún kó-ya-ba. 8900-på"
S1 Do you want this one? Da lo-jin-dhălá? då luiK¥c\qla;"

Question and answer S2 Not very much. Theiq mălo-jin-ba- qip\ mluiK¥c\påB¨;"
Tape Learner bú.
S1 You’re well, aren’t Ne kaún-deh-naw? enekac\;ty\ena\" S1 Which one do you Beh-ha lo-jin- By\ha
you? want? dhăléh? luiK¥c\ql´"
S2 Yes I am. H ouq-kéh. Ne kaún- hut\k´.' S2 I want that one. É h-da lo-jin-ba- A´då luiK¥c\påty\"
ba-deh. enekac\;påty\" deh.
S1 This is all right, isn’t Y á-deh-naw? rty\ena\" Which one did you Beh-ha hma- By\ha m˙aql´"
it? order? dhăléh?
S2 Yes it is. H ouq-kéh. Y á-ba- hut\k´.' rpåty\" Which one has meat Beh-ha ăthá pa- By\ha Aqa;
deh. in it? dhăléh? påql´"
S1 You understand, Ná leh-deh-naw? na;lv\ty\ena\" Does that one have Da ăthá pa-dhălá? då Aqa;
don’t you? meat in it? påqla;"
S2 No I don’t. Ná măleh-ba-bú. na;mlv\påB¨;" Is this one free? Da á-dhălá? då Aa;qla;"
S1 It’s working out all Ă s ’in pye-deh-naw? ASc\e®pty\ena\"
right, isn’t it? Greetings
S2 No it isn’t. Ă s ’in măpye-ba-bú. ASc\ me®ppåB¨;" How are you? Ne kaún-deh-naw? en ekac\;ty\ena\"
Ne kaún-dhălá? en ekac\;qla;"
A lot and a little Ne kaún-lá? en ekac\;la;"
Tape Learner Ne kaún-yéh-lá? en ekac\;r´.la;"
It’s very pretty. Theiq hlá-ba-deh. qip\ l˙påty\" I’m fine. Ne kaún-ba-deh. en ekac\;påty\"
It’s very hot. Theiq pu-ba-deh. qip\ p¨påty\"
It’s a bit cold. Néh-néh é-ba-deh. nń´ eA;påty\"
It’s a bit expen- Néh-néh zé cı́´ -ba-deh. nń´ eZ;Âk^;påty\ UNIT 2.
sive. GOING TO DO, WANT TO DO, PLEASE DO, COUNTING
It’s very cheap. Theiq zé c ’o-ba-deh. qip\ eZ;K¥oipåty\
It’s not very hot to Theiq măsaq-pa-bú. qip\ msp\påB¨;" 2.1. EATING AND DRINKING
taste.
It’s not very good. Theiq măkaún-ba-bú. qip\ mekac\;påB¨;" New words
ba Ba what?
This and that sá-deh sa;ty\ to eat
Tape Learner thauq-teh eqak\ty\ to drink
S1 Do you like this one? Da caiq-thălá? då ’kik\qla;"
S2 Not very much. Theiq măcaiq-pa- qip\ m’kik\påB¨;" Some foods and drinks known in Burma under their foreign
bú. names
S1 Which one do you Beh-ha caiq- By\ha Cocacola, Pepsi, Seven-Up, Fanta, Sparkling, Vimto, limejuice
like? thăléh? ’kik\ql´" Horlicks, Ovaltine, Milo, cocoa, coffee
S2 I like that one. É h-da caiq-pa-deh. A´då ’kik\påty\" beer, whisky, rum
32 Burmese By Ear Unit 2: Eating and drinking 33
sandwich, hamburger, hotdog, biscuit (= US cookie) Word order. As noted earlier (1.9), in Burmese the verb is the
last element in the sentence: K ouq t hauq-pa-deh “I drank a
Example sentences Coke” is literally “Coke drank”.
S1 Peq-si thauq-thălá? pk\s^ eqak\qla;" Did you drink a
Pepsi? Numbers
S2 Măthauq-pa-bú. meqak\påB¨;" No, I didn’t. Prices in dollars. Dollars are counted in much the same way as
S1 Ba thauq-thăléh? Ba eqak\ql´" What did you kyats; example:
drink? lé-daw-la 4-edÅla $4
S2 K ouq thauq-pa-deh. kut\ eqak\påty\" I drank a Coke. s ’ éh-ngá-daw-la 15-edÅla $15
tăyá k ’ un-năs ’ éh thoún-daw-la 173-edÅla $173
S1 H an-ba-ga sá-deh- hMBagå You do eat ham- There is one important difference. When you were saying round
naw? sa;ty\ena\" burgers, don’t numbers of kyats you omitted the word caq , but when you have
you? a round number of dollars you keep the word daw-la but put it in
S2 Măsá-ba-bú. msa;påB¨;" No, I don’t. front of the number; examples:
S1 Ba sá-dhăléh? Ba sa;ql´" What do you eat? daw-la lé-zeh edÅla el;Sy\ $40
S2 H áw-dáw sá-ba-deh. eha.edå≥ sa;påty\" I eat hotdogs. daw-la tăyá ngá-zeh edÅla ts\ra. cå;Sy\ $150
daw-la shiq-t ’aun edÅla r˙s\eTac\ $8000
Notes The same principle operates for anything else you can count. We
ba “what?” is derived from beh-ha “which one?” Questions con- call it “the Round Number Rule”. Examples:
taining ba, like questions containing beh-ha , take the suffix s ’ éh-kó-ga-lan Sy\.kui; gåln\ 19 gallons
-thăléh/-dhăléh (see the note in Lesson 1.11). ga-lan hnăs ’ eh gåln\ N˙s\Sy\ 20 gallons
Present and past. The suffixes -pa-deh and -pa-bú´ (or their voiced hnăyá kó-zéh ngá-main N˙ s r
\ a. ku ;
i Sy\ . cå;mu c
i \ 295 miles
forms -ba-deh and -ba-bú ), which mark statements, and the main thoún-ya mu c
i \ qu ;
M ra 300 miles
suffixes -t hălé h, -t hălá , and -t eh-naw (or their voiced forms There is one exception to the Round Number Rule. Although the
-dhăléh, -dhălá, and -deh-naw ), which mark questions, can refer number 10 ends in a zero and is mathematically a round number,
either to the present or to the past. So, for example, P e q -si it is treated in speech as an unround number:
thauq-thălá? can mean either “Do you drink Pepsi?” or “Did s ’ eh daw-la Sy\ edÅla 10 dollars
you drink Pepsi?” Which meaning the speaker has in mind is s ’ eh ga-lan Sy\ gåln\ 10 gallons
usually obvious from the context. It is surprising how rarely s ’ eh main Sy\ muic\ 10 miles
there is any ambiguity – and if a sentence is ambiguous, there and so on.
are words one can use to make one’s meaning clear.
Singular and plural. Burmese is similarly economical in indicat- When combined with d a w -l a the numbers tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq
ing singular and plural. A sentence like H an-ba-ga sá-dhălá? weaken in the usual way: tădaw-la , lé-zéh-hnădaw-la and so on.
can mean either “Did you eat a hamburger?” or “Did you eat
hamburgers?” Again, there are ways of indicating singular and 2.2. GOING TO DO
plural in Burmese, but you don’t always need to use them. To make statements or ask questions about future events, you
use a different set of verb suffixes. Essentially all you are doing
is replacing -teh/- deh with -meh , but the correspondence is a little
obscured. Compare the following two sets of sentences. They Numbers

use the verb thauq-teh “to drink”. Counting cans and bottles
loún luM; can or bottle
Present/past Peq-si lé-loún pk\s^ el;luM;four bottles of Pepsi
1 K aw-p’i thauq- eka\P^ eqak\qla;" Did you (do you) bi-ya tăloún B^ya ts\luM; a can of beer
thălá? drink coffee? Variants. You may also hear people count in pălı́n “bottles”.
2 Măthauq-pa-bú. meqak\påB¨;" No, I didn’t (I Weakening. The numbers tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq weaken before loún
don’t). “can/ bottle” as usual (Lesson 1.5).
3 Ba thauq-thăléh? Ba eqak\ql´" What did you (do
you) drink? 2.3. WHERE, HERE AND THERE
4 K o-kó thauq-pa-deh. kuikui; eqak\påty\" I drank (I drink) New words
cocoa. beh-hma By\m˙a where?
Future di-hma d^m˙a here
1 K aw-p’i thauq-mălá? eka\P^ eqak\mla;" Are you going to éh-di-hma A´d^m˙a there
drink coffee?
2 Măthauq-pa-bú. meqak\påB¨;" No, I’m not. Example sentences
3 Ba thauq-măléh? Ba eqak\ml´" What are you Di-hma pu-deh-naw? d^m˙a p¨ty\ena\" It’s hot here, isn’t it?
going to drink? Beh-hma é-dhăléh? By\m˙a eA;ql´" Where is it cool?
4 K o-kó thauq-meh. kuikui; eqak\my\" I’m going to drink É h-di-hma é-ba-deh. A´d^m˙a eA;påty\" It’s cool over there.
cocoa.
Notes
Note that on line 4 in each set, -t eh/- deh corresponds to -m e h . 1. The suffix -hm a means “in” or “on” or “at”. Notice that di-
You can use the polite suffix -pa/- ba with both -t eh/- deh and h m a and é h-di-hm a come before the verb in Burmese – the
-meh : opposite way round from English.
thauq-teh = thauq-pa-deh 2. Notice that the beh in beh-hm a “where? (in which place?)” is
thauq-meh = thauq-pa-meh the same word as the b e h in b e h -h a “which one?” (Lesson
People tend to use -pa/- ba more often with -teh/- deh than with 1.11).
-m eh , which is why we use -pa-deh/- ba-deh here but not -pa- 3. Notice also that di-hm a “here” and éh-di-hm a “there” corre-
meh/-ba-meh ; but in principle you can add or omit -pa/-ba with spond to da “this” and éh-da “that” (Lesson 1.9).
both -teh/-deh and -meh . 4. Questions containing beh-hm a, like questions containing b a
In questions, before -lá or -léh (lines 1 and 3), -m eh is weakened and b e h -h a , take the suffix -t hăl é h/- dh ăl é h (see the note in
to -m ă , reflecting the way in which -t eh/- deh is weakened to Lesson 1.11).
-t h ă /- d h ă in the same environment. For “weakening” see
Lesson 1.5. Numbers
In the negative there is no change; so “I didn’t drink”, “I don’t Counting by cups and glasses
drink”, and “I’m not going to drink” are all Măthauq-pa-bú. k ’weq/gweq K∑k\ cup or glass
kaw-p ’i hnăk ’weq eka\P^ N˙s\K∑k\ two cups of coffee
laı́n-jú c ’auq-k ’weq luic\;Âkø; e®Kak\K∑k\ six glasses of lime-
juice
Weakening. The numbers tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq weaken before 2.5. WANTING TO …
k ’weq as usual (Lesson 1.5).
Voicing. K ’weq is voiced to gweq except after -ă and -q . For more […]-c ’in-/ […]- […]-K¥c\- to want to […]
see “Voicing Rule” in Appendix 1. jin-
2.4. NEW WORDS Example sentences

Di-hma t ’ain-ba- d^m˙a Tuic\påty\" We sit here.
daq-poun Dåt\puM photograph deh.
yaiq-teh Ruik\ty\ to hit, strike, stamp Di-hma t ’ain-jin- d^m˙a Tuic\K¥c\påty\" We want to sit here.
daq-poun yaiq- Dåt\puM Ruik\ty\ to take a photo- ba-deh.
teh graph K aw-p’i măthauq- eka\P^ meqak\påB¨;" I don’t drink coffee.
t ’ain-deh Tuic\ty\ to sit pa-bú.
yaq-teh rp\ty\ to stop K aw-p’i măthauq- eka\P^ I don’t want to
c ’in-ba-bú. meqak\K¥c\påB¨;" drink coffee.
Example sentences Ba sá-dhăléh? Ba sa;ql´" What does he eat?
Di-hma daq-poun d^m˙a Dåt\puM Ruik\my\" I’m going to take a Ba sá-jin-dhăléh? Ba sa;K¥c\ql´" What does he want
yaiq-meh photograph here. to eat?
Beh-hma t ’ain- By\m˙a Tuic\ml´" Where you going to
măléh? sit? The suffix -c ’in- is voiced to -jin- except after -q . See the examples,
Di-hma yaq- d^m˙a rp\mla;" Are you going to and “Voicing Rule” in Appendix 1.
mălá? stop here? Don’t confuse […]-jin-deh “to want [to do something]” with […]
lo-jin-deh “to want [something]” (Lesson 1.10).
Numbers
Counting by helpings, platefuls, portions Numbers
pwéh/bwéh p∑´ helping or plateful Counting discrete items
or portion k ’ ú/gú Ku item, unit, article
p ’iq-sh-in-chiq Ps\ r A
\ ˙ c\ K ¥s\ N˙ s p
\ ´ ∑ two platefuls of fish han-ba-ga c ’auq-k ’ ú hMBagå e®Kak\Ku six hamburgers
hnăpwéh and chips s ’ ı́n-wı́c ’ hnăk ’ ú Sc\;wiK¥\ N˙s\Ku two sandwiches
beiq-bı́n lé-bwéh Bit\Bc\; el;p∑´ four portions of han-ba-ga thoún-gú hMBagå quM;Ku three hamburgers
baked beans s ’ ı́n-wı́c ’ lé-gú Sc\;wiK¥\ el;Ku four sandwiches
Weakening. The numbers tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq weaken before
pwéh as usual (Lesson 1.5). In Burmese, instead of asking for three hamburgers, you ask for:
Voicing. pwéh is voiced to bwéh except after -ă and -q . For more “hamburger three units”, in just the same way as you ask for
see “Voicing Rule” in Appendix 1. “coffee three cups” or “Pepsi five bottles”. Compare the
examples above with –
kaw-p ’i thoún-gweq eka\P^ quM;K∑k\ three cups of coffee
Peq-si ngá-loún pk\s^ cå;luM; five bottles/cans of Pepsi
Counting in round numbers also follows the same pattern

(“dollars five-tens” etc):
daw-la ngá-zeh edÅla cå;Sy\ fifty dollars 2.7. POLITE TAGS: “SIR” AND “MADAM”
paun ngá-ya epåc\ cå;ra five hundred
pounds K ’in-bya Kc\b¥a Sir / Madam (man speaking)
Shin r˙c\ Sir / Madam (woman speaking)
Voicing. K ’ ú is voiced to gú except after -ă and -q . See the exam-
ples, and “Voicing Rule” in Appendix 1. Example sentences
Weakening. The numbers tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq weaken before k ’ ú Di-hma t ’ain-ba. d^m˙a Tuic\på" Please sit here.
as usual (Lesson 1.5). Di-hma t ’ain-ba d^m˙a Tuic\på (same, with polite tag, man
K ’in-bya. Kc\b¥a" speaking)
2.6. PLEASE DO … PLEASE DON’T … Di-hma t ’ain-ba d^m˙a Tuic\på (same, with polite tag,
Shin. r˙c\" woman speaking)
Example sentences
T ’ain-ba. Tuic\på" Please sit down. Burmese polite tags are like “Sir” and “Madam” in English in
Măt ’ain-ba-néh. mTuic\pån´≥" Please don’t sit that they show politeness and are tagged onto the end of a
down. sentence.
Di-hma yaq-pa. d^m˙a rp\på" Please stop here.
Di-hma măyaq- d^m˙a mrp\pån´≥" Please don’t stop They are different from “Sir” and “Madam” in two ways:
pa-néh. here. 1. They are more widely used than in (British) English. For
example, people use them to strangers when they are asking
Notes the way, and customers use them to shopkeepers.
To make a request or an order, you replace -teh/-deh with -pa/-ba . 2. In English both men and women use “Sir” to a man and
To ask someone not to do something, you replace -p ’ ú/- bu´ with “Madam” to a woman. In Burmese the gender difference
-néh . Notice the small but crucial difference between “Please works the other way round: male speakers use K ’in-bya to both
don’t […]” and “It doesn’t (or we don’t etc) […]”: men and women, and women speakers use Shin to both men
Di-hma măyaq-pa-néh. d^m˙a mrp\pån´≥" Please don’t stop here. and women.
Di-hma măyaq-pa-bú. d^m˙a mrp\påB¨;" It doesn’t stop here.
2.8. GREETINGS
The -pa/-ba in T ’ain-ba and Măt ’ain-ba-néh is the same polite suffix
you have been using in […]-pa-deh , and if you leave it out you S1 Min-găla-ba. mgçlapå" Greetings.
are still making a request, but without -p a /- b a it sounds S2 Min-găla-ba. mgçlapå" Greetings.
peremptory:
T ’ain-ba. Tuic\på" Please sit down. Notes
T ’ain! Tuic\" Sit down! M i n -g ă l a -b a literally means “auspiciousness” or “blessings”.
Măt ’ain-ba-néh. mTu c
i p
\ ån´ ≥ " Please don’t sit Unlike the European languages, traditional Burmese greetings
down. are based not on the time of day (“Good morning”, “Good
Măt ’ain-néh! mTuic\n´≥" Don’t sit down! evening” etc), but on the situation (“Where are you going?”,
“Where have you been?”, “Have you eaten yet?”, “You’re here Counting
very early!” and so on). Min-găla-ba was deliberately created as Tape Learner
an all-purpose greeting for teachers and pupils in schools in the one glass of laı́n-jú tăk ’weq luic\;Âkø; 1-K∑k\
1930s, explicitly matching the English time-of-day greetings. limejuice
2 cups of coffee kaw-p ’i hnăk ’weq eka\P^ 2-K∑k\
Some Burmese speakers, pestered by foreigners for “the Burmese 4 bottles of beer bi-ya lé-loún B^ya 4-luM;
for Good morning”, have resorted to offering M i n -g ă l a -b a as a 10 cans of 7-Up S ’ éh-bı́n-aq s ’ eh-loún S´bc\;Ap\ 10-
stopgap answer to an unanswerable question, and so the phrase luM;
has begun to spread beyond the schoolroom. You will find it 5 hotdogs háw-dáw ngá-gú eha.edå. 5-Ku
used mostly to foreigners, and occasionally in public announce- 8 sandwiches sı́n-wı́c ’ shiq-k ’ ú Sc\;wiK¥\ 8-Ku
ments, but very rarely between one Burmese speaker and
another – unless they are teacher and pupil. Going to do something
Tape Learner
REVIEW FOR UNIT 2: FOUNDATIONS, PART 2 I’m going to K aw-p’i thauq-meh. eka\P^
Review exercises are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4 drink coffee. eqak\my\"
Side B. What are you going to Ba thauq-măléh? Ba eqak\ml´"
drink?
Prices in dollars What are you going to Ba hma-măléh? Ba m˙aml´"
Tape Learner order?
15-edÅla s ’ éh ngá-daw-la 15 dollars Are you going to S ’ ı́n-wı́c ’ hma-mălá? Sc\;wiK¥\
973-edÅla kó-ya k ’ un-năs ’ éh thoún- 973 dollars order a sandwich? m˙amla;"
daw-la Are you going to Pu-dı́n sá-mălá? p¨dc\; sa;mla;"
edÅla-2000 daw-la hnăt ’aun 2000 dollars eat a pudding?
edÅla-4860 daw-la lé-daun shiq-ya 4860 dollars I’m going to Pu-dı́n sá-meh K ’in- p¨dc\; sa;my\
c ’auq-s ’ eh eat a pudding bya. Kc\b¥a"
Tape Learner (+ male tag).
It’s 1 dollar. Tădaw-la-ba 1-edÅlapå" I’m going to Daq-poun yaiq-meh Dåt\puM Ruik\my\
It’s 68 dollars. C ’auq-s ’ éh shiq-daw-la-ba 68-edÅlapå" take a photograph Shin. r˙c\"
It’s 295 dollars. H năya kó-zéh ngá-daw-la-ba 295-edÅlapå" (+ female tag).
It’s 10 dollars. S ’ eh-daw-la-ba Sy\edÅla-på"
It’s 450 dollars. Daw-la lé-yá ngá-zeh-ba edÅla-450- Wanting to do something and Here and there
på" Tape Learner
It’s 7000 dollars. Daw-la k ’un-năt ’aun-ba edÅla-7000- I want to take a Daq-poun yaiq-c ’in- Dåt\puM Ruik\K¥c\påty\"
på" photograph. ba-deh.
I want to take a Di-hma daq-poun d^m˙a Dåt\puM
photograph yaiq-c ’in-ba-deh. Ruik\K¥c\påty\"
here.
Where do you Beh-hma daq-poun By\m˙a Dåt\puM At this point in the course you have covered all the essential
want to take a yaiq-c ’in-dhăléh? Ruik\K¥c\ql´" grammar you need for saying and understanding a surprisingly
photograph? wide range of Burmese sentences. Accordingly the focus of the
Where do you Beh-hma yaq-c ’in- By\m˙a rp\K¥c\ql´" lessons changes from sentence types and grammar to situations
want to stop? dhăléh? and topics: cafés, taxis, family and so on. Some additional
Do you want to Di-hma yaq-c ’in- d^m˙a rp\K¥c\qla;" grammar points will be introduced where necessary, but from
stop here? dhălá? here on what you most need is to expand your vocabulary.
Do you want to Di-hma t ’ain-jin- d^m˙a Tuic\K¥c\qla;"
sit here? dhălá? UNIT 3. LANGUAGE HELP
I don’t want to Di-hma măt ’ain-jin- d^m˙a mTuic\K¥c\påB¨;
sit here (+male ba-bú K ’in-bya. Kc\b¥a" 3.1. SORRY: I DON’T UNDERSTAND.
tag).
I want to sit É h-di-hma t ’ain-jin- A´d^m˙a Tuic\K¥c\påty\ Ná măleh-ba-bú. na;mlv\påB¨;" I don’t understand.
there (+female ba-deh Shin. r˙c\" S ’áw-rı́-naw? eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry.
tag). Variants
S ’áw-rı́-béh-naw? eSar^;péna\" I’m sorry.
Do and don’t. S ’áw-rı́-béh. eSar^;p´" I’m sorry.
Tape Learner
Please sit here. Di-hma t ’ain-ba. d^m˙a Tuic\på" The suffix -béh adds a slight emphasis in S ’áw-rı́-béh(-naw?) but
Please don’t sit É h-di-hma măt ’ain- A´d^m˙a mTuic\pån´≥" the meaning remains unchanged.
there. ba-néh.
Please don’t eat H an-ba-ga măsá-ba- hMBagå msa;pån´≥" 3.2. PLEASE SAY THAT AGAIN.
a hamburger. néh.
Please stop here. Di-hma yaq-pa. d^m˙a rp\på" T ’aq pyáw-ba-oún. Tp\e®papåAuM;" Please say that again.
Please don’t stop É h-di-hma măyaq- A´d^m˙a mrp\pån´≥"
there. pa-néh. New words
Please don’t take Daq-poun măyaiq- Dåt\puM mRuik\pån´≥ r˙c\" pyáw-deh e®paty\ to say
a photograph pa-néh Shin. t ’aq*pyáw-deh Tp\e®paty\ to say again, to repeat
(+female tag). T ’aq pyáw-ba. Tp\e®papå" Please say that again.
I won’t take a Daq-poun măyaiq- Dåt\puM mRuik\påB¨; T ’aq pyáw-ba-oún. Tp\e®papåAuM;" Please say that again
photograph pa-bú K ’in-bya. Kc\b¥a" (more friendly).
(+male tag). A common variant is:
Pyan pyáw-ba-oún. ®pn\e®papåAuM;" Please say that again.
Greetings (schoolroom and foreigners)
[greeting] Min-găla-ba. mgçlapå" 3.3. DID YOU SAY 50?
[response] Min-găla-ba. mgçlapå"
Repeat the unclear word with the question suffix -lá ; as in line 3
in this example dialogue:
44 Burmese By Ear Unit 3: Language help 45
S1 Da beh-lauq-léh? då By\elak\l´" How much is that?

S2 Ngá-zeh-ba. cå;Sy\på" It’s 50 kyats. Bă ma săgá bmaska; Burmese
S1 Ngá-zeh-lá? cå;Sy\la;" Did you say 50? = Myan-ma săgá = ®mn\maska; (“Burmese
S2 H ouq-kéh, ngá- hut\k´.' cå;Sy\på" Yes, it’s 50. language”)
zeh-ba. Bă ma pye bma®pv\ Burma
= Myan-ma pye = ®mn\ma®pv\ (“Burmese coun-
3.4. CAN YOU SPEAK ENGLISH? try”)
Bă ma ă myó- bmaAm¥oi;qm^; Burmese lady,
S1 Ín-găleiq săgá Agçlip\ska; Can you speak thă mı́ = Myan- = ®mn\maAm¥oi;qm^; Burmese woman
pyáw-daq-thălá? e®patt\qla;" English? ma ă myó-thă mı́
S2 Măpyáw-daq-pa-bú . me®patt\påB¨;" No, I can’t.
Variants In 1989 the government decreed that these two forms were to be
Ín-găleiq-lo pyáw- Agçlip\lui Can you speak (in) given different meanings. Myan-ma was to be used for referring
daq-thălá? e®patt\qla;" English? to anything involving the whole country, or all its ethnic groups
Mătaq-pa-bú . mtt\påB¨;" No, I can’t. (Shan, Karen, Kachin etc), and B ă m a was to be used for the
Mătaq-pa-bú is a shortened variant for Măpyáw-daq-pa-bú . Burmese ethnic group only. At the same time it was decreed that
English and other languages should mark the distinction by
New words replacing “Burma” with “Myanmar”, and “Burmese” with
pyáw-deh. e®paty\ to say, speak “Myanmar” or “Bamar” as appropriate. Although Burmese is
pyáw-daq-teh. e®patt\ty\ to know how to speak the language of the ethnic “Bamar”, and not the mother tongue
săgá ska; word, words, language of the other races, it is officially called “Myanmar” on the
Ín-găleiq săgá Agçlip\ska; English language grounds that it is the national language of “the Union of
Ín-găleiq-lo Agçlip\lui in English Myanmar”. Some foreign writers have adopted the changes, and
Bă ma săgá or bmaska; or Burmese language others continue to use the old terms, either to flaunt their opposi-
Myan-ma săgá ®mn\maska; tion to the government, or because they believe their readers are
Bă ma-lo or Myan- bmalui or ®mn\malui in Burmese not yet familiar with the new names.
ma-lo
3.5 AND 3.6. WHAT’S THAT CALLED IN BURMESE?
Notes IT’S CALLED “thăyeq-thı́”
“You” and “I”. Burmese leaves out words for “You” and “I”
when it is clear who you are referring to. See the note at S1 É h-da Bă ma-lo beh- A´då bmalui By\lui What is that called
Lesson 1.3. lo k ’aw-dhăléh? eKÅql´" in Burmese?
“Burmese”. The Burmese for “Burmese” has two forms: Bă m a, S2 Thăyeq-thı́-ló k ’aw- qrk\q^;lui≥ It’s called “Thăyeq-
which is more colloquial (and the form which gave the world ba-deh. eKÅpåty\" thı́” .
the word “Burma”), and M y a n -m a , which is more formal.
Typically, you find M y a n - m a in formal writing and New words
announcements, and you use B ă m a in conversation and beh-lo By\lui how (“which way”)
personal correspondence. Examples: k ’aw-deh eKÅty\ to call, to be called
46 Burmese By Ear Unit 3: Language help 47
[name]-ló [name]-lui≥ suffix marking end of name or S1 É h-da Bă ma-lo A´då bmalui By\lui What’s this called in
quotation; like a spoken (”) beh-lo k ’aw- eKÅql´" Burmese?
Note dhăléh?
Take care not to confuse the -lo in beh-lo with the -ló in [name]-ló. S2 “Ngăpyáw-dhı́”-ló c˙k\ep¥aq^;lui≥ They’re called
They are entirely unrelated words. k ’aw-ba-deh. eKÅpåty\" “ngăpyáw-dhı́”
S1 T ’aq-pyáw-ba- Tp\e®papåAuM;" Please say that
REVIEW FOR UNIT 3: LANGUAGE HELP oún. again.
Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4 S2 “Ngăpyáw-dhı́”-ló c˙k\ep¥aq^; eKÅtapå" They’re called
Side B. k ’aw-da-ba. “ngăpyáw-dhı́”
S1 “Ngăpyáw-dhı́”- c˙k\ep¥aq^;la;" Did you say
The review material for this and subsequent Units in the Review lá? “ngăpyáw-dhı́”?
Section takes the form of “review dialogues”. Here in the book- S2 H ouq-pa-deh hut\påty\' Kc\b¥a" That’s right (+ tag).
let the review dialogues are simply written out in playtext K ’in-bya.
format: Speaker 1 …, Speaker 2 … and so on. On the tape the “Ngăpyáw-dhı́”- c˙k\ep¥aq^;påp´" It is “ngăpyáw-dhı́”.
format is different. There are four phases to each exchange: ba-béh.
1. The prompt tells you in English what to say. K ’in-byá Bă ma Kc\b¥a; bmaska; You speak Burmese
2. The tape keeps quiet while you speak in Burmese. săgá pyáw-da e®pata qip\p^tap´" very well.
3, A speaker on the tape repeats your utterance, to confirm or theiq pi-da-béh.
correct what you said. S1 Ná măleh-ba-bú. na;mlv\påB¨;" I don’t understand.
4. You hear a second Burmese speaker responding to what S ’áw-rı́-naw? eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry.
you said. Bă ma săgá theiq bmaska; qip\ I don’t speak much
For example: măpyáw-daq- me®patt\påB¨;" Burmese.
1. Prompt: Ask her what this is called. pa-bú.
2. Learner: É h-da Bă ma-lo beh-lo k ’aw-dhăléh?
3. Tape speaker 1 (repeats): É h-da Bă m a-lo beh-lo k ’aw- UNIT 4. CAFÉS AND RESTAURANTS
dhăléh?
4. Tape speaker 2 (responds): “Ngăpyá w-dh ı́”-ló k ’ aw-ba- 4.1. ORDERING FOOD AND DRINK
deh.
All the dialogues are set in Burma. Remember that the Burmese S1 Ba hma-măléh? Ba m˙aml´" What will you
speakers on the tape sometimes use words and phrases you have order?
not yet learned. This is deliberate: the words are there to give S2 K aw-p’i hnăk ’weq eka\P^ N˙s\K∑k\ ep;på" We’d like to have
you some practice in coping with the same situation in real life. pé-ba. two cups of coffee.
S1 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Fine.
Review Dialogue
Scene: At a fruit stall in Burma. S1 is a foreign visitor and S2 is mind- Variants
ing a shop that sells bananas . S1 picks up some bananas and asks – S1 Ba hma-jin- Ba m˙aK¥c\ql´" What wd you like to
dhăléh? order?
48 Burmese By Ear Unit 4: Cafes and restaurants 49
S1 Ba yu-măléh? Ba y¨ml´" What will you pauq-si epåk\s^ Chinese dumpling 4

have? ye-géh-moún erK´mun\≥ ice cream
S2 K ouq tăloún-néh kut\ ts\luM;n´≥ We’d like to have keiq-moún kit\mun\≥ cake
Săpa-kălin spåklc\ ts\luM; one Coke and one
tăloún pé-ba. ep;på" Sparkling, please. Notes
1. Y e-nwé-ján = “plain tea”, literally “plain warm water”. Also
New words called ye-nwé (“warm water”), lăp ’eq-ye-ján (“plain tea”),
pé-deh ep;ty\ to give, bring ăcán-ye (“plain infusion”). A variety of tea, made weak and
yu-deh y¨ty\ to take, choose taken without milk or sugar, cheap and widely available,
A-néh B A-n´≥ B A and B provided free in cafés.
2. Samusa (or samosa). A patty filled with meat or potato.
Notes 3. Parata. An Indian savoury pancake.
-néh “and” is a suffix: it is attached to the end of the preceding 4. Chinese dumpling. Steamed white dumplings, with a
word, and doesn’t stand between the two words like “and”. If savoury filling. “Manapua”.
your list consists of more than two items, the suffix -n é h
normally comes after the second-last item: 4.3. DO YOU HAVE ANY … ?
A, B, C-néh D A, B, C-n´≥ D A, B, C and D
K aún-ba-bi “Fine”. In this idiomatic expression the usual suffix S1 Bi-ya shı́-dhălá? B^ya r˙iqla;" Do you have any beer?
-t e h /- d e h is replaced by -bi/- pi , which slightly changes the S2 Shı́-ba-deh. r˙ipåty\" Yes, we have.
meaning: Beh-hnăloún yu- By\N˙s\luM; How many cans would
K aún-ba-deh. ekac\;påty\ It is good măléh? y¨ml´" you like?
K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^ That’s fine. OK. A variant
Very well then. S1 Să mu-s’a yá- sm¨Sa rmla;" Could we have some
mălá? samusa?
4.2. FOOD AND DRINK S2 Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" Yes, you can.
Beh-hnăk ’ ú yu- By\N˙s\Ku y¨ml´" How many would you
The list below gives the items practised on the tape. For a fuller măléh? like?
list see the Topical Vocabulary for foods and drinks.
t ’ă mı́n-jaw Tmc\;eÂka\ fried rice If there isn’t any
k ’auq-s ’wéh-jaw eKåk\ S e
´ ∑ Âka\ fried noodles S2 Măshı́-ba-bú. mr˙ipåB¨;" No, we haven’t any.
ăseı́n-jaw Asim\;eÂka\ fried vegetables K oun-dhwá-bi. kun\q∑a;®p^" We’ve run out.
tauq-tauq-caw etak\etak\eÂka\ fried minced meat S ’áw-rı́-naw. eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry.
lein-maw-ye lim\ema\rv\ orange juice
nwá-nó, nó N∑ a;Nu ≥
i or just Nu ≥
i milk New words
lăp ’ eq-ye lk\ P k\ r v\ tea shı́-deh r˙ity\ to exist, to be
ye-nwé-ján ereN∑;Âkm\; plain tea 1 [somewhere], to have
să mu-s’a sm¨Sa samusa 2 beh-hnă- By\N˙s\- how many [bottles, cans,
păla-ta plata parata 3 cups, etc]
yá-deh rty\ to get, to obtain 4.5. IS THAT ALL?

X yá-mălá? X rmla;" Shall we get X? Would
we get X (understand New words
“if we asked you for S1 Da-béh-lá? dåp´la;" Is that all?
it”)? Is X available? or Da-béh-naw? dåpéna\" That’s all, is it?
koun-deh or kun\ty\ to run out, be used up, S2 Da-ba-béh. dåpåp´" Yes, that’s all.
koun-dhwá-deh kun\q∑a;ty\ sold out or Shı́-ba-dhé-deh. r˙ipåeq;ty\" There’s more. There’s
something else.
Notes Note
K oun-dhw á-bi “We’ve run out”. For the verb suffix -bi/- pi see Shı́-ba-deh. “There is something”.
Verb Paradigms in Appendix 3 (outline grammar). Shı́-ba-dhé-deh. “There is something else”.
K oun-deh or koun-dhw á -deh. The use of -dhw á (“to go”) adds a The suffix -t hé /- dhe´ conveys the meaning “additional, more,
suggestion of movement: “be used up + go, get used up, run further”.
out”.
4.6. WHAT’S THAT?
4.4. THEN WE’LL HAVE … .
Da ba-léh? då Bal´" What is that?
Dialogue. Café waiter and customer. Să mu-s’a-ba. sm¨Sapå" It’s a samusa.
S1 Ba hma-măléh? Ba m˙aml´" What wd you like to Să mu-s’a-lá? sm¨Sala;" A “samusa”?
order? H ouq-kéh. Să mu-s’a. hut\k´.' sm¨Sa" Yes, a samusa.
S2 Lein-maw-ye shı́- lim\ema\rv\ r˙iqla;" Do you have any
dhălá? orange juice? Notes
S1 Lein-maw-ye lim\ema\rv\ No we haven’t Da ba-léh? literally “That what-question”. Burmese doesn’t need
măshı́-dáw-ba- mr˙ieta.påB¨; Kc\b¥a" (polite tag). a word that corresponds to “is” (compare Da beh-lauq-léh?
bú, K ’in-bya “How much is that?” Lesson 1.11).
K oun-dhwá-bi. kun\q∑a;®p^" It’s run out. -ba. Remember that -pa/- ba is suffixed to an answer to convey
P ’an-ta-dáw yá- Pn\taeta. rpåty\" But we have got politeness, and is not part of the name (see also Lesson 1.4
ba-deh. Fanta. numbers: 34119-ba. ). So the name of the object is “să mu-s’a ”,
S1 Di-lo-s ’o P ’an-ta d^luiSui Pn\taquM;luM; In that case, bring not “să mu-s’a-ba ”.
thoún-loún pé- ep;på" us three cans of
ba. Fanta. 4.7. IS THERE A TOILET HERE?
S2 Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" Certainly.
S1 Di-hma ein-dha d^m˙a Aim\qa r˙ila;" Is there a toilet
New words shı́-lá? here?
di-lo-s ’o or d^luiSui in that case (“this + S2 Shı́-ba-deh. r˙ipåty\" Yes, there is.
di-lo-s ’o-yin d^luiSuirc\ way + say (+ if)”) Di-beq-hma. d^Bk\m˙a" It’s this way.
or
S2 Măshı́-ba-bú. mr˙ipåB¨;" No, there isn’t.
S ’áw-rı́-naw? eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry.

REVIEW FOR UNIT 4: CAFÉS AND RESTAURANTS
Notes Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4
E i n - d h a (“house + pleasant”) = toilet. Ă m yá-dhoú n ein-dha Side B.
(“many + use + toilet”) = public toilet.
Di-beq “this direction”, “this way”. Review Dialogue
Scene: A café in Rangoon. S1 is the waiter. S2 is a foreign visitor who
4.8. SETTLING UP has gone in for a cup of tea with a friend.
S1 Beh-hma t ’ain-jin- By\m˙a Tuic\K¥c\ql´ Where would you
S1 Paiq-s ’an shı́n-meh. puik\SM r˙c\;my\" We’ll settle up now. dhăléh, K ’in- Kc\b¥a" like to sit?
Beh-lauq By\elak\ What does it come to? bya?
cá-dhăléh? k¥ql´" S2 Di-hma é-dhălá? d^m˙a eA;qla;" Is it cool here?
S2 Shiq-caq-pa. 8/-på" Eight kyats. S1 H ouq-kéh. É -ba- hut\k´." eA;påty\" Yes, it is.
deh. T ’ain-ba. Tuic\på" Please sit down.
New words S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Right.
paiq-s ’an puik\SM money S1 Ba hma-măléh, Ba m˙aml´ Kc\b¥a" What would you
shı́n-deh r˙c\;ty\ to clear up, to settle K ’in-bya? like to order?
beh-lauq By\elak\ how much S2 Lăp ’eq-ye lk\Pk\rv\ ts\K∑k\n´≥ Give us a cup of tea
cá-deh k¥ty\ to come to, to add up to tăk ’weq-néh bc\tui ts\K∑k\ ep;på" and a glass of
V in-to tăk ’weq Vimto.
4.9. PAYING AND LEAVING pé-ba.
S1 V in-to măshı́-ba- bc\tui mr˙ipåB¨; Kc\b¥a" We have no Vimto.
S1 Paiq-s ’an di-hma. puik\SM d^m˙a" Here’s the money. bú, K ’in-bya. eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry.
S2 Cé-zú tin-ba-deh. ek¥;z¨; tc\påty\" Thank you. S ’áw-rı́-naw?
or Cé-zú-béh. ek¥;z¨;p´ Thanks. S2 Di-lo-s ’o nwá-nó d^luiSui N∑a;Nui≥ rmla;" In that case, could
S1 Thwá-meh-naw. q∑a;my\ena\" Goodbye. yá-mălá? we have some
S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Goodbye. milk?
S1 Y á-ba-deh. Beh- rpåty\" By\N˙s\K∑k\ Yes. How many
Notes. hnăk ’weq yu- y¨ml´" glasses would you
C é -zú -bé h “Thanks” is a shade more casual than Cé-zú tin-ba- măléh? like?
deh. S2 Tăk ’weq. ts\K∑k\" One glass.
Thwá -m eh-naw literally: “I’m going to go – is that OK?”. There S1 Lăp ’eq-ye lk\Pk\rv\ ts\K∑k\n´≥ One cup of tea and
are many variants, e.g. tăk ’weq-néh N∑a;Nui≥ ts\K∑k\" one glass of milk.
Pyan-meh-naw. I’m going home
®pn\my\ena\" nwá-nó tăk ’weq. rpåty\" dåp´la;" Fine. Is that every-
now – OK? Y á-ba-deh. Da- thing?
Thwá-ba-oún-meh. q∑a;påAuM;my\" I will go now. béh-lá?
K aún-ba-bi = “That’s fine”, “Yes, that’s all right”. The standard S2 Shı́-ba-dhé-deh. r˙ipåeq;ty\" No. there’s more.
response to a Goodbye phrase. É h-da ba-léh? A´då Bal´" What is that?
S1 Da-gá kaw-byán- dåk eka\®pn\≥eÂka\på" Those are spring S1 Lăp ’eq-ye lk\Pk\rv\ ts\K∑k\' One cup of tea, one
jaw-ba. rolls. tăk ’weq, nwá-nó N∑a;Nui≥ ts\K∑k\n´≥ glass of milk, and
S2 Saq-thălá? sp\qla;" Are they hot (to tăk ’weq-néh eka\®pn\≥eÂka\ ts\Ku" one spring roll. 32
taste)? kaw-byán-jaw 32-k¥p\på" kyats please.
S1 Theiq măsaq-pa- qip\msp\påB¨;" Not very. tăk ’ ú. Thoún-
bú. Néh-néh- nń´p´ sp\påty\" They’re just a little zéh hnăcaq-pă.
béh saq-padeh. hot. S2 Thoún-zéh 32-k¥p\la;" 32 kyats?
S2 Ă thá pa-dhălá? Aqa; påqla;" Do they have meat hnăcaq-lá?
in them? S1 H ouq-kéh-ba. hut\k´.på" That’s right.
S1 Măpa-ba-bú, mpåpåB¨; Kc\b¥a" No, they don’t. S2 Paiq-s ’an di-hma. puik\SM d^m˙a" Here’s the money.
K ’in-bya. Da då qk\qt\l∑t\p´" They are vegetar- S1 Cé-zú tin-ba-deh. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\" Thank you.
theq-thaq-luq- ian ones. S2 Thwá-meh-naw? q∑a;my\ena\" Goodbye.
péh. S1 K aún-ba-bi, K ’in- ekac\;på®p^ Kc\b¥a" Goodbye.
S2 Di-lo-s ’o tăk ’ ú pé- d^luiSui ts\Ku ep;på" In that case, bring bya.
ba. us one.
S1 Tăk ’ ú-lá? Y á-ba- ts\Kula;" rpåty\" One. Fine. UNIT 5. TAXIS
deh. Da-béh- dåp´la;" Is that everything? The words you learn in this Unit can also be used for bicycle
lá? trishaws, and for pony carts in Mandalay and Maymyo and
S2 Da-ba-béh. dåpåp´" That’s all. other towns.
S1 K aún-ba-bi, K ’in- ekac\;på®p^ Kc\b¥a" Very well.
bya. 5.1. WHERE TO?
After S2 and her friend have finished eating and drinking, S2 says:
S2 Di-hma ein-dha d^m˙a Aim\qa r˙iqla;" Is there a toilet S2 Beh thwá-măléh? By\ q∑a;ml´" Where are you
shı́-dhălá? here? going to?
S1 Shı́-ba-deh, K ’in- r˙ipåty\ Kc\b¥a" Yes, there is. or Beh thwá-jin- By\ q∑a;K¥c\ql´" Where do you want
bya. H áw-di ehad^Bk\m˙a" This way. dhăléh? to go to?
beq-hma. Suic\enak\eP;m˙a" At the back of the or Beh-go-léh? By\kuil´" Where to?
S ’ain-nauq-p ’ é- shop. S2 Săt ’ărı́n H o-teh sTrc\;huity\ I’m going to the
hma. thwá-meh. q∑a;my\" Strand Hotel.
When S2 returns to the table she says: S1 Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" All right.
S2 Paiq-s ’an shı́n- puik\SM r˙c\;my\" We’ll settle up now. or K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Fine.
meh. By\elak\ k¥ql´" How much does it Teq-pa. tk\på" Get in.
Beh-lauq cá- come to? or Teq. tk\" Get in (less courte-
dhăléh? ous).
56 Burmese By Ear Unit 5: Taxis 57
New words Ngá-daq-cı́ P ’ăyá cå;Tp\Âk^;Bura; Ngadatkyi Pagoda

beh By\ where to yoún RuM; office
teq-teh tk\ty\ to mount, go up, get Myan-ma T ’ăreh- Myanmar Travel RuM; Myanmar Travel
into beh Y oún office
than-yoún qMRuM; embassy (“envoy +
Notes office”)
Beh thwá-măléh? “Where are you going to?” and Săt ’ărı́n H o-teh Brı́-tı́sh or Byı́-tı́- ®bitiqYqMRuM; British Embassy
t h w á -m e h “I’m going to the Strand Hotel.” Notice that in shá Than-yoún
Burmese you say “Where are you going to go to?” and Săt ’ărı́n Ă me-rı́-kan Than- Aemrikn\qMRuM; American Embassy
H o-teh thwá-meh “I’m going to go to the Strand Hotel.” You yoún
use thwá-meh not thwá-deh . Á w-sătré-lyá ÂqseÂt;l¥qMRuM; Australian Embassy
Săt ’ărı́n H o-teh thwá-meh “I’m going to the Strand Hotel.” “The Than-yoún
Strand Hotel” comes before “I’m going to” the opposite order le-yin-yoún elya√\RuM; airline office
to English. See also Lesson 1.9: É h-da caiq-pa-deh “I like that T ’aı́n Le-yin-yoún Tuic\;elya√\RuM; Thai Airways office
one”, literally “That one I like”. Bı́-mán Le-yin- Bimn\;elya√\RuM; Bangladesh Biman
Note also that Burmese does not need to use a word correspond- yoún office
ing to the English “to”. There is a suffix (-go/- ko ) that can be Myan-ma Le-yin- ®mn\maelya√\RuM; Myanmar Airways
used to avoid ambiguity, but it is normal to use no suffix at yoún office
all.
Notes
5.2. DESTINATIONS B o-jou q : short for Bo-jouq A un S ’ án “General Aung San”, the
national leader who won independence for Burma from the
The list below gives the items presented on the tape. For a fuller British, but was assassinated by a rival in 1947.
list see the Topical Vocabulary for sites and places. Măha Ban-dú-lá : a talented general who commanded the king’s
armies in campaigns against the British in 1824-1825.
lán lm\; road, street Ă naw-yăt ’a : a Burmese king who reigned at Pagan 1044-1077.
Bo-jouq Lán Bogyoke Street
buil\K¥op\lm\;
Măha Ban-dú-lá mhabNÎollm\; Maha Bandoola 5.3. CHECKING THE FARE
Lán Street
Ă naw-yăt ’a Lán Aena\rTalm\; Anawrahta Street Before getting into the taxi
88 Bo-jouq Lán 88 buil\K¥op\lm\; 88 Bogyoke Street S1 Beh-lauq pé-yá- By\elak\ ep;rml´" How much shall I
45 Măha Ban-dú- 45 mhabNÎollm\; 47 Maha Bandoola măléh? have to pay?
lá Lán Street S2 H năya pé-ba. 200/- ep;på" Give me 200 kyats.
p ’ăyá Bura; pagoda S1 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" OK
(also used to refer to Buddha images and the Buddha himself) Thwá-meh. q∑a;my\" Let’s go. (Literally
Shwe-dăgoun eRWtig uMBura; Shwedagon Pagoda “We’ll go”)
P ’ăyá
S ’ ú-le P ’ăyá S¨;elBura; Sule Pagoda
At the end of the journey S2 Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" All right.

S1 H năya-naw? 200/-ena\" It was 200 kyats, or K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" OK.
wasn’t it? Teq-pa. tk\på" Get in.
S2 H ouq-pa-deh. hut\påty\" Yes, that’s right.
New words
New words myá-deh m¥a;ty\ to be a lot, to be too much
pé-yá-deh ep;rty\ to have to give, to sháw-deh elYa.ty\ to reduce, to bring down
pay
houq-teh hut\ty\" to be right, true Notes
Sháw-ba-oún-lá? “Could you bring it down a bit more?” Adding
Notes -oú n-lá to a request has the effect of being more persuasive,
pé-yá-deh : pé-deh means “to give” Inserting -yá- into pé-deh (or more like coaxing:
other verbs) adds the sense of “have to, must”: e.g. Sháw-ba. “Please reduce it”.
Di-hma t ’ain-deh. d^m˙a Tuic\ty\" He sat here. Sháw-ba-oún. “Please reduce it further”.
Di-hma t ’ain-yá-deh. d^m˙a Tuic\rty\" He had to sit here. Sháw-ba-oún-lá? “How about reducing it further?”.
Ngá-daw-la pé-meh. cå;edÅla ep;my\" I’ll give them $5. B eh-lauq pé -m ălé h? “How much will you pay?” Notice the
Ngá-daw-la pé-yá- cå;edÅla ep;rmy\" I’ll have to give important difference made by adding -yá to this question:
meh. them $5. Beh-lauq pé-yá-măléh? “How much will I have to pay? How
much should I pay?”
Fares. Prices in Burma are subject to serious inflation. The taxi
fares used here were normal in 1997 when the course was 5.5. NEGOTIATING THE FARE 2
recorded. By 2008 (the date of some minor revisions) the
lowest fares around town were 2000-3000 kyats. S1 Tăyá lé-zeh pé- 140/- ep;my\" I’ll give you K140.
meh.
5.4. NEGOTIATING THE FARE 1 Y á-mălá? rmla;" How about that?
S2 Măyá-bú Bya. mrB¨;b¥a" I can’t do that.
S1 Néh-néh myá-ba- nń´ m¥a;påty\" That’s a bit too or Néh-deh Bya. n´ty\b¥a" That’s too little.
deh. much. or Di-lauq măsháw- dêlak\ I can’t drop it that
Sháw-ba-oún-lá? elYa.påAuM;la;" Could you bring it nain-ba-bú. melYa.Nuic\påB¨;" much.
down a bit more? S1 Beh-lauq sháw- By\elak\ elYa.ml´" How much will you
S2 Beh-lauq pé-jin- By\elak\ How much do you măléh? take off?
dhăléh? ep;K¥c\ql´" want to pay? S2 Tăyá k ’ un-năs ’ eh 170/- ep;på" Give me 170.
or Beh-lauq pé- By\elak\ ep;ml´" How much will you pé-ba.
măléh? pay? or Tăyá k ’ un-năs ’ eh 170/- Ta;på" Make it 170.
S1 Tăyá ngá-zeh pé- 150/- ep;my\" I’ll pay you 150 t ’á-ba.
meh. kyats S1 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" OK.
Y á-mălá? rmla;" Will you accept Thwá-meh. q∑a;my\" Let’s go.
that?
New words Di-hma yaq-yá- d^m˙a rp\rmla:" Do we have to stop

Bya b¥a [short for K ’in-bya : see 2.7] mălá? here? Should we (or
néh-deh n´ty\ to be a little, too little I) stop here?
di-lauq dêlak\ this much, so much Beh-hma yaq- By\m˙a rp\ml´" Where are we going to
sháw-nain-deh elYa.Nuic\ty\ to be able to reduce măléh? stop?
t ’á-deh Ta;ty\ to put at, to set at, to “make it” Beh-hma yaq-yá- By\m˙a rp\rml´" Where do we have to
măléh? stop? Where should
5.6. NEGOTIATING THE FARE 3 we (or I) stop?
S1 Néh-néh myá-ba- nń´ m¥a;påty\" That’s a bit steep. Answers

deh. H ouq-kéh, di-hma hut\k´." d^m˙a Yes, we’ll stop here.
Sháw-ba-oún-lá? elYa.påAuM;la;" How about bringing it yaq-meh. rp\my\"
down a bit? H ouq-kéh, di-hma hut\k´." d^m˙a rp\på" Yes, please stop here.
S2 Măsháw-nain-ba-bú. melYa.Nuic\påB¨;" I can’t reduce it. yaq-pa.
or Da ănéh-zoún-béh. då An´SuM;p´" That’s the lowest price. Di-hma măyaq- d^m˙a mrp\K¥c\påB¨;" I don’t want to stop
S1 A w. Di-lo-s ’o măsı́- eAa\" d^luiSui Oh. In that case I c ’in-ba-bú. here.
dáw-ba-bú. ms^;eta.påB¨;" won’t take your taxi. Lo-ba-dhé-deh. luipåeq;ty\" There’s still some way
to go.
New words Shé-ná-hma yaq- er˙>na;m˙a rp\my\" We’re going to stop
ănéh-zoún An´SuM; the lowest, the least meh. just over there.
sı́-deh s^;ty\ to ride, travel in or on
New words
Notes lo-deh luity\" to be lacking, to be missing
M ăsı́-ba-bú = “I won’t ride (in your taxi)”. M ăsı́-dá w-ba-bú = “I shé-ná-hma er˙>na;m˙a just over there (ahead-vicinity-in”)
won’t ride (in your taxi) after all” – with the implication that
you fully intended to, but his high fare has made you change Notes
your mind. The suffix -táw/- da´ w with a negated verb conveys The suffix -yá - adds the idea of “have to, should, ought to”.
the meaning “no longer, not any more, not after all”. Compare Lesson 5.3 and 5.4: Beh-lauq pé -yá -m ălé h “How
much shall I have to pay?” as against Beh-lauq pé-măléh “How
5.7. WHERE TO STOP much will you give me?”
Lo-ba-deh “something is missing, there is some way to go”. Lo-
Questions ba-dhé-deh “something is still missing, there is still some way
Di-hma yaq-c ’in- d^m˙a rp\K¥c\qla:" Do you want to stop to go”. Compare Lesson 4.5: Shı́-ba-dhé-deh “There is more to
dhălá? here? come”.
Di-hma yaq- d^m˙a rp\mla:" Are we (or you) going
mălá? to stop here? REVIEW FOR UNIT 5: TAXIS, PART 1 (LESSONS 5.1–5.7)
Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4
Side B.
S2 Tăya-dáw néh- 100/-eta. n´påty\ K100 is too little (+

Review Dialogue 1 ba-deh K ’in-bya. Kc\b¥a" tag).
Scene: A street in Rangoon. S1 is a foreign visitor and S2 is a taxi Tăyá tăs ’ eh pé- 110/- ep;påla;" How about you
driver. The foreigner approaches the driver, who is sitting in his taxi, ba-lá? giving me K110?
and asks – S1 Tăyá tăs ’ eh-lá? 110/-la;" Did you say 110?
S1 Á -dhălá? Aa;qla;" Are you free? S2 H ouq-kéh. Tăyá hut\k´." 110/-n´≥ That’s right. For
S2 H ouq-kéh. Á -ba- hut\k´." Aa;påty\ Yes, I am (+ tag). tăs ’ eh-néh laiq- luik\my\" K110 I’ll take you
deh K ’in-bya. Kc\b¥a" meh. there.
Beh thwá-jin- By\q∑a;K¥c\ql´" Where do you want S1 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" q∑a;my\" OK. Let’s go.
dhăléh? to go? Thwá-meh.
S1 Bı́-mán le-yin- Bimn\;elya√\RuM; I want to go to the S2 É h-di-hma A´d^m˙a mTuic\pån´≥" Don’t sit there,
yoún thwá-jin- q∑a;K¥c\påty\" Biman airline măt ’ain-ba-néh. please.
ba-deh. office. Di-hma t ’ain-ba. d^m˙a Tuic\på" Sit here.
S2 Beh yoún-léh? By\RuM;l´" Which office? Ă s ’in pye-deh- ASc\e®pty\ena\" That’s all right, I
S1 Bı́-mán le-yin- Bimn\;elya√\RuM;på" The Biman Airline naw? hope?
yoún-ba. office. S1 H ouq-kéh. Ă s ’in hut\k´." Yes, it’s fine.
S2 A w. Bı́-mán-lá? eAa\" Bimn\;la;" Oh – Biman, is it? pye-ba-deh. ASc\e®ppåty\"
Y á-ba-deh. Teq- rpåty\" tk\på" That’s all right. Get
pa. in. When you get near the Biman office the driver asks –
S1 Beh-lauq pé-yá- By\elak\ep;rml´" How much shall I S2 Beh-hma yaq- By\m˙a rp\K¥c\ql´" Where do you want
măléh? have to pay? c ’in-dhăléh? d^ m a
˙ rp\ r mla;" to stop? Should I
S2 Bı́-mán-go-lá? Bimn\;kuila;" To Biman? Give me Di-hma yaq-yá- stop here?
Hăwa-lauq pé- hwåelak\ ep;epå≥" umm – K120. mălá?
báw. Tăyá 120/-" S1 Lo-ba-dhé-deh. luipåeq;ty\" We’re not there yet.
hnăs ’ eh. Shé-ná-hma yaq- er˙>na;m˙a rp\my\" We’ll stop just over
S1 Tăyá hnăs ’ eh-lá? 120/-la;" 120 kyats? meh. there.
S2 H ouq-pa-deh hut\påty\ Kc\b¥a" That’s right (+ tag). S2 Di-hma-lá? d^m˙ala;" You mean here?
K ’in-bya. S1 H ouq-kéh. Di- hut\k´." d^m˙a" Yes here.
S1 Néh-néh myá-ba- nń´ m¥a;påty\" That’s a bit too hma.
deh. much. Tăyá tăs ’ eh-naw? 110/-ena\" It was 110 kyats
Sháw-ba-oún-lá? elYa.påAuM;la;" How about drop- wasn’t it?
ping it? S2 H ouq-pa-deh hut\påty\ Kc\b¥a" That’s right (+ tag).
S2 Beh-lauq pé-jin- By\elak\ How much do you K ’in-bya.
dhăléh? ep;K¥c\ql´" want to pay? S1 Paiq-s ’an di-hma. puik\SM d^m˙a" Here’s the money.
S1 Tăya pé-meh. 100/- ep;my\" I’ll give you 100 S2 Cé-zú tin-ba-deh. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\" Thank you.
Y á-mălá? rmla;" kyats. Would you S1 Thwá-meh-naw? q∑a;my\ena\" Goodbye.
accept that? S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Goodbye.
Review Dialogue 2 Laiq-pó-pé-nain- luik\pui≥ep;Nuic\mla;" Would you be able

Scene: a street in Rangoon. S1 is a foreign visitor and S2 is a taxi mălá? to take us?
driver. The foreigner flags down a taxi and the driver asks – S2 Beh-dáw thwá- By\eta. q∑a;K¥c\ql´" When do you want
S2 Beh-léh Bya? By\l´ b¥a" Where to (+ tag)? jin-dhăléh? to go?
S1 Thoún-zéh lé 34 mhabNÎollm\; I’m going to 34 or Beh ăc ’ein thwá- By\AK¥in\ q∑a;ml´" What time are you
Măha Ban-dú-lá q∑a;my\" Maha Bandula măléh? going to go?
Lán thwá-meh. Road.. or Beh-hnăna-yi By\N˙s\nar^ q∑a;ml´" What time are you
S2 Y á-deh. Teq. rty\" tk\" OK. Climb in. thwá-măléh? going to go?
S1 Beh-lauq pé-yá- By\elak\ ep;rml´" How much will I S1 Né-leh thwá-jin- en≥ly\ We want to go at
măléh? have to pay? ba-deh. q∑a;K¥c\påty\" midday.
S2 H năyá ngá-zeh 250/- k¥my\" It’ll cost you K250. S2 Y á-ba-deh. Laiq- rpåty\" Yes, I can take you.
cá-meh. pó-pé-nain-ba- luik\pui≥ep;Nuic\påty\"
S1 Tăyá ngá-zeh-lá? 150-la;" K150? deh.
S2 Măhouq-p ’ ú. mhut\B¨;" 250-på" No, K250. or Măyá-bú. S ’áw- mrB¨;" eSar^;ena\" No, I can’t. I’m
H năyá ngá-zeh- rı́-naw. Măá- mAa;påB¨;" sorry. I’m not free.
ba. ba-bú.
S1 H năyá ngá-zeh- 250/-la;" K250?
lá? New words
S2 Da-báw Bya. dåepå≥b¥a" 250/-" That’s right (+ tag). di-né dên≥ today
H năyá ngá-zeh. K250. măneq-p ’an mnk\Pn\ tomorrow
S1 Néh-néh myá-ba- nń´ m¥a;påty\" That’s a bit too high. beh-dáw By\eta. when? (general use)
deh. Sháw-ba- elYa.påAuM;la;" Can you bring it beh-ăc ’ ein By\AK¥in\ at what time? (“which time”)
oún-lá? down? beh-hnăna-yi By\N˙s\nar^ at what time?
S2 Măsháw-nain-ba- melYa.Nuic\påB¨;" då No I can’t. That’s (“at what hour”)
bú. Da ănéh- An´SuM;p´" the lowest I can măneq mnk\ morning
zoún-béh. go. né-leh en≥ly\ midday (“day + middle”)
S1 A w. Di-lo-s ’o eAa\" d^luiSui In that case I won’t nyá-ne ven afternoon (“evening sun”)
măsı́-dáw-ba- ms^;eta.påB¨;" take the taxi after nyá v evening, night
bú. all. laiq-pó-deh luik\pui≥ty\ to take (someone somewhere)
S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Very well.
Notes and variants
5.8 AND 5.9. WE WANT TO GO TOMORROW. di-né “today”: also di-găné and găné .
WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO TAKE US? măneq-p ’an “tomorrow”: also măneq-p ’yan , măneq-p ’yin , neq-p ’an ,
neq-p ’yan , and neq-p ’yin .
S1 Măneq-p ’an né- mnk\Pn\en≥ly\ We want to go to laiq-pó-deh “to take (someone somewhere)”: people often add the
leh Ngá-daq-cı́ cå;Tp\Âk^;Bura; the Ngadatkyi suffix -pé- (from the word pé- “to give”), making laiq-pó-pé -
P ’ăyá thwa-jin- q∑a;K¥c\påty\" Pagoda tomorrow d e h , which acknowledges the fact that you are doing your
ba-deh. at midday passengers a service, and therefore sounds more polite. In the
dialogue above the phrase also carries the suffix -nain- “to be S2 Shiq-na-yi-gwéh- 8-nar^K∑´m˙a lapå" Please come at half
able to”, making l a i q -p ó -p é -n a i n -d e h . For -n a i n - see also hma la-ba. or 8-nar^K∑´ lapå" past eight.
Lesson 5.5: D i-lauq măshá w -nain-ba-bú “I can’t drop it that or Shiq-na-yi-
much”. gwéh la-ba.
S1 Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" Fine.
5.10. FIXING A TIME S2 Shiq-na-yi-gwéh- 8-nar^K∑´m˙a d^m˙a I’ll wait here at half
New words hma di-hma esac\.enmy\" past eight.
na-yi nar^ hour, clock saún-ne-meh.
mı́-niq mins\ minute S1 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Very well.
Examples of times New words

lé-na-yi el;nar^ four o’clock la-deh laty\ to come
kó-na-yi kui;nar^ nine o’clock saún-ne-deh esac\.enty\ to wait
kó-na-yi s ’ éh-ngá-m ı́-niq kui;nar^ Sy\.cå;mins\ 9:15
Notes
Notes Beh ăc ’ ein la-yá-m ăléh? Another occurrence of the suffix -yá -
Note that tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq weaken as usual (see Lesson 1.5, 1.7, “have to, should, ought to”. For earlier examples see Lesson
1.9): 5.3 Beh-lauq pé-yá-m ăléh? “How much should I pay?”, and
tăna-yi ts\nar^ one o’clock Lesson 5.7 Beh-hma yaq-yá-măléh? “Where should I stop?”.
k ’ un-năna-yi KuN˙s\nar^ seven o’clock Beh ăc ’ ein la-yá-măléh? There are a couple of common variants
And the Round Number Rule is observed (see 2.1): for la- “to come” in this context. You may hear la-gé h- “to
hnăna-yi mı́-niq N˙s\nar^ mins\ N˙s\Sy\ 2:20 come round” or “to come back” or “to come over”; or la-k ’aw-
hnăs ’ eh “to come and fetch”; e.g.
c ’auq-na-yi mı́- e®Kak\nar^ mins\ 6:30 S1 Beh ăc ’ein la- By\AK¥in\ laK´.rml´" What time should I
niq thoún-zeh quM;Sy\ géh-yá-măléh? come round?
Half past the hour is sometimes shortened. For example, for S2 Shiq-na-yi-gwéh 8-nar^ K ´ ∑ laK´ p
. å" Please come round
“6.30”, in place of the pattern above, you may hear – la-géh-ba. at half past eight.
c ’auq-na-yi-gwéh e®Kak\nar^K∑´ 6:30 You may also hear la-ze-jin-deh “to want (someone) to come”,
and so on for other times. The suffix -k ’wéh/-gwe´ h means “and and the variants la-géh-ze-jin-deh and la-k ’aw-ze-jin-deh .
a half”. Example:
S1 Beh ăc ’ein la- By\AK¥in\ What time would
5.11. PLEASE COME AT 8:30. géh-ze-jin- laK´.esK¥c\ql´" you like me to
dhăléh? come round?
S1 Beh ăc ’ein la-yá- By\AK¥in\ larml´" What time should I S2 Shiq-na-yi-gwéh 8-nar^K∑´ laK´.på" Please come round
măléh? come? la-géh-ba. at half past eight.
Shiq-na-yi-gwéh-hma : the suffix -hma “at, on, in” is optional with

times. For examples of both options see the sentences above.
S3 Á -ba-deh K ’in- Aa;påty\ Kc\b¥a" Yes, I will. At what

REVIEW FOR UNIT 5: TAXIS, PART 2 (LESSONS 5.8–5.11) bya. Beh By\AK¥in\l´" time?
Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4 ăc ’ ein-léh?
Side B. S2 Lé-na-yi s ’ éh- 4-nar^ 15-mins\" At 4:15.
ngá-m ı́-niq.
Review Dialogue S3 Lé-na-yi s ’ éh- 4-nar^ 15-mins\la;" 4:15? That’s all
Scene: Mandalay, outside the railway station. A foreign visitor (S2) ngá-m ı́-niq-lá? rpåty\" right. I’m free.
wants to arrange for a pony cart driver (S1) to fetch her the following Y á-ba-deh. Á - Aa;påty\"
morning. ba-deh.
S1 Beh laiq-pó-pé- By\ luik\lui≥ep;rml´ Where can I take Beh thwá-măló- By\ q∑a;mlui≥l´ Where are you
yá-măléh K ’in- Kc\b¥a" you (+ tag)? léh K ’in-bya? Kc\b¥a" planning to go?
bya? S2 P ’ăyá-jÍ thwá- Bura;Âk^; q∑a;my\" We’re going to the
S2 Măneq-p ’an mnk\Pn\ Bura;Âk^; I want to go to the meh. Great Pagoda.
P ’ăyá-jı́ thwá- q∑a;K¥c\påty\" Great Pagoda S3 A w. P ’ăyá-jı́-lá? eAa\' Bura;Âk^;la;" Oh, the Great
jin-ba-deh. luik\pui≥ep;Nuic\mla;" tomorrow. Myeq-hnădaw m¥k\N˙aeta\ qs\ta Pagoda, is it? Do
Laiq-pó-pé-nain- Could you take me thiq-ta thwá-cÍ- q∑a;Âkv\.K¥c\ty\la;" you want to go
mălá? there? jin-deh-lá? and watch the
S1 Beh ăc ’ ein thwá- By\AK¥in\ What time do you ritual face-wash-
jin-dhăléh? q∑a;K¥c\ql´" want to go? ing?
S2 Măneq thwá-jin- mnk\ q∑a;K¥c\påty\" I want to go in the S2 Ná măleh-ba-bú. na;mlv\påB¨;" I don’t understand.
ba-deh. morning. S ’áw-rÍ-naw? eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry.
Lé-na-yi-gwéh- 4-nar^K∑´m˙a" At 4:30. S3 K eiq-sá măshÍ- kisßmr˙ipåB¨;b¥a" Never mind. It’s
hma. ba-bú bya. mT¨;l˙påB¨;" nothing important.
S1 A w. Lé-na-yi- eAa\' 4-nar^K∑´m˙aeta. I’m not free at 4:30 Măt ’ ú-hlá-ba-bú.
gwéh-hma-dáw mAa;påB¨; Kc\b¥a" (+ tag). Beh-hma la-k ’aw- By\m˙a Where do you want
măá-ba-bú K ’in- ze-jin-dhăléh? laeKÅesK¥c\ql´" me to pick you up?
bya. S2 Mán-dălé H o-teh- At the Mandalay
mN †el;huity\m˙apå"
Thwá-zăya shı́- q∑a;sra r˙ipåty\" I have to go some- hma-ba. Hotel.
ba-deh. S ’áw- eSar^;ena\" where. Sorry. S3 Mán-dălé H o-teh. mN †el;huity\" The Mandalay
rı́-naw? K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Hotel. Fine.
H o-beq hléh- How about asking
huiBk\ l˙v\;Sra The foreigner would normally agree a fare at this point, but to keep the
s ’ăya mé-cı́-ba- em;Âkv\.påla;"that driver over scene short we’re omitting that phase. The dialogue resumes with the
lá. there? foreign lady confirming tthe arrangement.
The foreign lady walks over to a second pony cart and speaks to the
driver of that one (S3).
S2 Măneq-p ’an mnk\Pn\mnk\ Will you be free to-
măneq á-mălá? Aa;mla;" morrow?
70 Burmese By Ear Unit 6: Shops 71
S2 Măneq-p ’yan mnk\®Pn\mnk\ 4-nar^ I’ll wait for you at or Ba weh-jin-ló-léh? Ba wy\K¥c\lui≥l´" What would you
măneq lé-na-yi 15-mins\m˙a the Mandalay like to buy?
s ’ éh-ngá-mÍ-niq- mN †el;huity\m˙a Hotel tomorrow S2 Pó-săkaq shı́-lá? pui≥skd\ r˙ila;" Do you have any
hma Mán-dălé esac\.enmy\" morning at 4:15. postcards?
H o-teh-hma S1 Shı́-ba-deh. Di-hma. r˙ipåty\" d^m˙a" Yes I have. Here.
saún-ne-meh. S2 Cı́-meh-naw? Âkv\.my\ena\" Do you mind if I
S3 K aún-ba-bi K ’in- ekac\;på®p^ Kc\b¥a" Goodbye. have a look at
bya. them?
S1 Cı́-ba. Âkv\.på" No, do.
UNIT 6. SHOPS Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" That’s all right.
6.1. ASKING THE PRICE AND PAYING UP New words

weh-deh wy\ty\ to buy
Da beh-lauq-léh? då By\elak\l´" How much is this? ălo *shı́-deh Alui r˙ity\ to need, to want
S2 S ’ éh-ngá-jaq-pa. 15/-på" 15 kyats. lo-jin-deh luiK¥c\ty\ to want (something)
S1 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" OK cı́-deh Âkv\.ty\ to look at
Y u-meh. y¨my\" I’ll take it. shı́-deh r˙ity\ to have, to be (somewhere)
Di-hma. d^m˙a" Here you are. Some imported items in shops are known by their English names
S2 Cé-zú tin-ba-deh. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\" Thank you. in Burmese: e.g. film, plaster, postcard, cigarette, sellotape, ball
S1 Thwá-meh-naw. q∑a;my\ena\" Goodbye. pen, T-shirt, and others.
S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Goodbye.
Notes
New words l o-ji n -d e h : literally: “need+want to”. Clearly the word has
yu-deh y¨ty\ to take changed its meaning since this compound was first put
together. Don’t confuse –
Variants […] lo-jin-deh “to want [something]” with
Da beh-lauq-néh då By\elak\n´≥ How much is this? […]-jin-deh “to want [to do something]”: e.g.
yaún-dhăléh? erac\;ql´" (“With how much P ’ălin lo-jin-ba-deh. Plc\ luiK¥c\påty\" I want a film.
do you sell this?”) T ’ain-jin-ba-deh. Tuic\K¥c\påty\" I want to sit down.
Da beh-lo yaún- då By\lui erac\;ql´" How much is this? plaster = Band Aid in the USA.
dhăléh? (“How do you sell sellotape = Scotch tape in the USA.
this?”) ball pen = ball point pen in the UK.
6.2. HAVE YOU GOT …? YES. Variant

In place of Cı́-meh-naw? you may hear –
S1 Ba ălo shı́-ba- Ba Aluir˙ipåql´" What do you need? Cı́-yá-aun. Âkv\.reAac\" Can I have a look?
dhăléh?
or Ba lo-jin-dhăléh? Ba luiK¥c\ql´" What do you want?
6.3. HAVE YOU GOT …? NO.

6.5. HOW MANY?
S2 Păla-săta shı́-lá? plasta r˙ila;" Do you have any
sticking plaster? New word
S1 Măshı́-ba-bú. mr˙ipåB¨;" No, I haven’t. beh-hnă- … By\N˙s\ … How many …?
or Măshı́-dáw-ba-bú. mr˙ieta.påB¨;" No, I haven’t any
more. Countwords
K oun-dhwá-bi. kun\q∑a;®p^" I’ve run out. The following are the countwords used on the tape. For a fuller
S ’aw-rı́-naw? eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry. list see Appendix 4 (the number system).
S2 A w. K eiq-sá măshı́- eAa\" kisß mr˙ipåB¨;" Oh. It doesn’t k ’weq K∑k\ cup, glass (of drink)
ba-bú. matter. bú B¨; packet (of plasters, cigarettes), jar (of coffee),
tube (of toothpaste)
Notes leiq li p \ roll (of film, toilet paper)
K eiq-sá măshı́-ba-bú. Literally “activity + not + exist”: hence “it’s k ’we eK∑ reel (of tape)
no bother”, “it doesn’t matter”. loún luM; bottle, can; also countword for bags,
M ăsh ı́-ba-bú “I haven’t any”. M ăshı́-dáw-ba-bú. “I haven’t any envelopes, hats, …
any more. I no longer have any”. The suffix -táw/- da´ w with a k ’ ú Ku item, unit (for samusa, postcard, …)
negated verb conveys the meaning “no longer, not any more,
not after all”. Compare Măsı́-dáw-ba-bú. “I won’t take (your Example sentences
taxi) after all” in 5.6. S1 Păla-săta beh-hnă- plasta How many boxes of
bú yu-măléh? By\N˙s\B¨; y¨ml´" plaster will you
6.4. THINGS TO BUY have?
New words S2 Tăbú yu-meh. ts\B¨; y¨my\" I’ll take one.
The following are the words practised on the tape. For other S1 P ’ălin beh-hnă-leiq Plc\ By\N˙s\lip\ How many rolls of
things you may want to buy look in the English-Burmese yu-măléh? y¨ml´" film will you have?
vocabulary. S2 Tăleiq yu-meh. ts\lip\ y¨my\" I’ll take one.
paiq-s ’an-eiq puik\SMAit\ purse (“money bag”)
lweh-eiq l∑y\Ait\ shoulder bag (see note below) 6.6. DIFFERENT KINDS
sa-eiq saAit\ envelope (“letter bag”)
sa-yé-seq-ku saer;sk˚ø writing paper (“letter-write New words
paper”) da-myó dåm¥oi; that kind
ouq-t ’ouq Ë;Tu p \ hat (“head binding”) thoún-myó quM;m¥oi; three kinds
ă myó-myó Am¥oi;m¥oi; various kinds
Note di-pyin or dı́-pyin d^®pc\ or d^.®pc\ apart from this (“this +
l w e h -e i q is literally a “hang-from-the-shoulder bag”.
A bag outside”)
woven of wool and cotton with a long integral loop to drape
from your shoulder. Also called “Shan bag” in English Sample exchanges
because many of them are made in the Shan State. S1 Da-myó caiq-lá? dåm¥oi; ’kik\la;" Do you like this kind?
S2 Da-myó theiq dåm¥oi; qip\ I don’t like that kind

măcaiq-pa-bú. m’kik\påB¨;" very much. Colours named after objects
Dı́-pyin ba shı́-dhé- d^.®pc\ Ba What do you have lein-maw-yaun orange [“colour of orange”]
lim\ema\erac\
dhăléh? r˙ieq;ql´" apart from this? k ’ăyán-yaun purple [“colour of aubergine”]
Krm\;erac\
S1 Dı́-pyin hnă myó shı́- d^.®pc\ N˙s\m¥oi; Besides that we have pán-yaun pink [“colour of flowers”]
pn\;erac\
ba-dhé-deh. r˙ipåeq;ty\" two other kinds. shwe-yaun eRWerac\gold [“colour of gold”]
or Da-béh shı́-ba-deh. dåp´ r˙ipåty\" That’s all I have. ngwe-yaun ec∑erac\silver [“colour of silver”]
mı́-gó-yaun grey [“colour of smoke”]
m^;Kui;erac\
Note Needless to say, the list above is indefinitely extendable.
Ba shı́-dhăléh? “What is there?”. Ba shı́-dhé-dhăléh? “What else
is there?”. Compare Shı́-ba-dhé-deh “There is more to come” in If pressed, you can always fall back on comparison: point to
4.5, and Lo-ba-dhé -deh “something is still missing, there is still something and say –
some way to go” in 5.7. di-ăyaun dÂerac\ this colour
Colours 6.7. I’LL LEAVE IT THANKS

In case you want to ask for different colours here is a list of some
words that may be helpful. New words and phrases
Basic colour words Di-lo-s ’o măweh- d^luiSui In that case I’ll leave it.
ăyaun Aerac\ colour dáw-ba-bú. mwy\eta.påB¨;"
ăpya A®pa blue Cı́-oún-meh-naw? Âkv\.AuM;my\ena\" I’ll keep on looking.
ăseı́n Asi m ;
\ green I’ll think about it
ăwa Awå yellow
ăni An^ red Sample exchange
ăp ’yu A®Pø white S1 Néh-néh myá-ba- nń´ m¥a;påty\" That’s a bit expensive.
ănyo AVu i brown deh.
ăneq Ank\ black Sháw-ba-oún-lá. elYa.påAuM;la;" How about dropping
the price?
Example S2 Măyá-bú-bya. mrB¨;b¥a" No.
Ă pya shı́-lá? Do you have a blue one?
A®pa r˙ila;" Măsháw-nain-ba- melYa.Nuic\påB¨;" I can’t drop it.
Do you have any blue ones? bú.
Sa-eiq-ăp ’yu saAit\A®Pø I like the white envelope. S1 A w. Cé-zú tin- eAa\' Oh. Thanks.
caiq-pa-deh. ’kik\påty\" I like the white envelopes. ba-deh. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\"
Colour words may be modified by the addition of – Cı́-oún-meh-naw? Âkv\.AuM;my\ena\" I’ll keep on looking.
-yı́n -rc\. deep S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" As you wish.
-nú -Nu pale
e.g.
ăpya-yı́n A®parc\. deep blue
ăwa-nú AwåNu pale yellow
Notes S1 Theiq măcaiq-pa- qip\ m’kik\påB¨;" Not very much.

Măweh-ba-bú “I won’t buy it”. Măweh-dáw-ba-bú´ “I won’t buy it bú.
after all”. The suffix -dáw-/- ta´ w- with a negated verb conveys S2 Beh-ha caiq- By\ha ’kik\ql´" Which kind do you
the meaning “no longer, not after all”. thăléh? like?
Cı́-meh-naw? “I’m going to have a look – OK?”. Cı́-oún-meh-naw? S1 É h-da caiq-pa- A´då ’kik\påty\" I like that one.
“I’ll keep on looking – OK?”. The suffix -oún- conveys contin- deh.
uation, something extra, more. S2 H ouq-kéh. H lá- hut\k´." l˙påty\" Right. It is pretty.
ba-deh.
REVIEW FOR UNIT 6: SHOPS Thăye-léh kaún- qa;erl´ ekac\;ty\" The leather is good
Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4 deh. quality too.
Side B. S1 225-jaq-naw? 225-k¥p\ena\" It was 225 wasn’t it?
S2 H ouq-pa-deh. hut\påty\" Yes it was.
Review dialogue 1 S1 Néh-néh myá-ba- nń´ m¥a;påty\" That’s a bit too
S1, a foreign visitor, wants to buy a purse. He goes into a shop that has deh. much.
some purses on the counter, and picks out one he quite likes. He asks Sháw-ba-oún-lá. elYa.påAuM;la;" How about bringing
the shopkeeper (S2) – it down a bit?
S1 É h-da Bă ma-lo A´då bmalui By\lui What’s that called in S2 Sháw-ló măyá- elYa.lui≥ mrB¨;" I can’t bring that
beh-lo k ’aw- eKÅql´ " Burmese? bú. down.
dhăléh? Da ănéh-zoún- då An´SuM;eZ;p´" That’s my lowest
S2 Paiq-s ’an-eiq-pa. puik\SMAit\på" It’s called “paiq- zé-béh. price.
s’an-eiq”. S1 A w. Cı́-oún-meh- eAa\" Âkv\.AuM;my\ena\" Oh. Then I’ll carry
S1 Paiq-s ’an-eiq-lá? puik\SMAit\la;" “Paiq-s’an-eiq”? naw. on looking.
S2 H ouq-pa-deh. hut\påty\" Yes. S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" As you wish.
S1 Da beh-lauq-léh? då By\elak\l´" How much is that?
S2 225-jaq-pa. 225-k¥p\på" 225 kyats. Review Dialogue 2.
S1 T ’aq-pyáw-ba- Tp\e®papåAuM;" Please could you Scene: Another shop. S1 is a foreign visitor and S2 is the shopkeeper.
oún. say that again? S2 Ba-ălo shı́-ba- Ba Aluir˙ipåql´ What would you
S2 225-jaq-pa. 225-k¥p\på" 225 kyat. dhăléh K ’in- Kc\b¥a" like, Sir?
S1 Di-pyin ba shı́- d^.®pc\ Ba r˙ieq;ql´" What else do you bya?
dhé-dhăléh? have? S1 Sa-eiq shı́-lá? saAit\ r˙ila;" Have you got any
S2 Láw-láw-zeh elaelaSy\ quM;m¥oi;p´ At the moment we envelopes?
thoún-myó-béh r˙ipåty\" have three types. S2 Shı́-ba-deh Bya. r˙ipåty\ b¥a" Yes, I have.
shı́-ba-deh. Di-hma. d^m˙a" Here you are.
Da-yeh, da-yeh, dåry\' dåry\' dåry\" This one, this one, S1 Cı́-meh-naw? Âkv\.my\ena\" Do you mind if I
da-yeh. and this one. have a look?
Da-myó caiq- dåm¥oi; ’kik\qla;" Do you like that S2 Cı́-ba. Âkv\.på" Please do.
thălá? kind? Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" No problem.
S1 Dı́-pyin ba shı́- d^.®pc\ Ba r˙ieq;ql´" What else do you S1 K eiq-sá măshı́- kisß mr˙ipåB¨;" Never mind.
dhé-dhăléh? have? ba-bú.
S2 Ba-hmá măshı́- Bam˙ mr˙iB¨;b¥a" I don’t have any- Sa-eiq-ká s ’ éh- saAit\k 11-k¥p\ena\" The envelope was
bú bya. thing else. tăjaq-naw? 11 kyats wasn’t it?
Di tă myó-déh- d^ts\m¥oi;tv\;p´ I just have this one S2 H ouq-pa-deh k ’in- hut\påty\ Kc\b¥a" Yes.
béh shı́-ba-deh. r˙ipåty\" kind. bya.
The customer decides to take it after all. The customer hands over the money
S1 Da beh-lauq-léh? då By\elak\l´" How much is this? S2 Cé-zú tin-ba-deh. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\" Thank you.
S2 S ’éh-hnăcaq-pa 12-k¥p\på Kc\b¥a" 12 kyats, Sir. S1 Thwá-meh-naw? q∑a;my\ena\" Goodbye.
k ’in-bya. S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Goodbye.
S1 Néh-néh myá-ba- nń´ m¥a;påty\" That’s a bit too
deh. much. UNIT 7. TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS
Sháw-ba-oún-lá. elYa.påAuM;la;" How about reduc-
ing that? 7.1 AND 7.2. EXCUSE ME (TO MEN AND TO WOMEN)
S2 Beh-lauq pé-jin- By\elak\ ep;K¥c\l´" How much do want
léh? to pay? Normally you attract someone’s attention by using a kin term,
S1 Tăs ’eh pé-meh. ts\Sy\ ep;my\" I’ll give you 10 choosing one that is appropriate to the gender and relative age of
kyats. the person you want to speak to. The list below gives a short
Y á-mălá? rmla;" How about that? selection which will provide you with a term suitable for almost
S2 Di-lauq-táw dêlak\eta. elYa.lui≥ I can’t reduce it by all occasions.
sháw-ló măyá- mrB¨;b¥a" that much.
bú bya. Ú-lé Ë;el; uncle
S1 Beh-lauq sháw- By\elak\ elYa.ml´" How much would Daw-daw edÅedÅ aunt
măléh? you reduce it? Ă ko Akui brother
S2 Tăjaq-táw sháw- ts\k¥p\eta. elYa.lui≥ I could take off a Ă má Am sister
ló yá-deh. rty\" kyat. Thá qa; son
S ’ éh-tăjaq pé- 11-k¥p\ How about you Thă mı́ qm^; daughter
laiq-pa-lá? ep;luik\påla;" paying me 11
kyats? Common responses to “Excuse me”
S1 K aún-ba-bi. Y u- ekac\;på®p^" y¨my\" All right. I’ll take it. H ouq-kéh? hut\k´." Yes?
meh. Ba-léh? Bal´" What is it?
Sa-yé-seq-ku shı́- saer;sk˚ø r˙ila;" Do you have any Bya? b¥a" Yes? (man speaking)
lá? writing paper? Shin? r˙c\" Yes? (woman speaking)
S2 Sa-yé-seq-ku- sask˚øeta. I haven’t any writ-
dáw măshı́- mr˙ieta.påB¨;" ing paper left. Note
dáw-ba-bú. B y a ? is a shortened form of K ’ i n -b y a , the polite tag for male
K oun-dhwá-bi. kun\q∑a;®p^" It’s all sold. speakers.
S ’áw-rı́-naw. eSar^;ena\" Sorry. Shin? is the same word as the polite tag for female speakers.
80 Burmese By Ear Unit 7: Taking photographs 81
Bya? and Shin? are also used when the listener hasn’t caught P ı́-bi or P ı́-ba-bi : literally “I’ve finished” or “It’s over”. For the
what you’ve said. They’re used like “I beg your pardon?” in verb suffix -bi/- pi see Verb Paradigms in Appendix 3 (outline
English. grammar).
7.3. DO YOU MIND IF I TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH? REVIEW FOR UNIT 7: TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS
S1 Di-hma daq-poun d^m˙a Dåt\puM I’d like to take a Side B.
yaiq-c ’in-ba- Ruik\K¥c\påty\" photograph here.
deh. Review Dialogue 1
Y á-deh-naw? rty\ena\" That’s all right isn’t it? S1 is a foreign visitor. He wants to take a photograph of a shop, so he
S2 Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" Yes that’s all right. asks the woman shopkeeper (S2) if she minds.
Y aiq-pa. Ruik\på" Go ahead. S1 Ă má. Am Excuse me.
S1 K ’ăná-lé-naw? K%el;ena\" Just a moment, OK? S2 Shin? r˙c\" Yes?
K éh. k´" There. S1 Di-hma daq-poun d^m˙a Dåt\puM I’d like to take a
Pı́-bi. ®p^;®p^" I’ve taken it. yaiq-c ’in-ba- Ruik\K¥c\påty\" photograph here.
deh.
Alternative ending Y á-deh-naw? rty\ena\" It’s all right, isn’t it?
S1 Di-hma daq-poun d^m˙a Dåt\puM I’d like to take a S2 S ’ain-go daq- Suic\kui Dåt\puM You’re going to take
yaiq-c ’in-ba- Ruik\K¥c\påty\" photograph here. poun yaiq-meh? Ruik\my\?" a photograph of
deh. the shop?
Y á-deh-naw? rty\ena\" That’s all right isn’t it? Y á-ba-deh Shin. rpåty\ r˙ c "
\ Yes, that’s all right.
S2 Măyá-bú. mrB¨;" No it’s not all right. Y aiq-ta-báw. Ru k
i t
\ aepå≥ " Of course you can.
Măyaiq-pa-néh. mRuik\pån´≥" Don’t take a photo- The photographer takes one shot, and then decides to take another.
graph. S1 K ’ăná-lé-naw? K%el;ena\" Just a moment,
Măyaiq-c ’in-ba- mRuik\K¥c\påB¨;" I don’t want to be please.
bú. photographed. K éh. Pı́-bi. k´ " ®p^ ; ®p^ " There. I’ve finished.
S1 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" All right. Cé-zú tin-ba-deh. ek¥;z¨ ; tc\ p åty\ " Thank you.
Măyaiq-pa-bú. mRuik\påB¨;" I won’t take one. S2 Y á-ba-deh Shin. rpåty\r˙c\" That’s all right.
Da-néh Shin beh dån´≥ r˙c\ By\Nuic\cMk By the way, what
New words nain-ngan-gá latal´" country do you
k ’ăná K% a moment, an instant la-da-léh? come from?
k ’ăná-lé K%el; a little moment S1 Ná măleh-ba-bú. na;mlv\påB¨;" I don’t understand.
pı́-deh ®p^;ty\ to finish Bă ma săgá theiq bmaska; qip\ I don’t speak much
măpyáw-daq- me®patt\påB¨;" Burmese.
Notes pa-bú.
K éh is a word you can use when you’ve just finished one thing
and you’re going on to another. In English you might say
“There” or “Right” or “Well” or “Now”.
82 Burmese By Ear Unit 8: Asking the way 83
S2 K eiq-sá măshı́- kisß mr˙ipåB¨; r˙c\" It doesn’t matter. I UNIT 8. ASKING THE WAY
ba-bú Shin. Alka; was just curious.
Ă lăgá mé-ne- em;entapå" 8.1. WHERE CAN I GET A … NEAR HERE?
da-ba.
S1 Thwá-meh-naw? q∑a;my\ena\" Goodbye then. The question
S2 H ouq-kéh Shin. hut\k´. r˙c\" Fine. Goodbye. S1 O uq-t ’ouq weh- Ë;Tup\ wy\K¥c\påty\" I’d like to buy a hat.
K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" jin-ba-deh.
Di-ná-hma beh- d^na;m˙a By\m˙a rml´ Do you know where
Review Dialogue 2 hma yá-măléh qi(q)la;" I could get one
S1 is a foreigner, S2 a Burmese man. thı́-(dhă)lá? near here?
S1 Ú-lé. Ë;el;" Excuse me.
S2 Bya? Ba louq- b¥a" Balup\ep;rml´" Yes? What can I do Answer 1
pé-yá-măléh? for you? S2 Shı́-ba-deh. r˙ipåty\" There are some.
S1 Di-hma daq-poun d^m˙a Dåt\puM I’d like to take a or Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" You can get one.
yaiq-c ’in-ba- Ruik\K¥c\påty\" photograph here. S2 Di-beq thwá-ba. d^Bk\ q∑a;på" Go this way.
deh.
Y á-deh-naw? rty\ena\" It is all right, isn’t it? Answer 2
S2 A w. Ú-lé-go eAa\" Ë;el;kui Dåt\puM Oh. You’re think- S2 Di-ná-hma d^na;m˙a mr˙ipåB¨;" There aren’t any
daq-poun yaiq- Ruik\mlui≥la;" ing of taking one măshı́-ba-bú. around here.
măló-lá? of me, are you? H o-beq-hma yá- huiBk\m˙a rmy\" You’d get some way
Măyaiq-néh Bya. mRuik\n´≥b¥a" No, please don’t. meh. over there.
Măyaiq-c ’in-ba- mRuik\K¥c\påB¨;" I don’t want to be Answer 3
bú. photographed. S2 Măthı́-ba-bú. mqipåB¨;" I don’t know.
S1 T ’aq-pyáw-ba- Tp\e®papåAuM;" Could you say that S ’áw-rı́-naw? eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry.
oún? again, please?
S2 A w. Daq-poun eAa\" Dåt\puM mRuik\Pui≥ Oh. I was asking New words
măyaiq-p ’ó e®patapå" you not to take a di-ná-hma d^na;m˙a near here (“this + area + in”)
pyáw-da-ba. photograph. yá-deh rty\ to get, to obtain
Măyaiq-se-jin-ba- mRuik\esK¥c\påB¨;" I don’t want you to thı́-deh qity\ to know
bú. take one. di-beq d^Bk\ this way
S1 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" All right. ho-beq-hma huiBk\m˙a over there
Măyaiq-pa-bú. mRuik\påB¨;" I won’t then.
Notes
Di-ná-hm a beh-hm a yá-m ăléh thı́-dhălá? A long sentence. It is
built up like this –
Beh-hma yá- By\m˙a rml´" Where could I get one?
măléh?
Beh-hma yá- By\m˙a rml´ Do you know where sá-daw-zeq sa;eta\Sk\ “food-honorific-proffer”
măléh thı́- qi q la;" could I get one? sá-yeiq-myoun sa;rip\‘mM “eat-refuge, haven”
dhălá? pyaw-pwéh-sá- ep¥a\p∑´sa;RuM “enjoy-banquet-eat-
Di-ná-hma beh- d^na;m˙a By\m˙a Do you know where I youn establishment”
hma yá-măléh rml´ qiqla;" could get one near
thı́-dhălá? here?
B eh-hm a yá -m ălé h? “Where can I get one?” Notice that the 8.3. HOW DO I GET TO …?
Burmese has yá-m ăléh , literally “Where shall I get one?” It’s
as if you were asking “Where would I get one (if I wanted Bo-jouq Lán buil\K¥op\lm\; I want to go to
to)?” thwá-jin-ba-deh. q∑a;K¥c\påty\" Bogyoke Street.
H o-beq-hm a “over there” is used where the place referred to is Beh-lo thwá-yá- By\lui q∑a;rml´" How do I get there?
quite a long way away. măléh?
Di-ná-hma beh-hma yá-măléh thı́-dhălá? “Do you know where I
could get one near here?”. A common variant of this question Note
is: D i-ná -hm a beh-hm a yá -m ălé h măt h ı́-bú ? This version Beh-lo thwá-yá-măléh? : Beh-lo “how”, thwá-yá-măléh? “should I
appears to say “I don’t know where I could get one near go”.
here”, but it is often used to imply the unspoken question “…
I wonder if you could help me?”. REVIEW FOR UNIT 8: ASKING THE WAY
8.2. IS THERE A … NEAR HERE? Side B.
Di-ná-hma ho-teh d^na;m˙a huity\ r˙ila;" Is there a hotel near Review Dialogue 1
shı́-dhălá? here? Scene: a street in a town in Burma. S1 is a foreign visitor, and S2 a
Burmese man.
Places you may want to ask for. S1 Ú-lé. Ë;el;" Excuse me.
The words below are those practised on the tape. For a fuller list S2 É . eA;" Yes?
see the Topical Vocabulary for sites and places. S1 Sa-eiq weh-jin- saAit\ wy\K¥c\påty\" I want to buy an
t ’ă mı́n-zain Tmc\;Suic\ restaurant (“rice shop”) ba-deh. envelope.
lăp ’ eq-ye-zain lk\Pk\rv\Suic\ café (“tea shop”) S2 Ba weh-jin-deh? Ba wy\K¥c\ty\? You want to buy
ăé-zain AeA;Suic\ cold drinks bar (“cold things what?
shop”) T ’aq-pyáw-ba- Tp\e®papåAuM;" Please say that
s ’ é-zain eS;Suic\ chemist’s shop (“medicine oún. again.
shop”) S1 Sa-eiq-pa. saAit\på" An envelope.
S2 A w. Sa-eiq-lá? eAa\ saAit\la;" Oh. An envelope.
Note Di-dáw … ? d^ e ta. ?" So … ?
Restaurant signboards often use more elegant or pretentious S1 Di-ná-hma beh- d^na;m˙a By\m˙a rml´ Do you know where
names than t ’ă mı́n-zain ; e.g. hma yá-măléh qila;" I could get one
sá-thauq-s ’ain sa;eqak\Suic\ “eat-drink-shop” thı́-lá? around here?
S2 Shı́-ba-deh. Di- r˙ipåty\" d^Bk\ q∑a;" There is somewhere. S2 Că má-lá? Ă mălé k¥mla;" Me?! Good heavens
beq thwá. Go this way. Táw. Beh Amel;eta\" above! However
Shé-ná-din twé- er˙>na;tc\ et∑>my\" You’ll see it just pyáw-daq-măléh By\e®patt\ml´ should I be able to
meh. ahead of you. Maun-yin-yeh. emac\rc\ry\" speak English,
S1 Cé-zú tin-ba-deh ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\ r˙c\ Thank you (+ tag). Caún-hmá ek¥ac\;m˙ mtk\K´.ta" young man? I
Shin ( or K ’in- (or Kc\b¥a")" măteq-k ’ éh-da. k´' tuitui e®paÂksui≥ never even went to
bya). K éh. To-do Suirc\eta. d^na;m˙a school. Anyway,
S2 Y á-ba-deh Bya. rpåty\ b¥a" That’s all right. pyáw-já-zó s ’o- AeA;Suic\ to cut the cackle,
yin-dáw di-ná- mr˙ieta.påB¨;" there isn’t a cold
Review Dialogue 2 hma ăé-zain lk\Pk\rv\Suic\el;e drinks bar in this
Scene: a street in a town in Burma. S1 is a foreign visitor, and S2 a măshı́-dáw-ba- ta. r˙ity\" area any more, but
Burmese woman. bú. Lăp ’ eq-ye- huiBk\m˙a" there is a little café
S1 Daw-daw. edÅedÅ" Excuse me. zain-lé-dáw shı́- – over there.
S2 Ba-léh Táw? Bal´ eta\." What is it (+ tag)? deh. H o-beq-
S1 Di-ná-hma ăé- d^na;m˙a AeA;Suic\ Is there a cold hma.
zain shı́-lá? r˙ l
i a;" drinks bar near S1 Cé-zú tin-ba-deh. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\" Thank you.
here? S2 Y á-ba-deh Maun- rpåty\ emac\rc\" That’s all right,
S2 Ă yin-doún-gá di- Arc\tun\;k d^m˙a There used to be yin. young man.
hma shı́-géh- r˙iK´.ty\ emac\rc\" one in the old
deh Maun-yin. mN˙ s k
\ eta. Su c
i r
\ c
˙ \ days, young man. Review Dialogue 3
Măhniq-ká-dáw, Su ;
M q∑ a;tala; But last year, I Scene: a street in a town in Burma. S1 is a foreign visitor, and S2 a
s ’ain-shin s ’oún- Bala; mqiB¨;" don’t know Burmese man.
dhwá-da-lá ba- pit\Ta;luik\ta qti whether the shop- S1 Ă ko. Akui" Excuse me.
lá măthı́-bú, Ta;mipåty\" keeper died or or S2 H ouq-kéh K ’in- hut\k´. Kc\b¥a" Yes (+ tag)?
peiq-t ’á-laiq-ta what, but I noticed bya.
thădı́ t ’á-m ı́-pa- the shop was S1 Ă naw-yăt ’a Lán Aena\rTalm\; I want to go to
deh. closed. thwá-jin-ba-deh. q∑a;K¥c\påty\" Anawrahta Street.
S1 Ná măleh-ba-bú na;mlv\påB¨; Kc\b¥a" I don’t understand Beh-lo thwá-yá- By\lui q∑a;rml´" How do I get there?
K ’in-bya. (+ tag). măléh?
S ’áw-rı́-naw? eSar^ ; ena\ " I’m sorry. S2 Ba lán-léh? Balm\;l´" What street? Did
Bă ma săgá theiq bmaska; qip\ I don’t speak much Gaw-răk ’á Lán- egÅrKå;lm\;la;" you say Gawrakha
măpyáw-daq- me®patt\påB¨;" Burmese. lá? Street?
pa-bú. S1 Măhouq-pa-bú. mhut\påB¨;" No. Anawrahta
Daw-daw Ín- edÅedÅ Agçlip\ska; Can you speak Ă naw-yăt ’a Lán- Aena\rTalm\;på" Street.
găleiq săgá e®patt\qla;" English? ba.
pyáw-daq-
thălá?
88 Burmese By Ear Unit 9: Your visit to Burma 89
S2 A w. Ă naw-yăt ’a eAa\' Oh, Anawrahta S2 H ouq-kéh. Néh- hut\k´." nń´ Yes, I can speak a
Lán-lá? Măthı́- Aena\rTalm\;la;" Street. I don’t néh pyáw-daq- e®patt\påty\" bit.
ba-bú Bya. mqipåB¨;b¥a" know. I am sorry. pa-deh.
S ’áw-rı́-naw? eSar^;ena\" I'm not from
Cănaw-gá Y an- kÁn\eta\k rn\kun\k Rangoon. I’m only Compliments
goun-gá mhut\B¨;" K%p´ here for a short S1 Bă ma săgá bmaska; e®pata qip\ You speak Burmese
măhouq-p ’ ú. Alv\latael" visit. pyáw-da theiq ekac\;tap´" really well!
K ’ăná-béh ăleh- kaún-da-béh.
la-da-le. or Bă ma săgá bmaska; e®pata You speak Burmese
Ă mălé. Theiq Amel;' Wow. It’s very hot, pyáw-da ăyán Arm\; p^tap´" wonderfully!
pu-deh-naw? qip\p¨ty\ena\" isn’t it? pi-da-béh.
S1 H ouq-kéh. Theiq hut\k´. qip\p¨påty\" Yes, it is. S2 A w. Cé-zú tin- eAa\" Oh, thank you.
pu-ba-deh. ba-deh. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\"
K éh. Thwá-meh- k´' q∑a;my\ena\" Well, goodbye then. Theiq măpyáw- qip\ I can’t speak much
naw? daq-thé-ba-bú. me®patt\eq;påB¨;" yet.
S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" Goodbye. S1 Bă ma-za-gáw bmasaeka Can you read
p ’aq-taq-thălá? Pt\tt\qla;" Burmese as well?
S2 Măp ’aq-taq-thé- mPt\tt\eq;påB¨;" Not yet.
UNIT 9. YOUR VISIT TO BURMA ba-bú.
or H ouq-kéh. Néh- hut\k´." nń´ Yes, I can read a
Unit 9 covers seven of the commonest topics you’ll be asked néh p ’aq-taq- Pt\tt\påty\" little.
about in connection with your visit. pa-deh.
9.1. TOPIC 1: YOU SPEAK BURMESE! New words

săgá ska; words
The reaction to your Burmese săgá pyáw- ska; e®paty\ to talk, speak, converse
S1 Bă ma săgá bmaska; You can speak deh
pyáw-daq-teh- e®patt\ty\ena\" Burmese, can’t săgá pyáw- ska; e®patt\ty\ to know how to talk, to
naw? you? daq-teh be able to talk
or Bă ma săgá bmaska; Can you speak sa sa writing, text
pyáw-daq- e®patt\qla;" Burmese? sa p ’aq-teh sa Pt\ty\ to read
thălá? sa p ’aq-taq- sa Pt\tt\ty\ to know how to read
or Bă ma săgá bmaska; So you can speak teh
pyáw-daq-teh e®patt\ty\ Burmese, can you? pi-deh ®p^ty\ to be accurate, well
houq-lá? hut\la;" pronounced
or Bă ma săgá bmaska; Hey – you can ăyán Arm\; tremendously, stunning-
pyáw-daq-pa-lá! e®patt\påla;" speak Burmese! ly, amazingly
Notes Alternative question

Bă ma săgá “Burmese (spoken language)” and Bă ma sa or Bă ma- S1 Ba lu-myó-léh? Bal¨m¥oi;l´" What nationality are you?
za “Burmese (writing)”: you may also hear Myan-ma săgá and S2 Dutch lu-myó-ba. dt\K¥\l¨m¥oi;på" I’m Dutch.
M yan-m a sa which have the same meanings, but are more
formal terms (see 3.4). New words
Néh-néh pyáw-daq-pa-deh “I can speak a bit”. A common variant la-deh laty\ to come
is – beh-gá By\k where from?
Néh-néh-béh nń´p´ I can speak only a nain-ngan Nuic\cM country, state
pyáw-daq-pa- e®patt\ p åeq;ty\ " little so far. lu-myó l¨m¥oi; race, nationality (“man + kind, type”)
dhé-deh.
The suffix -bé h means “only”, and the suffix -t hé /- dhe´ with Notes
positive verbs means “so far, as yet”. Take care to distinguish the three basic place suffixes:
-gáw/- ka´ w “and how about … ?”. A suffix that asks the previous -ká /- ga´ “from”, -hm a “in, at”, and no suffix (sometimes -ko/- go )
question about a new topic; example– “to”. Examples:
Peq-si caiq- pk\s^ ’kik\qla;" Do you like Pepsi? Tha-zi-gá la-ba- qasv\k lapåty\" He comes from
thălá? deh Thazi.
H ouq-kéh. Caiq- hut\k´.' ’kik\påty\" Yes, I do. Tha-zi-hma ne- qasv\ m a
˙ enpåty\ " He lives in Thazi.
pa-deh. ba-deh
K ouq-káw — kut\eka _ How about Coke – Tha-zi thwá-ba- qasv\ q∑a;påty\" He went to Thazi.
caiq-thălá? ’kik\la;" do you like that deh
too?
The suffix -thé/- dhe´ with negated verbs conveys the meaning “so Variants.
far, yet, as yet”; example – Beh-gá la-da-léh? “Where do you come from?” The three se-
Măá-ba-bú. mAa;påB¨;" It’s not free. quences [verb]-da-léh? [verb]-dhăléh? [verb]-léh? are all used
Măá-dhé-ba-bú. mAa;eq;påB¨;" It’s not free yet. in much the same way:
Ă yán kaún-da-béh “it’s really good”: a variant, mildly exclama- Beh-gá la-da- By\k Where do you come from?
tory, on Theiq kaún-ba-deh “it’s very good”. léh? latal´"
Beh-gá la- By\k Where do you come from?
dhăléh? laql´"
9.2. TOPIC 2: WHERE ARE YOU FROM? Beh-gá la-léh? By\k lal´" Where do you come from?
S1 Beh-gá la- By\k laql´" Where do you come The same is true of questions ending in -lá :
dhăléh? from? In-gălan-gá la- Agçln\k Do you come from
or Beh nain-ngan- By\Nuic\cMk laql´" What country do da-lá? latala;" England?
gá la-dhăléh? you come from? In-gălan-gá la- Agçln\k Do you come from Eng-
S2 In-gălan-gá la- Agçln\k lapåty\" I come from Eng- dhălá? laqla;" land?
ba-deh. land. In-gălan-gá la-lá? Agç l n\ k Do you come from Eng-
lala;" land?
quial term has thus been given, in those contexts, a hint of

You will also hear the suffix -ta/-da in statements: contempt or hostility.
In-gălan-gá la- Agçln\k I come from England.
da-ba. latapå" Formerly the Burmese name for Burma itself also had official and
In-gălan-gá la- Agçln\k I come from England. colloquial variants:
ba-deh. lapåty\" Myan-ma Nain-ngan ®mn\maNuic\cM Burma (official)
At this stage it is best to keep with the familiar forms (la-dhălá? Bă ma Nain-ngan bmaNuic\cM Burma (colloquial)
la-ba-deh etc) for your own speaking, but you need to know the However, in 1989 the military government of Burma ruled that
variants so that you can recognise them when others use them. the form M y a n -m a should be used for the whole country and
matters concerned with it, while the form B ă m a should be
Names of countries limited to the ethnic Burmese. (The combination Bă m a Nain-
The Burmese names of the countries of the world are mostly ngan was thus to become meaningless, as the ethnic Burmese
modelled on the English names; for example: have no one state of their own.) The new distinction is observed
In-gălan Agçln\ England in printed material in Burma, and in spoken public addresses,
Ă merı́-ká Aemrik America but in everyday conversation the traditional meanings are still
Ja-măni g¥amn^ Germany preserved. The same ruling is applied to the English terms
I-tăli A^ t l^ Italy “Burma” and “Myanmar”: see About Burmese in the introduction
Jăpan g¥pn\ Japan to this booklet.
In-do-nı́-shá Ac\duin^;r˙a; Indonesia
Á w-sătré-lyá ÂqseÂt;l¥ Australia In many cases, and particularly for the colloquial forms, the
Country names that are not based on English versions include word nain-ngan “country” may be replaced by pye (e.g. Y ó-dăyá
the following: P ye ), which means the same thing; or it may be omitted alto-
Tăyouq Nain-ngan tRut\Nuic\cM China gether: people say Jăpan thwá-meh “I’m going to go to Japan”.
Pyin-thiq Nain-ngan ®pc\qs\Nuic\cM France
Thi-rı́ Lin-ga Nain-ngan q^rilkçaNuic\cM Sri Lanka
Another group of countries have an official name and a collo- 9.3 AND 9.4. TOPIC 3: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
quial name, comparable to “The Netherlands” (official) and HERE? HAVE YOU BEEN HERE LONG?
“Holland” (colloquial) in English:
T ’aı́n Nain-ngan Tuic\;Nuic\cM Thailand (official) S1 (Bă ma-pye) (bma®pv\) erak\enta How long is it since
Y ó-dăyá Nain-ngan yui;dya;Nuic\cM Thailand (colloquial) yauq-ne-da By\elak\ Âka®p^l´" you came (to
Thi-rı́ Lin-ga Nain-ngan q^rilkçaNuic\cM Sri Lanka (official) beh-lauq ca-bi- Burma)?
Thi-ho Nain-ngan q^huiL\Nuic\cM Sri Lanka (colloquial) léh?
S2 Thoún-baq shı́-bi. quM;pt\ r˙i®p^" I’ve been here three
When the Burmese government wishes to express disapproval of weeks.
Thai policies and actions, as it has done during the military and
verbal skirmishes of 2001-2002, the state-run media have used
Y ó-dăyá in place of the customary T ’ aı́n Nain-ngan . The collo-
Alternative version S ’ eh-yeq-lauq sh ı́-bi “It’s been about ten days”. A common
S1 (Bă ma-pye) (bma®pv\) erak\enta Is it long since you variant is –
yauq-ne-da ca- Âka®p^la;" came (to Burma)? S ’ eh-yeq-lauq- Sy\rk\elak\p´ It’s been only about
bi-lá? béh shı́-ba-dhé- r˙ipåeq;ty\" ten days so far.
S2 Ca-bi. S ’eh-lá- Âka®p^" Sy\lelak\ Yes: it’s been about deh.
lauq shı́-bi. r˙i®p^" ten months. The suffix -p ’ éh/- be´ h means “only”, and the suffix -t hé /- dhe´
or Măca-dhé-ba-bú. mÂkaeq;påB¨;" No: it’s been about means “so far, as yet”. Compare the similar variant in 9.1.
S ’ eh-yeq-lauq Sy\rk\elak\ r˙i®p^" ten days.
shı́-bi. 9.5 AND 9.6. TOPIC 4: WHERE ARE YOU STAYING?
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? IS IT ALL RIGHT?
New words
ca-deh Âkaty\ to take time, to take a long time S1 Beh-hma téh- By\m˙a t´(en)(q)l´" Where are you
yauq-teh erak\ty\ to arrive (-ne)(dhă)léh? staying?
yauq-ne-da erak\enta arriving and being here S2 H o-teh-hma téh- huity\m˙a ténpåty\" I’m staying in a
yeq rk\ day ne-ba-deh. hotel.
paq pt\ week S1 Ă k ’án-gá beh- AKn\;K By\elak\ How much is the
lá l month lauq pé-yá- ep;r(q)l´" rent?
hniq N˙s\ year (dhă)léh?
S2 Tănyá ngá-zeh. ts\v 50" K50 a night.
Notes or Tălá hnăt ’aun. ts\l 2000" K2000 a month.
Bă m a-pye yauq-ne-da — ca-bi-lá? Literally: Your arriving and S1 É h-di-hma téh- A´d^m˙a t´rta Is it all right staying
staying in Burma – has it been long? yá-da ăs ’in pye- ASc\e®pla;" there?
Bă ma-pye yauq-ne-da — beh-lauq — ca-bi-léh? Literally: Your lá?
arriving and staying in Burma – how much – has it been long? S2 Theiq ăs ’in-pye- qip\ ASc\e®ppåty\" It’s working out
C a -b i -l á ?For the verb suffix -b i /- p i see Verb Paradigms in ba-deh. very well.
Appendix 3 (outline grammar). or Theiq ăs ’in qip\ ASc\ me®ppåB¨;" It’s not working out
Bă m a and Myan-ma. For the two forms of the name of the coun- măpye-ba-bú. very well.
try see 3.4.
Măca-dhé-ba-bú “not long yet, not long so far”. For -thé/-dhé with New words
negated verbs see Lesson 9.1. téh-deh t´ty\ or tv\;ty\ to stay
-l a u q : a suffix added to quantities with the meaning “about, ı́n Ac\; inn
approximately”: caún-zaun ek¥ac\;eSac\ student hostel (dorm)
bi-ya thoún-loún B^ya quM;luM; three cans of beer (“school building”)
bi-ya thoún-loún- B^ya quM;luM;elak\ about three cans of meiq-s’we ein mit\eS∑Aim\ a friend’s house (“friend
lauq beer house”)
ngá-hniq cå;N˙ s \ five years ăk ’án-gá AKn\;K rent (“room charge”)
ngá-hniq-lauq cå;N˙ s e
\ lak\ about five years téh-yá-da t´rta staying, the stay
Notes S2 A w. Cé-zú tin- eAa\" Oh. Thank you

Beh-hma téh-ne-dhăléh? “Where are you staying?”: the suffix -ne ba-deh Shin. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\ (+ tag).
indicates temporary, non-permanent, activity; compare: r˙c\"
Ba sá-dhăléh? Ba sa;ql´" What do you eat? or Theiq măpyáw- qip\ I can’t speak much
What did you eat? daq-thé-ba-bú. me®patt\eq;påB¨;" yet.
Ba sá-ne-dhăléh? Ba sa;enql´" What are you eat- S1 Măhouq-p ’ú. mhut\B¨;" qip\p^ty\" No, you can. You
ing? or What were Theiq pi-deh. speak very accu-
you eating? rately.
Téh-yá-da “staying”: similar to yauq-ne-da “arriving” in Lesson Beh-hma téh- By\m˙a t´l´" Where are you
9.3. léh? staying?
Tănyá ngá-zeh “K50 a night”: literally “One night: 50”. S2 Meiq-s ’we ein- mit\eS∑Aim\m˙a I’m staying in a
hma téh-ne-ba- ténpåty\" friend’s house.
Please treat the hotel room charges used in the exercises as for deh.
practice only. Inflation hs made actual charges rise dramatically. S1 É h-di-hma téh- A´d^m˙a t´rta Does staying there
yá-da ăs ’in pye- ASc\e®pla;" work out all right?
REVIEW FOR UNIT 9: YOUR VISIT TO BURMA, PART 1 lá?
(LESSONS 9.1 TO 9.6) S2 Theiq ăs ’in pye- qip\ ASc\e®ppåty\" Yes, it works out
Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4 ba-deh. very well.
Side B. S1 K aún-ba-deh ekac\;påty\b¥a' That’s good. It’s
Bya. Theiq qip\ekac\;påty\" splendid.
Review Dialogue 1 kaún-ba-deh.
Scene: a street in a town in Burma. S1 is an elderly Burmese man. S2 S2 K éh. Thwá-meh- k´' q∑a;my\ena\" Well. I’ll be going.
is a foreign woman who has just asked him the way to somewhere. naw?
S1 Ne-ba-oún Bya. enpåAuM;b¥a" Hold on a minute. S1 H ouq-kéh. K aún- hut\k´." ekac\;på®p^" Right. Goodbye.
Beh nain-ngan- By\Nuic\cMk latal´" What country do ba-bi.
gá la-da-léh? you come from?
S2 Kăne-da-gá la- kendåk lapåty\" I come from Review Dialogue 2
ba-deh. Canada. S1 is a woman in charge of a shop. S2 is a foreign man who has just
S1 Bă ma-pye yauq- bma®pv\ erak\enta Have you been in bought something in the shop and is about to leave.
ne-da ca-bi-lá? Âka®p^la;" Burma a long S1 Shin-gá ba-lu- r˙c\k Bal¨m¥oi;l´" What nationality are
time? myó-léh? you?
S2 Măca-dhé-ba-bú. mÂkaeq;påB¨ ; " No, not long S2 Ă me-rı́-kan-lu- Aemrikn\l¨m¥oi;på" I’m American.
Tăpaq-lauq shı́- ts\pt\elak\ r˙i®p^" I’ve been here about myó-ba.
bi. a month. S1 Y auq-ne-da beh- erak\enta How long have you
S1 Bă ma săgá-dáw bmaska;eta. But you can speak lauq ca-bi-léh? By\elak\ Âka®p^l´" been here?
kaún-gaún ekac\;ekac\; Burmese very S2 C ’auq-yeq-lauq e®Kak\rk\elak\ r˙i®p^" I’ve been here about
pyáw-daq-thá- e®patt\ q a;p´ well. shı́-bi. six days.
béh.
S1 Bă ma săgá bmaska; e®pataeta. But your Burmese is K éh. Thwá-meh- k´" q∑a;my\ena\" Well. I’ll be getting
pyáw-da-dáw mWt\entap´" superb! naw? along.
hmuq-ne-da- S1 K aún-ba-bi Shin. ekac\;på®p^r˙c\" enac\l´ All right. Come and
béh. Naun-léh la-leh- lalv\påAuM;" visit here again.
S2 T ’aq pyáw-ba- Tp\e®papåAuM;" Could you say that ba-oún.
oún. again, please? S2 K aún-ba-bi. ekac\;på®p^" OK.
S1 Bă ma săgá bmaska; e®pata I said that you
pyáw-da theiq qip\p^tap´lui≥" speak Burmese 9.7 AND 9.8. TOPIC 5: WHY HAVE YOU COME TO BURMA?
pi-da-béh-ló. very well.
S2 A w. Theiq eAa\" qip\ Oh. I can’t speak it A question
măpyáw-daq- me®patt\eq;påB¨; much yet (+ tag). Bă ma-pye ba bma®pv\ Bakisßn´≥ What have you
thé-ba-bú K ’in- Kc\b¥a" keiq-sá-néh la- laql´" come to Burma
bya. dhăléh? for?
S1 Bă ma-za-gáw bmasaeka How about Some answers
p ’aq-taq-thălá? Pt\tt\qla;" Burmese writing – Ă louq-néh la-ba- Alup\n´≥ lapåty\" I came here with my
can you read it? deh. job.
S2 H ouq-kéh. Néh- hut\k´." nń´ Yes, I can read a Ă yaún-ăweh Aerac\;Awy\kisßn´≥ I came on business.
néh p ’aq-taq- Pt\tt\påty\" little. keiq-sá-néh la- lapåty\"
pa-deh. ba-deh.
S1 W ´ nu tha-ba-deh wm\;qapåty\ r˙c\" I’m delighted Ă leh-béh la-ba- Alv\p´ lapåty\" I have just come for
Shin. Beh-hma By\m˙a t´l´" (+ tag). Where are deh. a visit.
téh-léh? you staying? Tú-riq-pa-béh. t¨;rs\påp´" I am just a tourist.
S2 H o-teh-hma téh- huity\m˙a ténpåty\" I’m staying in a A variant question
ne-ba-deh. hotel. Bă ma-pye ba bma®pv\ Balup\Pui≥ What have you
S1 Ă s ’in pye-lá? ASc\e®pla;" Is that working out louq-p ’ó la- laql´" come to Burma to
all right? dhăléh? do?
S2 H ouq-kéh. Ă s ’in hut\k´." Yes, it is. Some more answers
pye-ba-deh. ASc\e®ppåty\" Daq-poun yaiq-p ’ó Dåt\puM Ruik\Pui≥ I came here to take
S1 Ă k ’án-gá beh- AKn\;K By\elak\ How much do you la-ba-deh. lapåty\" photographs.
lauq pé-yá-léh? ep;rl´" have to pay for the Lweh-eiq weh-bó la- l∑y\Ait\ wy\Pui≥ I came here to buy
room? ba-deh. lapåty\" Shan bags.
S2 Tănyá shiq-s ’eh ts\v 80/- I pay K80 a night. Thú-te-thăná louq- quetqn lup\Pui≥ I came here to do
pé-yá-ba-deh. ep;rpåty\" p ’ó la-ba-deh. lapåty\" research.
S1 Ă mălé! Zé cı́- Amel;" Heavens! It’s Ă louq louq-p ’ó la- Alup\ lup\Pui≥ I came here to work.
deh-naw? eZ;Âk^;ty\ena\" expensive, isn’t it? ba-deh. lapåty\"
S2 H ouq-kéh. Theiq hut\k´." qip\ Yes, it’s very A false assumption
zé cı́-ba-deh. eZ;Âk^;påty\" expensive. Ă leh-béh la-da- Alv\p´ latala;" Have you just come
lá? for a visit?
The answer 9.9. TOPIC 6: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BURMA?

Măhouq-pa-bú. mhut\påB¨;" No. Three questions on the same topic, using slightly different
Ă louq-néh la- Alup\n´≥ lapåty\" I came with my words.
ba-deh. job.
Question 1
New words S1 Bă mapye-hma bma®pv\m˙a ASc\ Are things going all
ălouq Alup\ work, job ăs ’in pye-lá? e®pla;" right for you in
ălouq louq-teh Alup\ lup\ty\ to do a job, to work Burma?
ăyaún-ăweh Aerac\;Awy\ business, trading or Bă mapye-hma bma®pv\m˙a enrta Is living in Burma
(“buying + ne-yá-da ASc\ e®pla;" working out all right?
selling”) ăs ’in pye-lá?
ăleh Alv\ a visit, for a visit or Di-hma ne-yá-da d^m˙a enrta ASc\ Is living here working
thú-te-thăná quetqn research ăs ’in pye-lá? e®pla;" out all right?
thú-te-thăná quetqn lup\ty\ to do research S2 H ouq-kéh. hut\k´." Yes, it is.
louq-teh Ă s ’in pye-ba- ASc\e®ppåty\"
Măhouq-pa-bú. mhut\påB¨;" No (“that is not deh.
correct”) or H ouq-kéh. Theiq hut\k´." qip\ Yes, it’s working out
ăs ’in pye-ba- ASc\e®ppåty\" very well.
If your own reason for being in Burma is not one of these, you deh.
may find the words you need in the English-Burmese vocabulary or K aún-gaún ekac\;ekac\; It’s working out very
at the end of this booklet. ăs ’in pye-ba- ASc\e®ppåty\" well.
deh.
Notes or Măs ’ó-ba-bú. mSui;påB¨;" It’s not bad.
Ba keiq-sá-néh la-dhăléh? “What have you come for?”: keiq-sá
means “business” or “activity”, so literally the phrase means Question 2
“with what business” or “for what activity”. S1 Bă ma-pye-hma bma®pv\m˙a (enrta) Do you enjoy being
The suffix -p ’éh/-béh means “only, just”; compare: (ne-yá-da) ep¥a\la;" (living) in Burma?
Ă leh- la-ba-deh. Alv\ lapåty\" I have come for a pyaw-lá?
visit. or Bă ma-pye-hma bma®pv\m˙a enrta Do you enjoy being
Ă leh-béh la-ba- Alv\p´ lapåty\" I have just come for (ne-yá-da) ep¥a\r´.la;" (living) in Burma?
deh. a visit. pyaw-yéh-lá?
The suffix -p ’ ó/- bo´ means “to, in order to”. See the examples S2 H ouq-kéh. hut\k´." ep¥a\påty\" Yes, I do.
above. Pyaw-ba-deh.
or H ouq-kéh. Theiq hut\k´." qip\ Yes, I enjoy it very
pyaw-ba-deh. ep¥a\påty\" much.
or Ă yán Arm\; ep¥a\påty\" I enjoy it hugely.
pyaw-ba-deh.
Question 3 H ouq-kéh, néh- hut\k´.' nń´ p¨påty\" Yes, it’s a bit hot.
S1 Bă ma-pye-hma bma®pv\m˙a enrta How do you find living néh pu-ba-deh.
ne-yá-da beh-lo By\lui enql´" in Burma? H ouq-kéh, theiq hut\k´.' qip\ p¨påty\" Yes, it’s very hot.
ne-dhăléh? pu-ba-deh.
S2 K aún-ba-deh. ekac\;påty\" It’s good. H ouq-kéh, ăyán hut\k´.' Arm\; Yes, it’s stupen-
or Pyaw-ba-deh. ep¥a\påty\" I’m having a good time. pu-ba-deh. p¨påty\" dously hot.
Theiq măpu-ba- qip\ mp¨påB¨;" It’s not very hot.
New words bú.
kaún-gaún ekac\;ekac\; well Ne-ló kaún-ba- enlui≥ ekac\;påty\" It’s good to live in.
s ’ó-deh Sui;ty\ to be bad deh.
pyaw-deh ep¥a\ty\ to enjoy oneself, have a Ă ne-daw-ba-béh Aeneta\påp´" It’s just about right.
good time Caiq-pa-deh. ’kik\påty\" I like it.
Notes
Ne-yá-da “staying, living, the stay”, from ne-deh “to stay, to live”. New words
Compare yauq-ne-da “arriving” in Lesson 9.3, and té h-yá -da ya-dhi-ú-dú raqÛtu climate, weather
“staying” in Lesson 9.6. ăne-daw Aeneta\ just right (“living + suitable”)
Pyaw-yéh-lá? “Do you enjoy it? Are you enjoying yourself?” A
variant of Pyaw-dhălá ? and Pyaw-lá ? , giving a slightly more Note
animated flavour to the question, suggesting “Are you really Ne-ló kaún-ba-deh Literally “Live-ing is good.” -ló is a suffix that
enjoying yourself? (I do hope you are or I can hardly believe has several functions, and one of them is similar to English “-
that you are)”. ing”.
B e h -l o ne-dhăl é h? “What is it like? How do you find it?”.
Literally “How does it stay?” REVIEW FOR UNIT 9: YOUR VISIT TO BURMA, PART 2
(LESSONS 9.5 TO 9.10)
9.10. TOPIC 7: DON’T YOU FIND IT HOT? Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4
Side B.
Questions
Pu-deh-naw? p¨ty\ena\" It’s hot isn’t it? Review Dialogue
Măpu-bú-lá? mp¨B¨;la;" Isn’t it too hot for S1 is is a Burmese man, and S2 a foreign woman. She has just said
you? something in Burmese, so S1 says –
Bă ma-pye-hma bma®pv\m˙a p¨ty\ena\" It’s hot in Burma S1 H a! Bă ma săgá ha' bmaska; Hey! So you can
pu-deh-naw? isn’t it? pyáw-daq-pa- e®patt\påkla;" speak Burmese!
Y a-dhi-ú-dú raqÛtu mp¨B¨;la;" Isn’t the climate too gălá?
măpu-bú-lá? hot for you? S2 H ouq-kéh, néh- hut\k´." Yes, I can speak a
Answers néh pyáw-daq- nńé®patt\påty\" bit.
H ouq-kéh, pu-ba- hut\k´.' p¨påty\" Yes, it is hot. pa-deh.
deh.
104 Burmese By Ear Unit 10: Asking names and ages 105
S1 Beh nain-ngan- By\Nuic\cMk latal´" What country do where in English you would say “you” or “yours”. For example,
gá la-da-léh? Aemrikn\kla;" you come from? if you wanted to say “Is this your car?” in Burmese, and you
Ă merı́-kan-gá- Are you from were talking to someone called Tin Maung, you’d say “Is this Tin
lá? America? Maung’s car?”.
S2 Măhouq-pa-bú. mhut\påB¨;" No,
In-gălan-gá la- Agçln\k lapåty\" I come from Eng- Most Burmese names are made up of two syllables; e.g.
ba-deh. land. Tin H lá tc\l˙ Tin Hla
S1 Bă ma-pye ba- bma®pv\ Bakisßn´≥ What has brought Myá Sein ®msi n \ Mya Sein
keiq-sá-néh la- lal´" you to Burma? Thán Ú qn\ ; Ë; Than Oo
léh? Ă leh Alv\qk\qk\ Are you here just Some names have three syllables; e.g.
theq-theq la-da- latala;" for a visit? Tin Maun W ı́n tc\emac\wc\; Tin Maung Win
lá? K ’in Sán Nweh Kc\sn\;N∑y\ Khin San Nweh
S2 Măhouq-pa-bú. mhut\påB¨;" d^m˙a No, I came to work H lain W ı́n S ’we lO c
i w
\ c\ ; eS∑ Hlaing Win Swe
Di-hma ălouq Alup\ lup\Pui≥ here. Some two-syllable names have one of the syllables doubled to
louq-p ’ó la-ba- lapåty\" make up three in all:
deh. Í Í K ’in AiAiKc\ I I Khin
S1 A w. Ă louq-néh eAa\" Alup\n´≥ Oh. So it was your Maun Maun Nyún emac\ e mac\ V n
∑ ≥
\ Maung Maung Nyunt
la-da-gó. latakui;" job that brought Thı́n Thı́n É qc\ ;qc\ e A; Thin Thin Aye
Bă ma-pye-hma bma®pv\m˙a enrta you here. How do Less commonly, you come across people with names that have
ne-yá-da beh-lo By\lui enl´" you find living in four syllables, like –
ne-léh? Pyaw- ep¥a\r´.la;" Burma? Do you Maun Maun Só Tı́n emac\emac\sui;tc\. Maung Maung Soe Tint
yéh-lá? enjoy it? or only one syllable, like –
S2 Ă yán pyaw-ba- Arm\; ep¥a\påty\" I’m enjoying it H lá l˙ Hla
deh. hugely.
S1 Di-gá ya-dhi-ú-dú d^k raqÛtu Don’t you find the Most of the name elements are words that mean something
măpu-bú-lá? mp¨B¨;la;" climate here is too precious or desirable; e.g.
hot? H lá l˙ pretty, attractive
S2 Theiq măpu-ba- qip\ mp¨påB¨;" It’s not very hot. Thán qn\; a million (for good fortune)
bú. Aeneta\påp´" It’s just right. Myá ®m emerald
Ă ne-daw-ba- Sein sin\ diamond
béh. W ı́n wc\ ; radiant
K ’in Kc\ lovable, loving
UNIT 10. ASKING NAMES AND AGES Maun emac\ younger brother
Thı́n qc\; fragrant
10.1. BURMESE NAMES É eA; cool, calm
Names are more important in Burmese society than they are in By tradition Burmese names are not family names. You
the West because in Burmese you often use a person’s name could find a man called Htay Maung, with a wife called Win Swe
Myint, and one child called Cho Zin Nwe and another called S1 Albert-lá? Albert-la;" (Did you say)
Than Tut. None of the names has any relationship to the others: Albert?
they’re all individual. S2 H ouq-pa-deh. hut\påty\" Yes. Albert.
Here and there you may meet a woman who has added her Albert-ba. Albert-på" How about you:
husband’s name to her own to avoid confusion when living or Meiq-s ’we-gáw? — mit\eS∑eka _ what is your
travelling abroad: ambassadors’ wives often find it convenient to nan-meh beh-lo namv\ By\lui name?
do this (hence “Madame Hla Maung” etc). And some parents k ’aw-dhăléh? eKÅql´"
add elements of their own names to their children’s names. But S1 Cănáw nan-meh-gá k¥ena\. namv\k My name is Ko
families that do this are the exception. There are also some K o Ze-yá -ba. kuiezy¥på" Zeyya (man
Burmese who use Western names like “Kenneth”, “Gladys” and speaking)
so on, either as nicknames (often originating in schooldays), or to or Că má nan-meh-gá k¥m namv\k My name is Ma Ma
make life easier for Western friends. Ma Ma É -ba. mamaeA;på" Aye (woman
speaking)
It is exceptional to use someone’s name on its own: S2 Twé-yá-da wún-tha- et∑>rta I am happy to have
normally people use a prefix in front of it – words like Mr and ba-deh. wm\;qapåty\" met you.
Mrs and Colonel and Dr. The only people you wouldn’t use S1 Cănaw-léh wún-tha- k¥ena\l´ I am happy too
prefixes for are small children, or close friends of your own age. ba-deh. wm\;qapåty\" (man speaking).
If you use an unprefixed name for anyone else it sounds quite or Că má-léh wún-tha- k¥ml´ I am happy too
offensive. The two commonest prefixes are – ba-deh. wm\;qapåty\" (woman speaking).
Ú Ë; U (for men; from the word meaning “uncle”)
Daw edÅ Daw (for women; from the word for “aunt”) New words
Others you may meet are – nan-meh namv\ name
Ko kui Ko (for younger men; from “brother”) beh-lo By\lui how
Má m Ma (for younger women; from “sister”) k ’aw-deh eKÅty\ to call, to be called
Maun emac\ Maung (for boys; from “younger meiq-s’we mit\eS∑ friend (also used for “you”)
brother”) cănaw kÁn\eta\ often I (man speaking)
S ’ăya Sra Teacher (male) written k¥ena\
S ’ăya-má Sram Teacher (female) cănáw kÁn\eta\. often my (man speaking)
Bo-hmú buil\mØ; Major written k¥ena\.
Bo-jouq buil\K¥op\ General că má kÁn\m often I, my (woman speaking)
written k¥m
10.2–10.3–10.4–10.5. INTRODUCING YOURSELF twé-deh et∑>ty\ to meet
twé-yá-da et∑>rta being able to meet, having
S1 Nan-meh beh-lo nMmv\ By\lui What is your name? the opportunity to meet
k ’aw-dhăléh? eKÅql´" wún-tha- wm\;qaty\ to be happy
S2 Albert-ba. Albert-på" Albert. deh
or Albert-ló k ’aw-ba- Albert-lui≥ It’s Albert. -léh -l´ also
deh. eKÅpåty\"
Notes Among friends and family people often use kin terms for
Nan-meh — beh-lo — k ’aw-dhăléh? “What is your name?” Liter- “I” – the words for “Father”, “Sister” etc. Children and young
ally: Name – how – is called? Note the parallel with É h-da — women often use their names; e.g. a girl named Má Sán Sán
Bă ma-lo — beh-lo — k ’aw-dhăléh? “What is that called in might say
Burmese?” See 3.5. Sán Sán-léh sm\;sm\;l´ ’kik\påty\" I like it too.
Albert-ba. The name with the polite suffix. caiq-pa-deh.
Albert-ló — k ’aw-ba-deh. “It’s Albert.” Literally: Albert-end-of- Literally: “San San likes it too.”
quote – is called. A variant answer. For -ló see 3.5. This is the second gender-specific pair of words you’ve met:
Albert-lá? “Did you say ‘Albert’? Was that ‘Albert’?” For men always say cănaw and k ’in-bya , and women always say
checking questions see 3.3. că má and shin (for the polite tags see Lesson 2.7).
H ouq-pa-deh. “It is so. That’s right. Yes.” Similar to H ouq-kéh. cănáw nan-meh “my name (male speaker)”. Most possessives in
Meiq-s ’we “friend”. Burmese uses a range of words for “you” Burmese simply precede the noun possessed without change;
and “your”. The most frequent are (a) kin terms, such as Ú-lé e.g.
“uncle”, Daw-daw “aunt”, etc (for more see 7.1 and 7.2); (b) a Bo-jouq + daq-poun = Bo-jouq daq-poun
title such as S ’ăya-má “teacher”, Than-ă maq-cı́ “Ambassador”; General + photograph = The General’s photograph
(c) the person’s name (if you know it), normally with a prefix
(see 10.1); or, as a fallback, the word used above: Meiq-s ’we Ú H lá + ouq-t ’ouq = Ú H lá ouq-t ’ouq
“friend”. U Hla + hat = U Hla’s hat
Meiq-s ’we-gáw “How about you?” The suffix -káw/- ga´ w carries a
meaning like “how about …?” and has the effect of repeating Că má + nan-meh = Că má nan-meh
a previous question about a new topic; e.g. I + name = My name
S1 Ne-kaún-deh- enekac\;ty\ena\" You’re well, I hope?
naw? However, if the first noun (the possessor) ends in a low tone
S2 H ouq-kéh. Ne- hut\k´." Yes, I am. syllable, that syllable is given a creaky tone to mark posses-
kaún-ba-deh. enekac\;påty\" sion:
S1 George-gáw? George-eka" How about George? S ’ăya + daq-poun = S ’ăyá daq-poun
(understand: is he well too?) Teacher + photograph = Teacher’s photograph
cănaw “I (male speaker)” and că m á “I (female speaker)”. The K o Tin + ouq-t ’ouq = K o Tı́n ouq-t ’ouq
commonest terms for “I”. As you have seen, Burmese nor- Ko Tin + hat = Ko Tin’s hat
mally omits words for “you” and “I”, but when there is a
change of subject, as here (“I’m happy too – as well as you”), Cănaw + nan-meh = Cănáw nan-meh
you need to put one in to show who you are talking about. I + name = My name
Careful speakers say c u n -d a w and cun-m á , but the slightly
shortened forms used above are more common. Originally Cănáw nan-meh-gá “my name”. The suffix -ká/- ga´ draws atten-
the words meant “your honoured servant” and “your female tion to a new subject in the conversation. It has an effect like
servant” respectively. “on the other hand” or “as for”, but is much weaker than
those phrases are in English.
twé-yá-da “being able to meet, having the opportunity to meet” Ă theq thoún-zeh shı́-bi. “I am 30 years old.” The round number
from t w é -deh “to meet”. Compare yauq-ne-da “arriving” in rule applies to counting years as it does to counting kyats and
9.3, téh-yá-da “staying” 9.6, ne-yá-da “staying, living, the stay” almost everything else. When the number ends in a zero, you
9.9. omit the word hniq “year.” For counting kyats see 1.11. For
w ú n-t ha-ba-deh “I am happy.” Literally “my stomach (w ú n ) is the verb suffix -bi see Verb Paradigms in Appendix 3 (outline
pleasant.” grammar).
T w é -y á -d a w ú n - t h a - b a - d e h “I am happy to have met you.”
Literally “At meeting I am happy.” REVIEW FOR UNIT 10:
Cănaw-léh wún-tha-ba-deh. “I am happy too.” Literally “I-too – ASKING ABOUT NAMES AND AGES
be-happy” The suffix -léh means “also, too, as well”; e.g. Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4
S1 Di-né á-deh- dên≥ Aa;ty\ena\" You are free today, Side B.
naw? aren’t you?
S2 H ouq-kéh. hut\k´." Yes. Review Dialogue
Neq-p ’an-léh á- nk\Pn\l´ Aa;påty\" And I’m free Scene: A train in Burma. S1 is a young woman visiting Burma and S2
ba-deh. tomorrow as well. is young Burmese man. Imagine that they have struck up a conver-
sation while travelling. The young man says –
10.6. HOW OLD ARE YOU? S2 Nan-meh beh-lo namv\ By\lui What’s your name
k ’aw-dhăléh, eKÅql´ Kc\b¥a" (+ tag)?
S1 Ă theq beh-lauq Aqk\ By\elak\ How old are you? K ’in-bya?
shı́-bi-léh? r˙i®p^l´" S1 Lucy-ló k ’aw-ba- Lucy-lui≥ eKÅpåty\" My name is Lucy.
S2 Ă theq thoún-zéh Aqk\ quM;Sy\. quM;N˙s\ I am 33 years old. deh.
thoún-hniq shı́- r˙i®p^" S2 Goofy-lá? Goofy-la;" Is that Goofy?
bi. S1 Măhouq-pa-bú. mhut\påB¨;" Lucy- No: Lucy.
or Ă theq thoún-zeh Aqk\ quM;Sy\ r˙i®p^" I am 30 years old. Lucy-ba. på"
shı́-bi. S2 A w. Lucy-lá? eAa\" Lucy-la;" Oh. It’s Lucy is it?
Twé-yá-da wún- et∑>rta I’m happy to have
New words tha-ba-deh, wm\;qapåty\ Lucy" met you Lucy.
ătheq Aqk\ age Lucy.
hniq N˙s\ year S1 Că má-léh wún- k¥ml´ wm\;qapåty\ And I’m happy too
tha-ba-deh, r˙c\" (+ tag). How
Notes Shin. Ă ko- Akuieka' namv\ about you?
Ă theq — beh-lauq — shı́-bi-léh? “How old are you?” Literally: gáw? — nan- By\lui eKÅql´" What’s your
“Age – how much – have?” meh beh-lo name?
Ă theq — thoún-zéh thoún-hniq — shı́-bi. “I am 33 years old.” k ’aw-dhăléh?
Literally: “Age – 33 years – have.” Compare Bă ma-pye yauq- S2 Cănáw nan-meh- k¥ena\. namv\k My name is San
ne-da thoún-hniq shı́-bi. “I’ve been in Burma for three years” gá Sán Maun- sm\;emac\på" Maung.
(9.3, 9.4). ba.
112 Burmese By Ear Unit 11: Asking about work 113
S1 T ’aq-pyáw-ba- Tp\e®papåAuM;" Could you say that S2 S ’ăya-wun louq- Srawn\ lup\enpåty\" I amworking as a
oún. again? ne-ba-deh. Ú Ë;emac\emac\eka doctor. How
S2 Sán Maun-ba. sm\;emac\på" San Maung. Maun Maun- Alup\lup\enla;" about you: are
S1 K o Sán Maun-lá? kuism\;emac\la;" It’s Ko San Maung gáw? — ălouq you working?
is it? louq-ne-lá?
S2 H ouq-pa-deh. hut\påty\" Lucy-k Yes. You speak S1 H ouq-kéh. Louq- hut\k´." lup\enpåty\" Yes, I am.
Lucy-gá Bă ma bmaska; e®pata Burmese very ne-ba-deh.
săgá pyáw-da qip\ekac\;tap´" well. S2 Beh-hma louq- By\m˙a lup\ql´" Where do you
theiq kaún-da- thăléh? work?
béh. S1 Le-yin-yoún-hma elya√\RuM;m˙a I work at an airline
S1 Theiq măpyáw- qip\ I can’t say much yet louq-pa-deh. lup\påty\" office.
daq-thé-ba-bú, me®patt\eq;påB¨; (+ tag).
Shin. r˙c\" New words
S2 Ă theq beh-lauq Aqk\ By\elak\ How old are you? ălouq louq-teh Alup\ lup\ty\ to work, to do a job
shı́-bi-léh? r˙i®p^l´" ălouq louq-pa-deh Alup\ lup\påty\ He/she works, has
S1 H năs ’ éh thoún- N˙s\Sy\. quM;N˙s\ r˙i®p^" I’m 23. a job.
hniq shı́-bi. K o kuism\;emac\eka' How about you? ălouq louq-ne-ba-deh Alup\ lup\enpåty\ He/she is working.
Sán Maun-gáw? Aqk\ By\elak\ How old are you?
— ătheq beh- r˙i®p^l´" Words for occupations and workplaces
lauq shı́-bi-léh? The following are the words introduced on the tape.
S2 Cănaw-gá ătheq k¥ena\k Aqk\ 30 I’m 30 (+ tag). dărain-ba dRuic\Ba driver
thoún-zeh shı́- r˙i®p^ Kc\b¥a" in-jin-ni-ya Ac\g¥c\n^ya engineer
bi, K ’in-bya. koun-dheh kun\qv\ businessman (“goods +
dealer”)
UNIT 11. ASKING ABOUT WORK caún-s ’ăya ek¥ac\ ; Sra teacher (“school + teacher”)
caún-s ’ăya-má ek¥ac\ ; Sram teacher (“school + teacher +
11.1–11.2. DO YOU HAVE A JOB? WHERE DO YOU WORK? female”)
s ’ăya-wun Srawn\ doctor (“teacher + burden”)
S1 Ă louq louq-ne- Alup\ lup\enqla;" Are you working? ăsó-yá ăhmú- Asui;rAmOTm\; civil servant (“government +
dhălá? dán affairs + bear, carry”)
S2 H ouq-kéh. Louq- hut\k´." lup\enpåty\" Yes, I am. le-yin-yoún elya√\RuM; airline office (“air-vehicle +
ne-ba-deh. office”)
S1 Ba ălouq louq- Ba Alup\ What job are you ban-daiq B%\tuik\ bank (“bank building”)
ne-dhăléh? lup\enql´" doing? koun-daiq kun\tuik\ department store (“goods
building”)
sa-daiq satuik\ post office (“letter building”)
poun-hneiq- puMN˙ip\tuik\ printing press (“image +
taiq impress + building”)
teacher: school teacher (male) > teq-kătho s ’ăya-má

The following are additional words for occupations you may caún-s ’ăya ek¥ac\;Sra" tk˚quil\Sram"
find useful (female) > caún-s ’ăya-má trishaw pedaller > s ’aiq-ká-
accountant > săyı́n-gain lawyer > shé-ne er˙>en ek¥ac\;Sram" university dhă má Suik\ka;qma;
sarc\;kuic\ manager > man-ne-ja mn\eng¥a teacher (male) > teq-kătho writer, author (male) > sa-yé-
agent, middle-man > pwéh-zá market stall-holder > zé-dheh s ’ăya tk˚quil\Sra" (female) > s ’ăya saer;Sra" (female) >
p∑´sa; eZ;qv\ sa-yé-s ’ăya-má saer;Sram"
architect > bı́-thú-ka piquka missionary (male) > tha-dhăna-
army officer > siq-bo ss\buil\ byú s ’ăya qaqna‘pSra Notes
artist > băji-s ’ăya pn\;K¥^Sra /bg¥^- missionary (female) > tha- Ă louq louq-ne-ba-deh “He/she is working.” The suffix -ne is
/ dhăna-byú s ’ăya-má attached to a verb to express temporary action; e.g. –
author,writer (male) > sa-yé- qaqna‘pSram Ba meq-găzı́n Ba mg©zc\; Pt\ql´" What magazine do
s ’ăya saer;Sra" (female) > monk: Buddhist monk > p ’oún-jı́ p ’aq-thăléh? you read?
sa-yé-s ’ăya-má saer;Sram" Bun\;Âk^; 9 novice monk > ko- Ba meq-găzı́n Ba mg©zc\; What magazine are
businessman > koun-dheh yin kuirc\ p ’aq-ne-dhăléh? Pt\enql´" you reading?
kun\qv\ nun: Buddhist nun > meh-thi-lá- Compare Beh-hma téh-ne-dhăléh? “Where are you staying?” in
clerk > săyé saer; yin my\q^lrc\ 9.5.
dentist > thwá-s ’ăya-wun nurse (male) > naq-s nt\s\"
q∑a;Srawn\ (female) > naq-s-má nt\s\m" 11.3. NOT IN WORK
Director > hnyun-cá-yé-hmú thu-na-byú s ’ăya-má
VWn\Âka;er;mØ; 9 Deputy Direc- q¨na‘pSram" S1 Ă louq louq-ne- Alup\ lup\enqla;" Are you working?
tor > dú-hnyun-cá-yé-hmú , peasant, farmer > leh-dhă má dhălá?
duVWn\Âka;er;mØ; 9 Assistant ly\qma; S2 Mălouq-pa-bú. mlup\påB¨;" No.
Director > leq-t ’auq-hnyun-cá- photographer > daq-poun-s ’ăya E in-hmú keiq-sá Aim\mOkisß lup\påty\" I look after the
yé-hmú Dåt\puMSra louq-pa-deh. house.
lk\eTak\VWn\Âka;er;mØ; policeman > yéh-ăya-shı́ rÁrar˙i or Mălouq-táw-ba- mlup\eta.påB¨;" Not any longer.
editor > eh-di-ta Ay\d^ta reporter > thădı́n-dauq bú. pc\sc\ y¨luik\®p^" I am retired.
employee > wun-dán wn\Tm\; qtc\;eTak\ Pin-sin yu-laiq-
farmer, peasant > leh-dhă má sailor > thı́n-báw-dhá qeBçaqa; pi.
ly\qma; sales assistant > kaun-ta-săyé or Mălouq-thé-ba- mlup\eq;påB¨;" Not yet.
film actor > youq-shin mı́n-dhá ekac\tasaer; bú. ek¥ac\; I am attending
Rup\r˙c\mc\;qa;" actress > youq- secretary > săyé saer; Caún teq-ne-ba- tk\enpåty\" school.
shin mı́n-dhă mı́ Rup\r˙c\mc\;qm^;" shopkeeper > s ’ain-shin Suic\r˙c\ deh.
guide: tourist guide > éh-lán- singer > ăs ’o-daw ASuieta\
hnyun Ev\.lm\;VWn\ soldier > siq-thá ss\qa; New words
insurance > a-má-gan AamKM student (male) > caún-dhá ein-hmú-keiq-sá Aim\mOkisß housework (“house
labourer > ălouq-thă má ek¥ac\;qa;" (female) > caún- affairs activity”)
Alup\qma; dhu ek¥ac\;q¨"
Pronounce ei as in vein, ai as in Thailand, ou as in though, au as in Sauerkraut.

Ă louq mălouq-pa- Alup\ mlup\påB¨;" He doesn’t work. REVIEW FOR UNIT 11: ASKING ABOUT WORK
bú. Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4
Ă louq mălouq- Alup\ mlup\eta.påB¨;" He doesn’t work Side B.
táw-ba-bú. any more. He no
longer works. Review Dialogue
Ă louq mălouq- Alup\ mlup\eq;påB¨;" He doesn’t work Scene: A café in Rangoon. S2 is a young man visiting Burma, who
thé-ba-bú. yet. He hasn’t yet happens to be sharing a table with S1, a Burmese woman named Daw
taken a job. Saw Yin, and her husband and daughter. They get talking, and at one
pin-sin pc\sc\ pension, retirement point S1 asks –
pin-sin yu-deh pc\sc\ y¨ty\ to take a pension, to S1 Bă ma-pye ba- bma®pv\ Bakisßn´≥ What brought you
retire keiq-sá-néh la- lal´ r˙c\" to Burma?
Pin-sin yu-laiq-pi. pc\sc\ y¨luik\®p^ I have taken my léh, Shin?
pension. I am S2 Ă louq-néh la-ba- Alup\n´≥ lapåty\ I came with my job
retired. deh, K ’in-bya. Kc\b¥a" (+ tag).
teq-teh tk\ty\ to go up to, attend S1 A w. Ba ălouq eAa\" Ba Alup\ Oh. What job are
caún teq-teh ek¥ac\; tk\ty\" to attend school louq-ne-dhăléh? lup\enql´" you doing?
S2 Ban-daiq-hma B%\tuik\m˙a I work in a bank.
Notes louq-pa-deh. lup\påty\"
Ă louq mălouq-t á w-ba-bú . “He doesn’t work any more. He no S1 A w. Ban-daiq- eAa\' B%\tuik\m˙ala;" Oh. In a bank is it?
longer works.” The suffix -táw/- da´ w with a negated verb con- hma-lá?
veys the meaning “no longer, not any more, not after all”. S2 Daw Sáw Y in- edÅesarc\eka' How about you?
Compare M ăsı́-dá w-ba-bú = “I won’t ride (in your taxi) after gáw? — ălouq Alup\ lup\enqla;" Are you working?
all” in 5.6 and Măshı́-dáw-ba-bú. “I haven’t any any more. I no louq-ne-dhălá?
longer have any” in 6.3. S1 Mălouq-pa-bú, mlup\påB¨; r˙c\" No I’m not (+ tag).
Ă louq mălouq-thé-ba-bú. “He doesn’t work yet. He hasn’t yet Shin. E in-hmú- Aim\mOkisß lup\påty\" I look after the
taken a job.” The suffix -thé/- dhe´ with a negated verb conveys keiq-sá louq-pa- (indicating) household. She
the meaning “not yet”. Compare măpyá w -daq-t hé -ba-bú “I deh. Ë;eza\wc\;k indicates her hus-
can’t speak yet” in 9.1 and măca-dhé-ba-bú “It hasn’t been long (indicating) Ú Srawn\på"∑ band. U Zaw Win
yet, it’s not long so far” in 9.4. Zaw W ı́n-gá is a doctor.
Pin-sin. A common variant for this word is ănyeı́n-zá A®cim\;sa; “a s ’ăya-wun-ba.
life of peace” or “one who lives in peace”. S2 A w. S ’ăya-wun- eAa\' Srawn\la;" Oh. So he’s a
Pin-sin yu-laiq-pi “I have taken my pension”. The verb suffix lá? qm^;eka' doctor. How
-laiq-pi conveys the meaning that the action has been com- Thă mı́-gáw? — Alup\ lup\enqla;" about your
pleted. ălouq louq-ne- daughter?
dhălá? Is she working?
118 Burmese By Ear Unit 12: Asking about family 119
S1 Ă louq mălouq- Alup\ mlup\eq;påB¨;" Not yet. Variants

thé-ba-bú. ek¥ac\; She’s at school. E in-daun-néh-lá? Aim\eTac\n´≥la;" Are you married?
Caún teq-ne-ba- tk\enpåty\" (“household-with-
deh. question”)
Yı́-zá shı́-ba-deh. rv\;sa; r˙ipåty\ I have a girlfriend/
boyfriend
UNIT 12: ASKING ABOUT FAMILY New words
This Unit covers questions on marriage and children. There ein-daun Aim\eTac\ household
wasn’t room on the tape to cover talk about parents and brothers ein-daun shı́-deh Aim\eTac\ r˙ity\ to be married (“to
and sisters as well, but we’ve added a few words and phrases for have a house-
those topics here in the booklet. You’ll find them set out at the hold”)
end of this Unit. ăpyo Ap¥oi a spinster, an un-
married woman or
12.1. ARE YOU MARRIED? girl
ăpyo-jı́ Ap¥oiÂk^; an old spinster
S1 E in-daun shı́- Aim\eTac\ r˙iqla;" Are you married? lu-byo-jı́ l¨p¥oiÂk^; an old bachelor
dhălá? kwéh-deh or k∑´ty\ or k∑´q∑a;ty\ to split, separate,
S2 Shı́-ba-deh. r˙ipåty\" Yes, I am. kwéh-dhwá-deh divorce
or Măshı́-ba-bú. mr˙ipåB¨;" No, kwéh-dhwá-ba-bi k∑´q∑a;på®p^" We have split up,
Lu-byo-jı́-ba. l¨p¥oiÂk^;på" I’m an old separated. I am
bachelor. divorced.
or Măshı́-ba-bú. mr˙ipåB¨;" No, s ’oún-deh or SuM;ty\ or SuM;q∑a;ty\ to come to an end,
Ă pyo-jı́-ba. Ap¥oiÂk^;på" I’m an old s ’oún-dhwá-deh to die
spinster. s ’oún-dhwá-ba-bi SuM;q∑a;på®p^" S/he has died.
or Măshı́-dáw-ba-bú. mr˙ieta.påB¨;" No. ă myó-thă mı́ Am¥oi;qm^; woman, lady; wife
K wé-dhwá-ba-bi. k∑´q∑a;på®p^" We have split up. ă myó-thá Am¥oi;qa; man, gentleman;
or Măshı́-dáw-ba-bú. mr˙ieta.påB¨;" No. husband
Ă myó-dhă mı́ Am¥oi;qm^; My wife has died. Notes
s ’oún-dhwá-ba-bi. SuM;q∑a;på®p^" E in-daun măshÍ-dáw-ba-bú “I am not married any longer”. For
or Măshı́-dáw-ba-bú. mr˙ieta.påB¨;" No. the suffix -táw/- da´ w with negated verbs, meaning “no longer,
Ă myó-dhá s ’oún- Am¥oi;qa; My husband has not any more”, see 5.6, 6.3, 11.3.
dhwá-ba-bi. SuM;q∑a;på®p^" died. E in-daun cá -bi-lá ? “Are you (is he) married yet?” A question
S1 E in-daun cá-bi-lá? Aim\eTac\ k¥®p^la;" Are you married more appropriate to persons in their twenties, the age when
yet? people usually get married. The alternative E in-daun sh ı́-
S2 H ouq-kéh. Cá-bi. hut\k´.' k¥®p^" Yes, I am. dhălá? “Are you (is he) married?” can be used for older people
or Măcá-dhé-ba-bú. mk¥eq;påB¨;" No, not yet. as well. Notice the different answers to the two questions:
Question Answer Yes Answer No
E in-daun cá-bi-lá? H ouq-kéh. Cá-bi. Măcá-dhé-ba-bú.
Is he married yet? Yes, he is. No, not yet. S1 Thá-lá? Thă mı́- qa;la;' qm^;la;" Is it a son or a
lá? daughter?
E in-daun shı́-dhălá? H ouq-kéh. Shı́-ba- Măshı́-ba-bú. S2 Thá-ba. qa;på" It’s a son.
deh. or
Is he married? Yes, he is. No, he’s not. S2 Ngá-yauq shı́-ba- cå;eyak\ r˙ipåty\" I have five.
For the verb suffix -bi/- pi see Verb Paradigms in Appendix 3 deh.
(outline grammar). S1 Thá-de-lá? qa;et∑la;' Are they sons or
K w éh-deh or kwé h-dhwá -deh , s ’ oú n-deh or s ’ oú n-dhwá -deh . The Thă mı́-de-lá? qm^;et∑la;" daughters?
use of -dhwá (“to go”) adds a suggestion of movement: “split S2 Thá thoún-yauq, qa; quM;eyak\" Three sons and two
and go, get separated”, “end and go, come to an end”. thă mı́ hnăyauq. qm^; N˙s\eyak\" daughters.
Compare koun-dhwá-deh “to be all gone, sold out” in 4.3.
Ă m yó-t há and ă m yó-t hă mı́ are fairly respectful, almost neutral New words
terms for husband and wife, which is why we teach them k ’ălé kel; child
here. Other terms you may meet are – -yauq -eyak\ countword for people:
k ’in-bún and zănı́ Kc\p∑n\;' zn^; elevated, deferential, see note
sometimes pretentious -de or sometimes -dwe -et∑ plural suffix: see note
yauq-cá and eyak\¥a;' min\;m casual, verging on the Variant
meı́n-má disrespectful; also = Meı́n-k ’ălé-lá? min\;kel;la;' Is it a girl or a boy?
man, male and woman, Y auq-cá-lé-lá? eyak¥\a;el;la;"
female You will find a list of words for other relatives in the Topical
lin and măyá lc\ ' mya; contemptuous, except in Vocabulary for kin terms.
some set compounds
like lin-ba-dhá “stepson” Notes
K ’ ălé beh-hnăyauq sh ı́-dhălé h? “How many children do you
12.2. HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU HAVE? have?” The word -yauq is a countword for people. Examples:
meiq-s’we lé- mit\eS∑ el;eyak\ four friends
S1 K ’ălé shı́-lá? kel; r˙ila;" Do you have any yauq
children? s ’ăya-wun Srawn\ N˙s\eyak\ two doctors
S2 H ouq-kéh, shı́-ba- hut\k´." r˙ipåty\" Yes, I have. hnăyauq
deh. ăko thoún-yauq Akui quM;eyak\ three brothers
or Măshı́-ba-bú. mr˙ipåB¨;" No, I haven’t. thă mı́ tăyauq qm^; ts\eyak\ one daughter
or Măshı́-dhé-ba-bú. mr˙ieq;påB¨;" No, I haven’t any tú-riq beh- t¨;rs\ By\N˙s\eyak\ how many tourists
yet. hnăyauq
S1 K ’ălé beh-hnăyauq kel; By\N˙s\eyak\ How many children Compare other countwords in 6.5.
shı́-dhăléh? r˙iql´" do you have? Thá-lá? Thă mı́-lá? “Is it a son or a daughter?” This is the stan-
S2 Tăyauq shı́-ba- ts\eyak\ r˙ipåty\" I have one. dard pattern for questions taking the form “A or B?”.
deh. Examples:
K aw-p’i-lá? eka\P^la;' Tea or coffee? [noun]-ăcı́ [noun]-AÂk^; the older [noun], the
Lăp ’ eq-ye-lá? lk\ P k\ r v\ l a;" larger [noun]
Di-hma-lá? É h- d^m˙ala;' A´d^m˙ala;" Here or there? [noun]-ăngeh [noun]-Acy\ the younger [noun],
di-hma-lá? the smaller [noun]
Thá-dwe thă mı́-dwe “sons, daughters”. The suffix -de (sometimes [noun]-ălaq [noun]-Alt\ the middle [noun] (not
pronounced -dwe ) attached to a noun marks it as plural: practised on tape)
meiq-s’we “friend” meiq-s’we-de “friends”
sa-eiq “envelope” sa-eiq-de “envelopes” Notes
éh-da “that” éh-da-de “those things” Beh-ăyweh shı́-bi-léh? “What age is he/she?” When asking about
Note that Burmese does not use -de/- dw e in all the contexts children, people more often use beh-ăyweh “what size” than
where English uses a plural; e.g. where English uses “any” or ătheq beh-lauq “how old”. Compare Ă theq beh-lauq shı́-bi-
“some”: léh? “How old are you/is s/he?” in 10.6.
Sa-eiq shı́-lá? “Do you have any envelopes?” Thá-gá shiq-hniq, thă mı́-gá c ’auq-hniq shı́-bi “My son is 8 and my
And where the Burmese has a number and a countword: daughter is 6.” Notice the contrastive suffix -ká/- ga´ : see the
P ’ălin hnăleiq pé-ba. “Give me two rolls of film.” note in 10.5. Adding the suffix produces an effect similar to
M ă s h ı́ - d h é - b a - b ú “I haven’t any yet.” For -t h é /- d h e´ with a “my son on the one hand … and my daughter on the other
negated verb meaning “not yet” compare the examples in 9.4, …”, but not so strong.
11.3, 12.1.
REVIEW FOR UNIT 12: ASKING ABOUT FAMILY
12.3. HOW OLD ARE THE CHILDREN? Review dialogues are recorded in the Review Section, on Tape 4
Side B.
K ’ălé beh-ăyweh kel; By\AR∑y\ How old is your
shı́-bi-léh? r˙i®p^l´" child? Scene: The platform of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Imagine that a foreign
C ’auq-hniq shı́-bi. e®Kak\N˙s\ r˙i®p^" She is six. visitor, a man in his 40s named Roland, has found a seat in a shady
or, for more than one child spot. There’s a Burmese lady of about the same age there already,
K ’ălé-de beh- kel;et∑ How old are your whose name is Daw Aye Aye Shwe, and they get talking. This dialogue
ăyweh-de shı́- By\AR∑y\et∑ r˙i®p^l´" children? is a part of their conversation.
bi-léh?
S1 E in-daun shı́- Aim\eTac\ r˙iqla; Are you married
qa;k r˙s\N˙s\' qm^;k My son is eight, and dhălá, Ro-lan? Roland" Roland?
Thá-gá shiq-hniq,
thă mı́-gá c ’auq- e®Kak\N˙s\ r˙i®p^" my daughter is six. S2 Măshı́-ba-bú. mr˙ipåB¨;" No.
hniq shı́-bi. Lu-byo-jı́-ba. l¨p¥oiÂk^;på" I’m an old
or Thă mı́-ăcı́-gá qm^;AÂk^;k 14-N˙s\" My older daughter bachelor.
s ’ éh-lé-hniq, qm^;Acy\k 10-N˙s\ is 14, and my S1 H a ha. ha ha" Ha ha.
thă mı́-ăngeh-gá r˙i®p^" younger daughter Bă ma săgá bmaska; e®pata You speak
s ’ eh-hniq shı́-bi. is 10. pyáw-da theiq qi p \ ekac\ ;påty\ Burmese very well
New words kaún-ba-deh r˙c\" (+ polite tag)
ăyweh AR∑y\ size; age (of children) Shin
S2 Cé-zú tin-ba-deh. ek¥;z¨;tc\påty\" Thank you. S1 Thă mı́-gá ein- qm^;k Aim\eTac\ The daughter hasn’t
Theiq măpyáw- qip\ I can’t say much daun măcá-dhé- mk¥eq;påB¨;" got married yet.
daq-thé-ba-bú. me®patt\eq;påB¨;" yet. ba-bú.
Daw É É Shwe- edÅeA;eA;eRWeka' How about you?
gáw? E in-daun Aim\eTac\ r˙iqla;" Are you married? UNIT 12 EXTENSION.
shı́-dhălá? PARENTS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS
S1 H ouq-kéh. Shı́- hut\k´.' r˙ipåty\" Yes I am.
ba-deh. The following words and phrases are not practised on the tape.
S2 K ’ălé beh- kel; By\N˙s\eyak\ How many children They are noted here for reference.
hnăyauq shı́- r˙iql´" do you have. S1 Ă p ’e-ă me shı́- AePAem r˙ieq;qla;" Are your parents
dhăléh? dhé-dhălá? still alive? (see
S1 Thoún-yauq shı́- quM;eyak\ r˙ipåty\" I have three. note)
ba-deh. S2 H ouq-kéh. Shı́- hut\k´." r˙ipåty\" Yes, they are.
S2 Thoún-yauq-lá? quM;eyak\la;" Did you say three? ba-deh.
S1 H ouq-kéh. hut\k´." quM;eyak\" Yes three. or Ă me shı́-ba-deh. Aem r˙ipåty\" AeP My mother is. My
Thoún-yauq. qa; N˙s\eyak\' qm^; Two sons and one Ă p ’ e s ’oún- SuM;q∑a;på®p^" father has died.
Thá hnăyauq, ts\eyak\" daughter. dhwá-ba-bi.
thă mı́ tăyauq. or Măshı́-dáw-ba- mr˙ieta.påB¨;" No.
S2 Beh-ăyweh-de By\AR∑y\et∑ r˙i®p^l´" How big are they? bú. SuM;q∑a;på®p^" They have died.
shı́-bi-léh? S ’oún-dhwá-ba-
S1 Thá-ăcı́-gá qa;AÂk^;k 24-N˙s\" The older son is 24. bi.
hnăs ’ éh-lé-hniq. qa;Acy\k 22-N˙s\" The younger son is S1 Nyi-ăko maun- vÂkuiemac\N˙m Do you have any
Thá-ăngeh-gá qm^;k 19-N˙s\ r˙i®p^" 22. hnă má shı́- r˙iqla;" brothers and
hnăs ’ éh- The daughter is 19. dhălá? sisters?
hnăhniq. S2 H ouq-kéh. Shı́- hut\k´." r˙ipåty\" Yes, I have.
Thă mı́-gá s ’ éh- ba-deh.
kó-hniq shı́-bi. S1 Beh-hnăyauq shı́- By\N˙s\eyak\ r˙iql´" How many do you
S2 E in-daun cá-bi- Aim\eTac\ k¥®p^la;" Have they got dhăléh? have?
lá? married yet? S2 Ă ko tăyauq, ă má Akui ts\eyak\ I have an older
S1 H ouq-kéh. Thá- hut\k´.' qa;AÂk^;k Yes. My older son tăyauq-néh nyi- Amts\eyak\n´≥ v^m brother, an older
ăcı́-gá ein-daun Aim\eTac\ k¥®p^" is married. má hnăyauq N˙s\eyak\ r˙ipåty\" sister and two
cá-bi. Ă ngeh- Acy\k Aim\eTac\ The younger one is shı́-ba-deh. younger sisters.
gá ein-daun mr˙ieta.påB¨;" not married any S1 points to her companion
măshı́-dáw-ba- k∑´q∑a;på®p^" more. S1 Da-gá că má ăko- dåk k¥m Akuipå" This is my brother.
bú. K wéh- He is divorced. ba.
dhwá-ba-bi. S2 A w. Twé-yá-da eAa\" et∑>rta Oh. I am happy to
S2 A w. Thă mı́-gáw? eAa\" qm^;eka" Oh. How about the wún-tha-ba-deh. wm\;qapåty\" have met you.
daughter?
Words for siblings APPENDIX 1

ăko Akui older brother OUTLINE DESCRIPTION OF THE SOUNDS OF BURMESE
ă má Am older sister
maun emac\ younger brother (of BBE is a tape-based course, so you will receive all the listening
woman) and pronunciation training you need as you work through the
nyi v^ younger brother (of man) lessons. Written descriptions are no substitute for hearing and
nyi-má v^m younger sister (see note) imitating. The purpose of the notes below is simply to provide
hnă má N˙ m younger sister (see note) an overview of the sound system of Burmese.
nyi-ăko maun- v^ A ku e
i mac\ N m
˙ or brothers and sisters
hnă má or just just emac\N˙m The following notes are adapted from “The sounds of Burmese”,
maun-hnă má which appeared as Appendix 1 in my longer course Burmese: an
introduction to the spoken language (published by Northern Illinois
Notes University, 1994) .
Ă p ’ e-ă m e sh ı́-dhé -dhălá ? “Are your parents still alive?” The
suffix -thé/- dhe´ conveys the meaning “still”. Compare these The parts of the syllable
two sentences: For describing the sounds of Burmese, it is helpful to think of the
Ban-daiq-hma B%\tuik\m˙a Alup\ Is he working at the syllable as being made up of two parts:
ălouq louq-ne- lu p e
\ nqla;" bank?
dhălá? 1. the “head”, which is a consonant (like m-) or a consonant with
Ban-daiq-hma B%\tuik\m˙a Alup\ Is he still working a second consonant (like my-)
ălouq louq-ne- lup\eneq;qla;" at the bank? 2. the “rhyme”, which is a vowel (like -a ) or a vowel with a final
dhe é´ -dhălá? consonant (like -an )
M ăsh ı́-dá w -ba-bú “They are no longer living.”. For the suffix In addition, every syllable has a “tone”, marked (in this tran-
-táw/-dáw with a negated verb see 5.6, 6.3, 11.1, 11.3. scription) by an accent (as in -á ): see the heading “Tones” below.
N y i -m á and h n ă m á “younger sister”. In earlier times n y i -m á
referred to the younger sister of a woman, and hnă m á to the So the word pyoún “to smile” is made up of –
younger sister of a man. In contemporary Burmese, however, the head py-
h n ă m á is rarely used, and n y i -m á is used for the younger the rhyme oun
sisters of both men and women. the tone ´
Nyi-ăko maun-hnă má “brothers and sisters”. Another word you All syllables have a vowel and a tone, but not every syllable has
may hear is t há -jı́n , a term which includes the speaker and a head. For example, the syllable aún has the rhyme aun and the
his/her brothers and sisters; so Thá-jı́n thoún-yauq shı́-ba-deh tone ´-, but no head.
would mean “There are three of us all told” (e.g. the speaker
and two others). Remember that there is no standard method of representing
For a fuller list of words for relatives see the Topical Vocabu- Burmese sounds in the roman alphabet: the examples below are
lary for kin terms. presented in the system used in this booklet, but other books and
Da-gá “this” can refer to a person. For suffix -gá/- ka´ see Lesson courses use a variety of different conventions.
10.5.

128 Burmese By Ear Appendix 1 Sounds 129
Heads s’ S same as s but aspirated: see under Aspirates below

roman script description sh y˙/r˙ as in English shore
b b as in English bore t t as in French tort: see under Aspirates below
c k¥ as in Italian ciao, or ’cello; something like ch in t’ T as in English tore: see under Aspirates below
English chore, but made with the flat of the th q as in English thaw (not English though)
tongue (not the tip) against the palate; and made w w as in English war; and see under Medial consonants
without aspiration: see under Aspirates below below
c’ K¥ same as c but aspirated: see under Aspirates below y y as in English your; and see under Medial consonants
below
d d as in English door z z as in English zone
dh [q˙] like th in English this, there (not th in English thin,
thigh) 1. Aspirate consonants
g g as in English gore Burmese has two sets of corresponding pairs of consonants.
h h as in English hoar Those in the first set are:
hl l˙ same as l but aspirated: see under Aspirates below Roman Script
hm m˙ same as m but aspirated: see under Aspirates below k’ t’ p’ c’ s’ K T P K¥ S
hn N˙ same as n but aspirated: see under Aspirates below k t p c s k t p k¥ s
hng c˙ same as ng but aspirated: see under Aspirates below
hny V˙ same as ny but aspirated: see under Aspirates below Those on the first line are known as “aspirate” consonants, and
hw w˙ same as w but aspirated: see under Aspirates below those on the second are known as the corresponding “plain” or
j g¥ like gi in Italian Giorgio; something like j in English “unaspirated” consonants. The difference between the two sets
jaw, but made with the flat of the tongue (not the is that the aspirate consonants have a short puff of breath
tip) against the palate expelled after the consonant is pronounced and before the vowel
k k like c in French corps: see under Aspirates below begins; while after a plain consonant there is no audible breath:
k’ K like c in English core: see under Aspirates below the vowel begins immediately the consonant has been
l l as in English law pronounced.
m m as in English more Put this way, this distinction may sound unfamiliar, but
n n as in English nor; see also under Final consonants you have probably heard examples of both aspirate and plain
below consonants, perhaps without being aware of the difference. Most
ng c like ng in English long oar speakers of English use aspirate consonants in words like kill, till,
ny v like gn in Italian gnocchi; something like ni in English pill. To a Burmese ear these words sound like k ’ill, t ’ill, p ’ill. Plain
senior, but made with the flat of the tongue (not the consonants on the other hand are used in French and Italian:
tip) against the palate think of French words like casse, tasse, passe. French and Italian
p p as in French port: see under Aspirates below speakers (and Indians and Pakistanis even more noticeably)
p’ P as in English pore: see under Aspirates below often use these plain consonants when they speak English – a
q [t\] glottal stop: see under Final consonants below habit that contributes to making their English sound “foreign.”
r r as in English raw (mostly used in foreign loan words) They say kill, till, pill instead of k ’ill, t ’ill, p ’ill. Burmese uses both
s s as in English soar: see under Aspirates below sets and gives equal status to each, so pá and p ’á (for example)
are two different words: pá means “cheek” and p ’á means “frog”. e eA like é in French élève
Careful listening to the tapes will help you recognize and e in eh Ay\ like e in English sell
pronounce the two sets differently. e in eq Ak\ like e in English set
ei in eiq and ein Ait\' Ain\ like a in English late and lane
The paired aspirate and plain consonants in the second set are i A^ like i in English ravine
these: i in iq and in As\' A√\/Ac\ like i in English sit and sin
Roman Script aw eAa\ like aw in English saw
hng hn hm hny hl hw c˙ N˙ m˙ V˙ l˙ w˙ o Aui like eau in French peau
ng n m ny l w c n m v l w ou in ouq & oun Aut\' Aun\ like o in English tote and tone
Those on the first line are sometimes called breathed or voiceless u A¨ like u in English Susan
consonants. They are pronounced like the plain set, but with u in uq and un A∑t\' A∑n\ like oo in English foot and full
breath expelled quietly through the nose (through the mouth for
hl hw ) before voicing begins. Final consonants
-n -c\ -√\ -n\ -m\ represents nasalization,
hm is like English hmm in “Hmm – let me see” as in French un, bon, vin, Jean
hl is like Welsh ll in Llandudno -q -k\ -s\ -t\ -p\ represents a glottal stop,
hw is like English wh in “breathy” pronunciations of what, as in “Cockney” English “The ca’ sa’ on the ma’ ,”
where, etc. or (in our transcription) “The caq saq on the maq.”
Note that neither -n nor -q are very satisfactory symbols for the
The remaining consonants in this set – hng, hn, hny – are Burmese sounds they are used to represent, because they stand
produced by the same mechanism as hm. for quite different sounds in English. Don’t let them deceive you
into saying “Win” when you should be saying W ı́n , or “Chick”
2. Medial consonants when you should be saying C ’iq .
Some consonants may be followed by a “medial” conso-
nant: y or w ; e.g.: Tones
y in myan-myan quickly ®mn\®mn\ Tones are marked in the transcription used here by accents (or
w in mwé-né birthday em∑;en≥ absence of accent) placed over the vowel. They are illustrated
here with the vowel a.
Rhymes
(for descriptions of -q and -n see the note on Final consonants below) a Aa low pitch, called “low” tone
(marked here by having no printed accent)
roman script description á Aa; high pitch
ă [A] like a in English about spoken with normal or relaxed throat:
a Aa like a in English car, “plain high tone”
but closer to a in French car á Aa. high pitch spoken with a tightened throat:
a in aq and an At\' An\ like a in English cat and can “creaky high tone”
ai in aiq and ain Auik\' Auic\ like i in English site and sine
au in auq & aun eAak\' eAac\ like ou in English lout and lounge
There are two other kinds of syllable in Burmese. Though they thoún + t ’aun thoún-daun – not thoún-t ’aun :
don’t have a place in the three-way contrast just described, they because t ’ is “voiced” to d .
are listed here for completeness. three + thousand three thousand
Not all consonants can be voiced. The voiceable consonants, and
aq At\ high pitch, followed by a glottal stop, their voiced counterparts, are the following:
called a “stopped” syllable (may be pronounced this row: k c t s p th
with low pitch when followed by a high tone) and this: k ’ c’ t’ s’ p’
ă [A] low pitch, only on the vowel ă. A syllable with the
voice to: g j d z b dh
vowel ă is called a “weak” syllable, or a
“reduced” or “unstressed” syllable. It may be There is one exception to the voicing rule: it does not operate
pronounced with high pitch if sandwiched when the first syllable ends in -q : e.g.
between two high tones. shiq + s ’eh shiq-s ’ eh – not shiq-zeh :
voicing is suspended after -q .
Schematically, the tones can be arranged like this: eight + ten eighty
plain creaky stopped weak And consonants that are not in the “voiceable” list remain un-
changed anyway; e.g.
high pitch á Aa; á Aa./A aq At\ — lé + ya lé-ya- no change
low pitch a Aa — — ă [A] because y is not voiceable.
four + ten forty
It should be understood that “low pitch” and “high pitch” are ngá + main ngá-main- no change
relative terms: because m is not voiceable.
"low" means lower than neighbouring highs, and five + mile five miles
"high" means higher than neighbouring lows.
A syllable spoken in isolation can’t readily be identified as Further examples:
having either high or low pitch (though it may be distinguished pu + teh pu-deh (not pu-teh )
by features other than pitch, namely creakiness, glottal stop, or t is voiced to d (see 1.3)
weak vowel). be hot + suffix it is hot
t ’ain + pa t ’ain-ba (not t ’ain-pa )
p is voiced to b (see 2.6)
*** sit + suffix please sit down
Syllables in combination: voicing and weakening
á + thălá á-dhălá (not á-thălá )
th is voiced to dh (see 1.8)
1. Voicing
be free + suffix are you free?
When two syllables are joined together to form a compound
ngá + caq ngá-jaq (not ngá-caq )
word, there is often a change in the second syllable: its first
c is voiced to j (see 1.11)
consonant is “voiced”, e.g.
five + kyat five kyats
lé + s ’eh lé-zeh – not lé-s ’ eh:
thoún + k ’weq thoún-gweq (not thoún-k ’weq )
because s ’ is “voiced” to z .
k ’ is voiced to g (see 1.14)
four + ten forty
three + cup three cups
t ’án “palm” weakens in: t ’ăleq “palm frond”

2. Weakening but not in: t ’án-bú “palm bud”
s ’an “hair” weakens in: s ’ăzú “switch of hair”
You will have learned from the tapes that when you join the but not in: s ’an-zá “hairline”
words for “one” and “a hundred” to make “one hundred”, the And in some words, one speaker will use a weakened form
first of the two words is “weakened”: where another would use the full form.
tiq + ya tăya (not tiq-ya )
one + hundred one hundred
When a syllable is weakened, its rhyme is replaced by the vowel
-ă .
Weakening occurs regularly with tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq (“one, two,

seven”) when they are joined to a following word; e.g.
hniq + k ’weq hnăk ’weq (not hniq-k ’weq )
two + glass two glasses
k ’ un-hniq + caq k ’ un-năcaq (not k ’ un-hniq-caq)

seven + kyat seven kyat
Weakening also occurs regularly in combinations in which -m eh

or -teh/-deh is followed by -lá or -léh ; e.g.
thwá-meh + lá thwá-mălá
(not thwá-meh-lá)
you ’ll go + question W illy ou go?
ba + lo-jin-deh + léh ba lo-jin-dhăléh

(not ba lo-jin-deh-léh)
what + you wan t + question What do you want?
Note the extra change here from d to dh .
In most other contexts weakening occurs sporadically and

unpredictably; e.g.
ngá “fish” weakens in: ngăgin “grilled fish”
but not in: ngá-caq-tin “smoked fish”
thu “person” weakens in: thăk ’ó “thief”
but not in: thu-na “invalid”
thá “child” weakens in: thăú “firstborn”
but not in: thá-laún “embryo”
136 Burmese By Ear Appendix 2 Script 137
APPENDIX 2 syllable = head + rhyme

OUTINE DESCRIPTION OF BURMESE SCRIPT [initial consonant, or initial [single vowel, or vowel
and second consonant] with final consonant]
Contents FEE = F + EE
1. Syllable structure: heads and rhymes FILL = F + ILL
2. Characters for writing heads FRILL = FR + ILL
3. Characters for writing rhymes FLEE = FL + EE
4. Other characters
5. Irregularities 1.1. Heads
6. Further reading In Burmese script the head of a syllable may be either
• an “initial consonant”; for example, the consonants
Introduction written: p l n q
pronounced: p- l- n- th-
A full tutorial for reading and writing Burmese script or
would be too long for this booklet. What you will find below is • an initial consonant combined with a second consonant,
simply an overview: it explains how the script works and gives a referred to below as a “medial consonant”; for example, the
list of the characters and regular character combinations. combinations
written: ®p l¥ N˙ q∑
The Burmese alphabet consists of 33 consonants and 18 pronounced: py- ly- hn- thw-
symbols which can be attached to the consonants. The attached There are only four medial consonants in Burmese script.
symbols represent vowels, medial consonants, tones or other
features. There are in addition 8 “free-standing characters”. The 1.2. Rhymes
consonants and the attached symbols are combined to form The rhyme of a syllable may be written with either
syllables, and syllables are combined to form words and • an attached vowel symbol; e.g.
sentences. written: p^ l¨ na qui
pronounced: pi lu na tho
1. Syllable structure or
• a consonant marked as a final consonant by carrying the
For learning purposes the syllable is the basic unit of the “killer” symbol -\; e.g.
script. Each syllable can be analysed into a “head” and a written: pn\ ln\ nt\ qk\
“rhyme”. “Head” is the name given to the initial consonant (or pronounced: pan lan naq theq
an initial consonant combined with a second consonant), and or
“rhyme” is the name for the remainder of the syllable, namely • a combination of an attached vowel symbol and a final conso-
the vowel (or the vowel and a final consonant) and the tone. nant; e.g.
Some examples from English may help to clarify the structure: written: pun\ lin\ enac\ quik\
pronounced: poun lein naun thaiq
1.3. Tones 2.2. Medial consonants

Tones are part of the rhyme and are mostly represented by the -¥ ®- -∑ -˙
two tone marks -; and -. ; e.g.
-y- -y- -w- h-
written: pun\≥ lin\; na; qui≥
pronounced: poún leı́n ná thó The following combinations of consonant and medial consonant
Other ways of representing tone are used for certain rhymes. have modified pronunciations:
k¥ K¥ g¥ - r˙
2. Characters for writing heads Âk ®K ®g ®c y˙ l¥ lY y¥ qY
c- c ’- j- ny- sh- ly- or y- hly- or sh- y- sh-
2.1. Initial consonants (set out in traditional alphabetical order)
k K g G c
3. Characters for writing rhymes
k- k ’- g- g- ng-
s S z Z v √ 3.1. Attached vowel symbols and tone marking

s- s ’- z- z- ny- ny-
low tone -a1 -^ -¨2 e- -y\ e-a\1 -ui2 -v\
-a -i -u -e -eh -aw -o -i/e/eh
! @ £ $ %
1 2 1 2
t- t ’- d- d- n- high tone -a; -^; -¨; e-; -´ e-a -ui; -v\;
-á -ı́ -ú -é -éh -áw -ó -Í/é/éh
t T d D n
t- t ’- d- d- n-
creaky tone -3 -i -u2 e-. -´. e-a.1 -ui≥2 -V\.
p P b B m -á -ı́ -ú -é -éh -áw -ó -ı́/é/éh
p- p ’- b- b- m-
Notes
y r l w q 1. The vowel symbol -a is modified to the elongated form -å
y- y- or r- l- w- th- with certain consonants, thus:
Kå gå då på wå (and similarly for eKå egÅ etc)
h L A The reason for using the modified form is to avoid ambiguity
h- l- -* between combinations with the form -a and certain initial
consonants; e.g. for the syllable p a if you wrote p + -a the
* This symbol is used to write syllables that have no initial result would be pa which is identical with the consonant h
consonant, such as pronounced h . Modifying the shape (p + -å = på) avoids this
i written A^, an written An\, oun written Aun\ ambiguity.
The “consonant” A occupies the position of the initial 2. The vowel symbols -u and -¨ are modified to the elongated
consonant in the written syllable, but is read aloud as “no forms -o and -ø when there is no room for them to occupy their
initial consonant”. normal position; e.g.:
K¥- + -up\ is written K¥op\ 3.4. Tone marking in syllables with a final consonant
p¥- + -¨ is written p¥ø Syllables with a stop final (-q ) are pronounced with a high
g¥- + -ui is written g¥oi tone and can occur with no other, so they carry no tone mark
3. Note that the absence of a written vowel symbol is just as other than their own stop final. Syllables with a nasal final (-n )
significant as the presence of one. A head with no written occur in three tones, marked as in this example:
vowel is pronounced with the rhyme -á ; e.g. ln\ ln\≥ ln\\;
m read as má, l˙ read as hlá , etc. lan lán lán
low tone creaky high tone plain high tone
3.2. Final consonants
stop finals nasal finals 3.5. Stacked pairs of consonants
-s\ -k\ -t\ -c\ -n\\ In certain words correct spelling requires that the initial conso-
alternatives -p\ -√\ -m\ or -M nant of one syllable should be written underneath the final
pronounced -iq -eq -aq -in -an consonant of the preceding syllable. For example, the word
pronounced s ’an-dá is written –
Examples ls\ lk\ lc\ lm\ or lM or ln\ not Sn\d – with the d on the line in the usual way
pronounced liq leq lin lan but Sn∂ – with the d of the second syllable underneath the final n
of the first.
Graphically the rhymes written -y\ and -v\ should be included Note that when two consonants are “stacked” in this way, the
in this section. However, as they are pronounced without a final upper consonant is written without its killer stroke -\ : not Sn\∂ but
-q or -n , they are usually listed among the vowel symbols. See Sn∂ .
3.1 above.
Not all pairs of consonants can be stacked. The following is a list
3.3. Combinations of vowel symbol and final consonant of the pairs that can.
1
For the pronunciation of diphthongs in the roman transcription k˚ k g© gÌ kç Kç gç Gç -
see the note at the foot of the page. sß sÍ zΩ zÛ2 ◊ß ◊Í ◊Ω ◊Û2 v
¡ ™2 # ¢2 ⁄ ¤2 ‹2 › ∞
stop finals -it\ -uik\ e- ak\ -ut\ -∑t\
t† tÊ d∂ dÎ N † N Ê N∂ NÎ N~
alternatives -ip\ -up\ -∑p\ pπ p∏ b∫ bı mπ m∏ m∫ mı mμ
pronounced -eiq -aiq -auq -ouq -uq l¬ œ2
nasal finals -in\ -uic\ e- ac\ -un\ -∑n\ Unstacked equivalents of the above
alternatives -im\ -um\ or -uM -∑m\ or -∑M -k\k- -k\K- -g\g- -g\G- -c\k- -c\K- -c\g- -c\G- -
pronounced -ein -ain -aun -oun -un -s\s- -s\S- -z\z- -z\Z- -√\s- -√\S- -√\z- -√\Z- -√\√-
-!\!- -!\@- -£\£- -£\$- -%\!- -%\@- -%\£- -%\$- -%\%-
Examples lit\ luic\ elak\ lup\ l∑m\ or l∑M or l∑n\ -t\t- -t\T- -d\d- -d\D- -n\t- -n\T- -n\d- -n\D- -n\n-
-p\p- -p\P- -b\b- -b\B- -m\p- -m\P- -m\b- -m\B- -m\m-
pronounced leiq lain laun louq lun
-l\l- -q\q-
1. Unlike other finals in stacked pairs the final consonant c\ is Other mismatches follow partially predictable patterns. The
positioned above the line instead of on the line. most pervasive of these is the Voicing Rule; examples:
2. Note modified shapes for these pairs. spelling apparently pronounced actually pronounced
el;Sy\.el;Ku lé-s ’ éh-lé-k ’ ú lé-zéh-lé-gú
4. Other characters na;K¥c\påty\ ná-c ’in-pa-teh ná-jin-ba-deh
4.1. Free-standing vowel syllables For more on the Voicing Rule see the appendix on sounds.
A I U [E]* Âq
á ı́ ú é áw
Another frequently encountered mismatch is “weakening”:
when a syllable is written with a full rhyme but pronounced
Aa È Ë E eÂqa\ with the vowel ă ; e.g.
spelling apparently pronounced actually pronounced
a i u e aw ts\Ku tiq-k ’ ú tă-k ’ ú
kula;Tuic\ kú-lá-t ’ain kă-lă-t ’ain
* In certain words this syllable is read with a high tone é. Tn\;lk\ t ’án-leq t ’ă-leq
4.2. Abbreviated syllables (used in literary style Burmese)

f j Ò &c\; 6. Further reading
ı́ ywé hnaiq lăgaún For details of irregular combinations, mismatches, traditional
names of the symbols, handwriting, decorative styles, a character
4.3. Figures identification chart, and more, see –
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Burmese: an introduction to the script by John Okell: 1993, Northern
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Illinois University (text and 7 audio cassette tapes)
For a programmed introduction, with writing practice, see —
An introduction to the Burmese writing system by H D Roop: 1972,
5. Irregularities Yale University Press
Some words are writen with a combination of vowel symbol and
final consonant not found in the standard system; e.g. lic\ lein or
muK\ m ou q . There are ways of working out how to pronounce
these words, but they are too detailed to set out in this brief
summary. See Section 6 below.
In many words, or combinations of words, there is a mismatch

between the spelling and the pronunciation. Some mismatches
are unique; e.g.
spelling apparently pronounced actually pronounced
B^; bı́ beı́n
q¨rc\;c˙a; thu-yı́n-hngá să-yı́n-hngá
144 Burmese By Ear Appendix 3 Grammar 145
APPENDIX 3 phrase” is used as a wide-cover term to include “adverbs” and

OUTLINE DESCRIPTION OF BURMESE GRAMMAR other elements. Example:
noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2 noun phrase 3 verb phrase
This section draws together the grammar points that are k¥m Am¥oi;qa; bmaska; nń´ na;lv\påty\"
noted in the lessons. A reference in the form “(L 1.1)” tells you că má ă myó-thá Bă ma săgá néh-néh ná-leh-ba-deh.
that the point was first introduced in Lesson 1.1. For more detail my husband Burmese a little understand
see — language
Burmese: an introduction to the spoken language, Book 2, Appendix “My husband understands a little Burmese.”
4 (John Okell, Northern Illinois University, 1993)
A reference grammar of colloquial Burmese, (John Okell, Oxford 1.2 Word order (L 1.6)
University Press, Oxford, 1969) Notice that Burmese order is the reverse of English:
Burmese/Myanmar: a dictionary of grammatical forms, the appendix Burmese: Burmese – a little – (I) understand
“Outline grammatical description“, (John Okell and Anna English: (I) understand – a little – Burmese
Allott, Curzon Press, Richmond, England, 2000)
1.3 Pronouns and referents (L 1.1, 1.3)
Contents Burmese does have words corresponding to the English he, it,
1. Sentences they, etc. But when both speaker and hearer know what is under
1.1 The standard structure discussion, pronouns and other referents are normally omitted;
1.2 Word order e.g. Context: continuation from the example above.
1.3 Pronouns and referents noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2 noun phrase 3 verb phrase
1.4 Verbs and adjectives – tRup\ska; nń´ na;lv\påty\"
1.5 Is/are sentences
– Tăyouq săgá néh-néh ná-leh-ba-deh.
2 Suffixes
(He omitted) Chinese language a little understand
2.1 Some common sentence suffixes
“(He) understands a little Chinese.”
2.2 Some common phrase suffixes
2.3 Some common verb suffixes (tense etc)
Context: S2 tries a drink given her by S1.
2.4 Some common verb suffixes (modality etc)
2.5 Some common noun suffixes noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2 verb phrase
(marking relationship to verb) – – ’kik\ty\ena\"
2.6 Some common noun suffixes (expanding: plurality etc) – – caiq-teh-naw?
3 Compound sentences (You omitted) (it omitted) like-statement-right?
4 Verb paradigms S1: “You like it, don’t you?”
1 Sentences noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2 verb phrase

– – ’kik\påty\"
1.1 The standard structure. – – caiq-pa-deh.
The typical Burmese sentence consists of one or more “noun (I omitted) (it omitted) like-polite-statement
phrases” followed by a “verb phrase.” In this context “noun S2: “Yes, I do.”
1.4 Verbs and adjectives (L 1.1.) 5. Another category of suffix subordinates one sentence to
Although we have to translate p¨ty\ pu-deh , eA;ty\ é-deh and another.
similar words with the English adjectives: “hot”, “cold”, and so
on, in terms of Burmese grammar they must be classified as 2.1 Some common sentence suffixes
1
verbs: “to be hot”, “to be cold”, etc. 1 [sentence]-på [sentence]-ba/-pa polite 2 (L 1.4, 10.2)
noun phrase verb phrase 2 [sentence]-la; [sentence]-lá question: yes or no 3 4
5 (L 1.8)
nń´ p¨påty\"
néh-néh pu-ba-deh. 3 [sentence]-l´ [sentence]-léh question: information
4 (L 1.11)
a little be hot-polite-statement
“It is rather hot.” 4 [statement]-ena\ [statement]-naw It is so, isn’t it? 3 (L
1.1)
1.5 Is/are sentences (L 1.11, 4.6) 5 [I’m going to …]- [I’m going to …]- You don’t mind if I
A sentence that identifies an item, or equates two items, ena\ naw do, do you? (L 3.9)
normally has no verb phrase in the Burmese equivalent. It 6 [request]-ena\ [request]-naw Please do it, if you
contains just two noun phrases: don’t mind.
noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2
då eka\P^ Note 1. The suffix -på is pronounced -pa after the final consonant
-q and is voiced to -ba after other finals. Examples:
da kaw-p ’i
1. -på is not voiced: -pa 2. -på is voiced: -ba
that coffee
då ehals\ på då eka\P^ på
“That is coffee.”
Sentences of this type are referred to here as “is/are sentences”. da H áw-liq pa da kaw-p ’i ba
that Horlicks polite that coffee polite
2 Suffixes “That is Horlicks.” “That is coffee.”
A “suffix” is an element that is attached to the end of a word, like This is the effect of the Voicing Rule: see Voicing in Appendix 1.
the English -ing in words like learning, thinking, etc. Most of the Voiced and unvoiced alternatives for other suffixes are shown in
grammatical information in a Burmese sentence is carried by the same way in the notes below.
suffixes. Most suffixes are used with just one part of speech.
Note 2. The sentence suffix -på - b a /- p a takes this position
1. Suffixes attached to sentences show whether the sentence is a
(sentence-final) in is/are sentences. For -på -b a /- p a in verb
statement or a question or a command.
2. Suffixes attached to phrases carry meanings like “also”, sentences see under verb suffixes (modality) below.
“however”, and so on. Note 3. Questions ending in -n a w encourage your listener to
3. Suffixes attached to verbs indicate tense (did go, will go etc) answer Yes (like “isn’t it?”, “don’t you?”, “won’t they?”, and so
and modality (can do, may do, want to do, is doing, etc). on), whereas questions ending in -thălá/- dh ălá don’t attempt to
4. Suffixes attached to nouns signal relationships in the same push him/her in either direction. (L 1.8)
way as English prepositions (went to Rangoon, comes from
England, go by car) and for expansion (marking plurality, Note 4. Questions that ask for information (Which? What? Why?
coordination, etc). etc) end in -thăléh (or its voiced version -dhăléh ). Questions that
can be answered with a Yes or a No end in -thălá/- dh ălá . Com-

pare these two: noun phrase verb phrase sentence suffix
Beh-ha pu-dhăléh? By\ha p¨ql´" Which one is the hot one? 9-nar^ lamy\ ena\
É h-da pu-dhălá? A´då p¨qla;" Is that one hot? kó-na-yi la-meh naw
nine o’clock come right?
Note 5. Parallel questions in -lá imply alternatives (L 12.2). See
“I’ll come at 9.0. WIll that be all right?”
the example below.
Examples of sentence suffixes noun phrase verb phrase sentence suffix

noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2 sentence suffix 9-nar^ laK´. ena\
då eka\P^ la; kó-na-yi la-géh naw
da kaw-p ’i lá nine o’clock come right?
that coffee question “You will come at nine, won’t you?”
“Is that coffee?”
2.2 Some common phrase suffixes:
noun phrase noun phrase sentence noun phrase sentence
1 2A suffix 2B suffix 1 [phrase]-l´ [phrase]-léh also (L 10.3)
då eka\P^ la; lk\Pk\rv\ la; 2 [phrase]-eta. [phrase]-dáw/-táw as for, however
da kaw-p ’i lá lăp ’ eq-ye lá 3 [phrase]-eka or [phrase]-gáw or how about? (L 9.1, 10.4,
that coffee question tea question era yáw 11.1)
“Is that coffee or tea?” 4 [phrase]-p´ [phrase]-béh/-p ’éh just, only [less than you’d
think] (L 9.4, 9.7)
noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2 sentence suffix
då eka\P^ på 5 [phrase]-p´ [phrase]-béh/-p ’éh emphatic (L 3.1, 9.1)
da kaw-p ’i ba
Examples
that coffee polite
“That is coffee (and I am expressing deference).” noun phrase + phrase suffix verb phrase ± sentence suffix
k¥m -l´ wm\;qapåty\"
noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2 sentence suffix că má -léh wún-tha-ba-deh
då Ba eka\P^ l´ I -also am pleased
da ba kaw-p ’i léh
“I’m pleased too.”
that what coffee question
“What coffee is that?” noun phrase + phrase suffix verb phrase ± sentence suffix
Aem -eta. m’kik\påB¨;"
noun phrase 1 noun phrase 2 sentence suffix ă me -dáw măcaiq-pa-bú
då eka\P^ ena\ mother -however not like
da kaw-p ’i naw “My mother, however, doesn’t like it. ”
that coffee right?
“That is coffee, isn’t it?”
noun phrase + phrase suffix verb phrase ± sentence suffix

AeP -eka ’kik\qla; [verb]-my\ + la; [verb]-mla; or [verb]-m˙ala;
ăp ’ e -gáw caiq-thălá [verb]-meh + lá [verb]-mălá or [verb]-hma-lá
father -how about like + question
“How about your father: does he like it?” Both these variants are also common before sentence suffix -léh
(-l´) “question”; and the second variant (-da, -hma ) is often found
before sentence suffix -ba (-på) “polite”(L 9.2).
Alv\ -p´ lapåty\" The question ending [verb]-qla; [verb]-dhălá has one further
Ă leh -béh la-ba-deh. variant: [verb]-r´.la; [verb]-yéh-lá (L 9.9). This form is most often
visit -only came heard in two formulaic questions:
“I have just come for a visit.” Ne-kaún-yéh-lá? enekac\;r´.la;" Are you well? (How are you?)
Pyaw-yéh-lá? ep¥a\r´.la;" Are you enjoying yourself?
d^m˙a -p´ Tuic\på Note 2. For more on [verb]-bi/- pi see under Verb paradigms
di-hma -béh t ’ain-ba below.
here -emphatic sit
“Please sit just here.” Examples
noun phrase verb phrase + verb suffix
2.3 Some common verb suffixes (tense etc): senen≥ erak\ -ty\
Săne-né yauq -teh
1 [verb]-ty\ 1 [verb]-deh/-teh 1 statement (past or present) Saturday arrive past or present
(L 1.1, 2.1) “They arrived on Saturday.”
2 [verb]-my\ 1 [verb]-meh 1 statement (future, intention) (L or “They arrive on a Saturday (regularly).”
2.2)
3 [verb]-®p^ [verb]-bi/-pi statement (has now happened) 2 noun phrase verb phrase + verb suffix
(L 7.3, 9.3) senen≥ erak\ -my\
4 m-[verb]-B¨; mă- [verb]-bú/-p ’ ú statement (negative) (L 1.4) Săne-né yauq -meh
5 [verb] [verb] request, command (positive) Saturday arrive future
(L 2.6) “They are going to arrive on Saturday.”
6 m-[verb]-n´≥ mă- [verb]-néh request, command (negative)
(L 2.6) noun phrase verb phrase + verb suffix
mN †el; erak\ -®p^la;"
Note 1. The two suffixes -teh/-deh and -meh (-ty\' -my\) usually
Mán-dălé yauq -pi-lá?
take a variant form when combined with sentence suffix -lá
Mandalay arrive has now happened-question
(-la;):
“Have they got to Mandalay yet?”
[verb]-ty\ + la; [verb]-qla; or [verb]-tala; or [verb]-la;
[verb]-deh + lá [verb]-dhălá or [verb]-da-lá or [verb]-lá
10 m-[verb]-eta.- mă- [verb]-dáw-/-táw- not [verb] any more, not

noun phrase verb phrase + verb suffix after all
mN †el; mq∑a; -B¨; (L 5.6, 6.3, 11.3)
Mán-dălé măthwá -bú 11 m-[verb]-eq;- mă- [verb]-dhé-/-thé- not [verb] yet
Mandalay not-go statement (L 9.1, 9.3, 11.3)
“They didn’t go to Mandalay.”
or “They won’t go to Mandalay.” Note 1. The verb suffix -p a /- b a - has the same effect as the
sentence suffix -p a /- b a - : both show that the speaker is being
noun phrase verb phrase + verb suffix polite. The difference is in the position of the suffix. In sentences
d^m˙a Tuic\på— with a verb -pa/- ba- is placed after the verb and before the verb
Di-hma t ’ain-ba — suffix indicating tense ([verb]-ba-deh, [verb]-ba-bi, etc), whereas
Here sit [request] in is/are sentences -p a /- b a - is placed after the second noun:
“Please sit here.” [noun 1] [noun 2]-pa/-ba .
Examples of verb suffixes (modality etc)

noun phrase verb phrase + verb suffix noun phrase verb phrase
A´d^m˙a mTuic\på -n´≥ verb +verb sfx +verb sfx
É h-di-hma măt ’ain-ba -néh (mod) (tense)
There not-sit [request] qip\ p¨ -på- -ty\
“Please don’t sit there.” Theiq pu -ba- -deh
Very be hot polite statement
2.4 Some common verb suffixes (modality etc):
“It is very hot.”
1 [verb]-på- [verb]-ba-/-pa- 1 shows the speaker is being
polite (L 1.2)
noun phrase verb phrase
2 [verb]-K¥c\- [verb]-jin-/-c ’in- want to [verb] (L 2.5)
verb +verb sfx +verb sfx
3 [verb]-Nuic\- [verb]-nain- be able to [verb] (L 5.5) (mod) (tense)
4 [verb]-tt\ - [verb]-daq-/-taq- know how to [verb], be d^m˙a Tuic\ -K¥c\- -ty\
able to [verb] (L 9.1)
Di-hma t ’ain -jin- -deh
5 [verb]-r- [verb]-yá- can, may, must, have to
Here sit want statement
[verb] (L 5.3, 5.7, 8.3)
“We want to sit here.”
6 [verb]-en- [verb]-ne- be [verb]-ing
(L 9.5, 11.1)
7 [verb]-ep;- [verb]-pé- [verb] for someone’s
benefit (L 5.9)
(mod) (tense)
8 [verb]-eta.- [verb]-dáw-/-táw- [verb] at last, finally
dêlak\ melYa. -Nuic\- -B¨;
9 [verb]-eq;- [verb]-dhé-/thé- still [verb], [verb] more
Di-lauq măsháw -nain- -bú
[verb]-AuM;- [verb]-oún- (L 4.5, 5.7, 6.6, 9.4)
This much not reduce can statement
(L 3.2, 5.4, 6.7)
“I can’t drop it that much.”

noun phrase verb phrase verb +verb sfx +verb sfx
verb +verb sfx +verb sfx (mod) (tense)
(mod) (tense) – q∑a; -eta.- my\
bmaska; e®pa -tt\- -qla;" – thwá -dáw- -meh
Bă ma săgá pyáw -daq- -thălá? – go finally statement
Burmese speak know how statement- “I am going now.”
question
“Can you speak Burmese?” noun phrase verb phrase
noun phrase verb phrase (mod) (tense)
verb +verb sfx +verb sfx – r˙i -eq;- ty\"
(mod) (tense) – shı́ -dhé- -deh
Sy\nar^m˙a la -r- -my\ – exist still, more statement
S ’ eh-na-yi-hma la -yá- -meh “There’s still more. There’s something else.”
At ten o’clock come must statement
“You will have to come at ten o’clock.” noun phrase verb phrase
verb +verb sfx +verb sfx Alup\ mlup\ -eta.- B¨;"
(mod) (tense) Ă louq mălouq -táw- -bú.
ek¥ac\;eSac\m˙a tv\; -enty\ Work not do any more statement
Caún-zaun-hma téh -ne- -deh “He doesn’t work any more.”
At a student hostel stay -ing statement
“She is staying in a student hostel.” noun phrase verb phrase
verb +verb sfx +verb sfx Alup\ mlup\ -eq;- B¨;"
(mod) (tense) Ă louq mălouq -thé- -bú.
Aim\ luik\pui≥ -ep;- my\ Work not do yet statement
E in laiq-pó -pé- -meh “He doesn’t work yet.”
Home take benefit statement
“I’ll take you home.”
2.5 Some common noun suffixes (marking relationship to verb): noun + noun suffix (rel) verb phrase ± sentence suffix
Bakisß -n´≥ laql´"
1 [noun]-m˙a [noun]-hma in/at/on [noun] (L 2.3, 5.11) Ba keiq-sá -néh la-dhăléh?
2 [noun]-k or [noun]-gá/-ká or from [noun] (L 9.2) What matter with came
-ken gá/-ká-ne “What brought you here?”
3 [noun] or [noun] or [noun]- to [noun] (L 5.1)
[noun]-kui go/-ko noun + noun suffix (rel) verb phrase ± sentence suffix
4 [noun]-n´≥ [noun]-néh with/by means of [noun] (L qa; no suffix or -k r˙s\N˙s\ r˙i®p^"
9.7) Thá- no suffix or -gá shiq-hniq shı́-bi.
5 [noun] or [noun] or [noun]- this noun is the subject of the Son subject has eight years
[noun]-k gá/-ká verb (L 10.5, 12.3) “My son is eight years old.”
6 [noun] or [noun] or [noun]- this noun is the object of the
[noun]-kui go/-ko verb (not introduced in the noun + noun suffix (rel) verb phrase ± sentence suffix
Lessons) k¥m no suffix or -kui Dåt\puM Ruik\my\"
7 [name]-lui≥ [name]-ló suffix marking end of name or
Că má no suffix or -go daq-poun yaiq-meh.
quotation; like a spoken (”) (L
Me object will photograph
3.5, 10.2)
“He’s going to take a picture of me.”
Examples
noun + noun suffix (rel) verb phrase ± sentence suffix
puqim\ -m˙a enpåty\" emr^ -lui≥ eKÅpåty\"
Meri -ló k ’aw-ba-deh.
Păthein -hma ne-ba-deh.
Mary quoted is called
Pathein in live
“She is called Mary.”
“I live in Pathein.”
2.6 Some common noun suffixes (expanding: plurality, coordi-
nation, etc)
puqim\ -k or ken lapåty\"
Păthein -gá or -gá-ne la-ba-deh. 1 [noun]-tui≥ [noun]-dó/-tó [noun] and
Pathein from come associated [noun]s
“I come from Pathein.” (see example below)
2 [noun]-et∑ [noun]-dwe [noun]s (L 12.2)
noun + noun suffix (rel) verb phrase ± sentence suffix 3 [quantity]-elak\ [quantity]-lauq approximately, about
puqim\ no suffix or -kui q∑a;påty\" [quantity] (L 9.4)
Păthein no suffix or -go thwá-ba-deh. 4 [noun1] -n´ ≥ [noun2] [noun1]-néh [noun2] [noun1] and [noun2]
Pathein to went (L 1.6, 4.1)
“I went to Pathein.”
5 [noun1] [noun2] or [noun1] [noun2] or [noun1]’s [noun2] (L

[noun1]-r´. [noun2] [noun1]-yéh [noun2] 9.5, 10.5) Compound sentence (Simple sentences 1 + 2)
or or sentence 1 sentence 2
[noun1]-creak [noun1]-creak Dat\puM Ruik\Pui≥ bma®pv\ lapåty\"
[noun2] 1 [noun2] 1 daq-poun yaiq-p ’ó Bă ma-pye la-ba-deh.
photograph take-to to Burma come
Note 1. Used only when [noun1] ends in a low tone syllable. “I came to Burma to take photographs.”
Examples Suffixes that are used to make compound sentences in this way
Ë;el;tui≥ Ú-lé-dó Uncle and associates, you are called “subordinating suffixes”. Burmese uses a large range
and your colleagues, of subordinating suffixes (e.g. [verb]-rc\ [verb]-yin “if [verb]”,
countrymen, family, etc [verb]-lui≥ [verb]-ló “because [verb]”, [verb]-t´.AKå [verb]-déh-ăk ’a
qm^;et∑ thă mÍ-dwe or -de daughters “when [verb]”), and the order is always the same as the example
edÅla 30-elak\ daw-la 30-lauq about 30 dollars above: the subordinated sentence precedes the main sentence.
Aemn´≥ AeP ă me-néh ăp ’ e mother and father Only three subordinating suffixes are introduced in this course.
Ë;el; qa; or Ú-lé thá or my uncle’s son They are:
Ë;el;r´> qa; Ú-lé-yéh thá
edÅedÅ≥ qa; Daw-dáw thá my aunt’s son 1 [verb]-Pui≥ [verb]-bó/-p ’ó in order to [verb], to [verb] (L 9.8)
2 [verb]-ta [verb]-da/-ta [verb]-ing (makes verb into noun)
3 Compound sentences (L 9.3, 9.6, 9.9)
A compound sentence is one which contains two or more 3 [verb]-lu ≥
i [verb]-ló [verb]-ing (see example below)
simple sentences. The suffix at the end of the first sentence (L 9.10)
shows that the sentence is part of a combined sentence and that
is there is more to come. Example: Examples of subordinating suffixes
sentence 1 sentence 2
Simple sentence 1 saAit\ wy\Pui≥ eZ; q∑a;ty\"
noun phrase verb phrase sa-eiq weh-bó zé thwá-deh.
Dat\puM Ruik\ty\" envelope to buy market went
daq-poun yaiq-teh. “He went to the market to buy some envelopes.”
photograph take
“I take photographs.” sentence 1 sentence 2
– et∑>rta – wm\;qapåty\"
Simple sentence 2 – Twé-yá-da – wún-tha-ba-
noun phrase verb phrase deh.
bma®pv\ lapåty\" – meet-ing you – be happy
Bă ma-pye la-ba-deh. “I am to have met you (happy at meeting you).”
to Burma come
“I came to Burma.”
sentence 1 sentence 2 Requests and commands

bma®pv\ erak\enta By\elak\ Âka®p^l´" [verb]-ba. 1 [verb]-på" 1 please do [verb] 1
Bă ma-pye yauq-ne-da beh-lauq ca-bi-léh? mă- [verb]-ba-néh. 1 m-[verb]-pån´≥" 1 please do not [verb]
to Burma arriving how much has been long? 1
“How long have you been in Burma?” Still and not yet
[verb]-bi-lá? [verb]-®p^la;" has it [verb]-ed yet?
sentence 1 sentence 2 mă- [verb]-dhé-ba- m-[verb]-eq;påB¨;" it hasn’t [verb]-ed
d^m˙a enlui≥ – ekac\;påty\" bú. yet, isn’t [verb] yet
Di-hma ne-ló – kaún-ba-deh. [verb]-bi. [verb]-®p^" it has [verb]-d now.
here live-ing – is good mă- [verb]-dáw-ba- m-[verb]-eta.påB¨;" it’s not going to
“It is good living here.” bú. [verb] after all
[verb]-dáw-meh. [verb]-eta.my\" it is just about to
4 Verb paradigms [verb] (at last)
The following list draws together for comparison some high [verb]-ne-ba-dhé- [verb]-enpåeq;ty\" it is still [verb]-ing.
frequency combinations of verb suffix and sentence suffix. In the deh.
list “someone” is used as a cover term for “someone, something, [verb]-ba-oún. [verb]-påAuM;" please [verb] more,
somewhere” etc. please continue
[verb]-ing.
Statements and questions [verb]-ba-oún-lá. [verb]-påAuM;la;" how about [verb]-
[someone] [someone] [someone] does/did ing more, could
[verb]-ba-deh. [verb]-påty\" [verb] you continue
[someone] [someone] does/did [someone] [verb]-ing? (L 5.4)
[verb]-dhălá? [verb]-qla;" [verb]? Exclamations
[ba etc] [Ba etc] [who/what/which] Theiq [verb]-da- qip\ [verb]-tap´" it’s really [verb] ! (L
[verb]-dhăléh? [verb]-ql´" does/did [verb]? béh! 9.1)
[someone] [someone] [someone] will [verb]-laiq-ta! [verb]-luik\ta" Wow! It’s [verb] !
[verb]-meh. [verb]-my\" [verb]
[someone] [someone] will [someone] Note 1. The polite suffix -ba/- pa is not obligatory in requests.
[verb]-mălá? [verb]-mla;" [verb]? You will hear requests and commands in the form “[verb]” and
[ba etc] [ Ba etc] [who/what/which] “ mă- [verb]-néh ” ; but a request with no polite suffix can sound
[verb]-măléh? [verb]-ml´" will [verb]? very peremptory, so it is prudent to use it in all requests until
[someone] [someone] [someone] does/did you are sure of what you are doing.
mă- [verb]-ba-bú. m-[verb]-påB¨;" not/ will not
[verb] Note 2. The verb suffix -yéh is nowadays virtually confined to a
[someone] [someone] does/did [someone] couple of polite formulaic inquiries and to questions implying
[verb]-yéh-lá? [verb]-r´>la;" [verb]? – I find it disbelief: “Do you really like it?! (I thought you’d hate it.)” etc.
hard to believe. 2
162 Burmese By Ear Appendix 4 Numbers 163
APPENDIX 4 Weakening with numbers

OUTLINE DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE NUMBER tiq + ya tăya 100 100
SYSTEM hniq + ya hnăya 200 200
k ’ un-hniq + ya k ’ un-năya 700 700
Figures in Burmese script
The Voicing Rule
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 --q + s ’ eh ---s ’ eh e.g. c ’auq-s ’ eh, shiq-s ’ eh 60, 80
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 --ă + s ’ eh ---s ’ eh e.g. tăs ’ eh, hnăs ’ eh, k ’ un-năs ’ eh 10, 20, 70
-- + s ’ eh ---zeh e.g. thoún-zeh, lé-zeh, ngá-zeh 30, 40, 50
The number system
Compound numbers
1 tiq 1 s ’ éh-tiq 11 hnăs ’ éh-tiq 21 shiq-t ’aun ngá-ya c ’auq-s ’ eh(-néh) hniq: 8562
2 hniq 2 s ’ éh-hniq 12 hnăs ’ éh-hniq 22 eight thousand five hundred six tens (and) two: 8562
3 thoún 3 s ’ éh-thoún 13 hnăs ’ éh-thoún 23 The initial tă- in a compound number beginning with tăs ’ eh
4 lé 4 s ’ éh-lé 14 hnăs ’ éh-lé 24 or tăt ’aun is frequently omitted; e.g.
5 ngá 5 s ’ éh-ngá 15 hnăs ’ éh-ngá 25 tăs ’ éh-kó usually s ’éh-kó 19
6 c ’auq 6 s ’ éh-c ’auq 16 hnăs ’ éh-c ’auq 26 tăt ’aún-ngá-ya usually t ’aún-ngá-ya 1500
7 k ’ un(-hniq) 7 s ’ éh-k ’ un 17 hnăs ’ éh-k ’ un 27
(-hniq) (-hniq) Ordinal numbers
8 shiq 8 s ’ éh-shiq 18 hnăs ’ éh-shiq 28 There are three ways of expressing ordinal numbers.
9 kó 9 s ’ éh-kó 19 hnăs ’ éh-kó 29 1. Ordinal numbers taken from Pali
10 tăs ’ eh 10 hnăs ’ eh 20 thoún-zeh 30 pTm păt ’ă má first [Pali pathama ]
dutiy dú-tı́-yá second [Pali dutiya ]
10 tăs ’ eh 10 tăya 100 tăt ’aun 1000 ttiy tá-tı́-yá third [Pali tatiya ]
20 hnăs ’ eh 20 hnăya 200 hnăt ’aun 2000 stutÊ sădouq-t ’á fourth [Pali catuttha ]
30 thoún-zeh 30 thoún-ya 300 thoún-daun 3000 p◊ßm pyin-ză má fifth [Pali pañ cama]
40 lé-zeh 40 lé-ya 400 lé-daun 4000 S™m s ’aq-t ’ă má sixth [Pali chat t hama ] • •
50 ngá-zeh 50 ngá-ya 500 ngá-daun 5000 qt†m thaq-t ’ă má seventh [Pali satthama ]
60 c ’auq-s ’ eh 60 c ’auq-ya 600 c ’auq-t ’aun 6000 A™m aq-t ’ă má eighth [Pali at t hama ] • •
70 k ’ un-năs ’ eh 70 k ’ un-năya 700 k ’ un-năt ’aun 7000 nwm năwă má ninth [Pali navama ]
80 shiq-s ’ eh 80 shiq-ya 800 shiq-t ’aun 8000 dqm tenth [Pali dasama ]
dá-thă má
90 kó-zeh 90 kó-ya 900 kó-daun 9000
Most people know the first three of this list, but the remainder
are less and less frequently used the higher they come up the
0 thoun-nyá zero tăt ’aun 1,000
number scale. Pali ordinals above dá-thă má are used in scholarly
tăk ’ ú 1 tăthaún 10,000 texts, but are rare in colloquial speech.
tăs ’ eh 10 tătheı́n 100,000
tăya 100 tăthán 1,000,000 2. In some contexts cardinal numbers are used as ordinals; e.g.
Sy\tn\; s ’ eh-dán Tenth Standard The Round Number Rule:

(in school) COUNTWORD+NUMBER+TENS/HUNDREDS etc
e®Kak\Sy\. kui;N˙s\T´ c ’auq-s ’ éh kó-hniq-t ’ éh in his 69th year
Standard order Round number order
3. Order is expressed by the formula CARDINAL + number + countword countword + number + tens/hundreds etc
COUNTWORD + myauq (or myauq-téh ) NOUN; e.g. hnăs ’ eh-kó măniq m ı́-niq thoún- zeh
r˙s\Âkim\e®mak\ shiq-cein-myauq hniq- Eighth Annual 29 minutes 30 minutes
N˙s\pt\lv\ paq-leh ăsı́-ăwé Meeting (“eight- N˙s\Sy\.kui;mins\ mins\ quM; Sy\
Asv\;Aew; time-myauq ”minutes three tens”
annual meeting”)
cå;rk\e®mak\t´. en> ngá-yeq-myauq-téh né the fifth day (“five- lé-ya kó-zéh kó mi-ta mi-ta ngá- ya
day-myauq-téh 499 metres 500 metres
day”) el;ra kui;Sy\.kui; m^ta m^ta cå; ra
Sy\.N˙s\eyak\e®mak\ s’éh-hnăyauq-myauq the twelfth soldier “metres five hundreds”
ss\qa; siq-thá (“twelve-person-
myauq soldier”) hnăya hnăs ’ éh-ngá daw-la daw-la hnăyá-thoún- zeh
225 dollars 230 dollars
Counting N˙s\ra. N˙s\Sy\. cå; edÅla edÅla N˙s\ra. quM; Sy\
“dollars 200 + 3 tens”
Two-part number phrases
Standard order: NUMBER + COUNTWORD tăya s ’ éh-c ’auq tan tan tăyá tă s ’ eh
number countword 116 tons 110 tons
thoún mi-ta 3 metres ts\ra Sy\.e®Kak\tn\ tn\ ts\ra. ts\ Sy\
s ’ éh-ngá măniq 15 minutes “tons 100 + 1 ten”
thoún-zéh-kó daw-la 39 dollars
EXCEPTION: The word s ’ eh "ten" on its own, although it ends in
Weakening with countwords (as for tens and hundreds etc): 0, is not subject to the Round Number Rule.
tiq + mi-ta tă mi-ta 1 metre Sy\m^ta s’eh mi-ta 10 metres
s ’ éh-hniq + măniq s ’éh-hnă măniq 12 minutes Sy\edÅla s’eh daw-la 10 dollars
thoun-zéh k ’ un-hniq + daw-la thoún-zéh k ’ un-nădaw-la Sy\mins\ s’eh măniq 10 minutes
37 dollars
Three-part number phrases
Standard order: NOUN + NUMBER + COUNTWORD
Number phrases with units of measurement like the
metres, dollars and minutes in the examples above have only
two components: the number and the countword. When you are
specifying quantities of some substance, the number phrase
contains three components: the noun + the number + the count- other than -k ’ ú/-gu´ , sometimes called “classifying countwords” or
word (i.e. the measuring unit). Examples: “classifiers”; e.g.:
noun number countword number phrase noun number countword number phrase
laı́n-jú c ’auq k ’weq six glasses of limejuice two T-shirts
ti-shaq hnă t ’ eh
limejuice six glass T-shirt two garment (using the countword for
luic\;Âkø; e®Kak\ K∑k\ t^r˙t\ N˙s\ Tv\ clothes)
Peq-si lé pălı́n six bottles of Pepsi one ball-point pen
báw-pin tă c ’aún
Pepsi four bottle ball pen one long thing (using the countword for
pk\s^ el; pulc\; eBapc\ ts\ eK¥ac\; pens, knives, teeth, sticks,
p ’ălin thoún leiq three rolls of film legs etc)
film three roll three friends
meiq-s’we thoún yauq
Plc\ quM; lip\ friend three person (using the countword for
bi-ya s ’ éh-c ’auq bú sixteen cans of beer mit\eS∑ quM; eyak\ persons)
beer sixteen can 24 light bulbs
mÍ-dhÍ hnăs ’ éh-lé loún
B^ya Sy\.e®Kak\ B¨; light bulb twenty round (using the countword for
m^;q^; four thing round things: balls, fruit,
Counting as “items” N˙s\Sy\.el; luM; cans, etc)
Burmese uses exactly the same pattern when counting discrete
items such as hamburgers, biscuits, calendars etc. In place of the k ’wé hnă kaun two dogs
unit of measurement used in the examples above, you use the dog two animal (using the countword for
countword -k ’ú (or voiced -gú ) “item”. eK∑; N˙s\ ekac\ animals, birds, fish, etc)
noun number countword number phrase seq-beı́n lé zı́ four bicycles
han-ba-ga c ’auq k ’ ú six hamburgers bicycle four mount (using the countword for
hamburger six item sk\B^; el; s^; vehicles, cars, boats, etc,
hn\Bagå e®Kak\ Ku and riding animals)
pyeq- shiq k ’ ú eight calendars The Round Number Rule:

k ’ădein eight item NOUN+NUMBER+TENS/HUNDREDS etc
calendar r˙s\ Ku In three-part number phrases containing a round number, the
®pkdin\ round number replaces the countword:
pó-săkaq thoún gú three postcards noun number round number number phrase
postcard three item replacing countword
pui≥skd\ quM; Ku pó-săkaq thoún zeh thirty postcards
postcard three ten
“Classifying” countwords pui≥skd\ quM; Sy\
Some discrete items are placed in “classes” for counting
purposes, and for these items there are specific countwords,
ti-shaq hnă t ’aun two thousand T- Days in the month

T-shirt two thousand shirts rk\en≥ yeq-né day of the month
t^r˙t\ N˙s\ eTac\ Sy\.e®Kak\rk\en≥ s ’ éh-c ’auq yeq-né the sixteenth
siq-thá thoún ya three hundred N˙s\Sy\rk\en≥ hnăs ’ eh yeq-né the twentieth
soldier three hundred soldiers By\N˙s\rk\en≥l´" Beh-hnăyeq-né-léh? What date?
ss\qa; quM; ra By\N˙s\rk\en≥ laml´" Beh-hnăyeq-né la- What date will
sı́-găreq hnăyá ngá zeh 250 cigarettes măléh? (they) come?
cigarette 200 + 5 ten
s^;krk\ N˙s\ra. cå; Sy\ Weekdays
en≥ né day (of the week)
DATES tngçeN∑en≥ Tănı́n-gănwe-né Sunday
tnlçaen≥ Tănı́n-la-né Monday
Years Agçåen≥ In-ga-né Tuesday
N˙s\ hniq year budÎh¨;en≥ Bouq-dăhú-né Wednesday
-Ku -k ’ ú/-gú unit Âkaqped;en≥ Ca-dhăbădé-né Thursday
Example: 1964 = eqaÂkaen≥ Thauq-ca-né Friday
ts\eTac\. kui;ra. e®Kak\Sy\. el;Ku N˙s\ senen≥ Săne-né Saturday
Tăt ’aún kó-ya c ’auq-s ’ éh lé-gú hniq By\en≥ laml´" Beh-né la-măléh? What day will
One thousand nine hundreds six tens four units year (they) come?
senen≥ lamy\" Săne-né la-meh. They are coming on
Seasons Saturday.
mui;raq^ mó-ya-dhi rainy season (June to October)
eSac\;raq^ s ’aún-ya-dhi cool season (November to February) If you find it difficult to memorise the names of the days of the
eN∑raq^ nwe-ya-dhi hot season (March to May) week don’t worry unduly: most of the people you are likely to
meet will know the English names anyway.
Months
l lá month Dates in Burmese run from large units to small:
g¥n\nwår^l Jan-năwa-ri-lá January ts\eTac\ kui;ra el;Sy\. r˙s\Ku N˙s\' g¥n\nwår^l' el;rk\en≥
ePePa\wår^l P ’ e-baw-wa-ri-lá February Tăt ’aun kó-ya lé-zéh shiq-k ’ ú hniq, Jan-năwa-ri-lá, lé-yeq-né
mt\l Maq-lá March, etc One-thousand nine-hundred four-tens eight-units year,
January month, fourth day
There is a traditional Burmese calendar, with months based on = The fourth of January, nineteen hundred and forty eight
the waxing and waning of the moon and a year that starts in
April, but most Burmese are familiar with the Western system TIME
and the English names of the months, so the Burmese month Hours and minutes
names are not given here. AK¥in\ ăc ’ ein time
nar^ na-yi hour
mins\ mı́-niq or măniq minute PRICES

quM;nar^ thoún-na-yi three o’clock
KuN˙s\nar^ k ’ un-năna-yi seven o’clock eZ; or APui; zé or ăp ’ó price
e®Kak\nar^K∑´ c ’auq-na-yi-gwéh half past six o’clock puik\SM or ec∑ paiq-s ’an or ngwe money
kui;nar^ Sy\.cå;mins\ kó-na-yi s ’ éh-ngá 9.15 k¥p\ caq kyat (= 100 pya) 1
măniq ®pa; pyá pya (100 pya = 1
Sy\nar^ Sy\mins\ s ’ eh-na-yi s ’ eh 10.10 kyat)
măniq r˙s\k¥p\ shiq-caq eight kyats (often
el;nar^ lé-na-yi thoún-zéh- 4.35 written 8/-)
quM;Sy\.cå;mins\ ngá-măniq r˙s\Sy\. e®Kak\k¥p\ shiq-s ’ éh-c ’auq-caq eighty-six kyats
By\AK¥in\ laml´ Beh ăc ’ ein la-măléh? What time will you (86/-)
come? Sy\.r˙s\k¥p\ e®Kak\®pa; s ’ éh-shiq-caq c ’auq- eighteen kyats and
pyá six pya (18/06)
The Round Number Rule applies to minutes (other than “10 N˙s\k¥p\K∑´ hnăcaq-k ’wéh two kyats and a half
minutes” itself) as it does to other units: (2 kyats and 50
mins\ cå;Sy\ mı́-niq ngá-zeh 50 minutes pya, 2/50)
(minutes 5 tens)
ts\nar^ mins\ N˙s\Sy\ tăna-yi mı́-niq hnăs’eh 1.20 or 1 hr and Note 1. The pya was in use till the early 1990s, but inflation
20 mins (1 hr, drove its value so low that it is no longer in use today (2001).
mins 2 tens) The word is sometimes used for prices in US or UK currency,
when pya = US cent or UK penny.
Sy\.N˙s\nar^ mins\ s ’ éh-hnăna-yi mı́-niq lé- 12.40 or 12 hrs
el;Sy\ zeh and 40 mins
After numbers the Voicing Rule makes caq into jaq , and pyá into
(12 hrs, mins 4
byá , except after -q , or after hnă - or nă - (see the note in Section
tens)
10):
el;k¥p\ lé-jj a q hnăs ’éh- four kyats and K4/25
Parts of the day
N˙s\Sy\.cå;®pa; ngá-b a´
b y á twenty-five
mnk\ măneq morning, a.m.
pya
ven nyá-ne afternoon, p.m. e®Kak\k¥p\ r˙s\®pa; c’auq-cc a q shiq- six kyats and K6/08
v nyá night, evening eight pya
p y áa´
mnk\ KuN˙s\nar^ măneq k ’ un-năna-yi 7.45 a.m. seven kyats K7/02
KuN˙s\k¥p\ N˙s\®pa; k’un-năc caq
el;Sy\.cå;mins\ lé-zéh-ngá-măniq and two pya
hnăp a´
p y á
v kui;nar^ mins\N˙s\Sy\ nyá kó-na-yi mı́-niq 9.20 p.m.
hnăs ’ eh The Round Number Rule applies to currency as to other units:
en≥ly\ né-leh midday ®pa; cå;Sy\ pya five tens 50 pya
pyá ngá-zeh
vqn\;eKåc\ nyá thăgaun midnight el;Sy\.el;k¥p\ lé-zéh-lé-jaq forty-four K44/40
®pa; el;Sy\ pyá lé´ -zeh kyat, pya
four tens
172 Burmese By Ear Appendix 5 Topical vocabularies 173
APPENDIX 5
When kyat are counted in round numbers, the word k¥p\ caq is TOPICAL VOCABULARIES
usually omitted:
N˙s\Sy\' hnăs ’ eh or (money) two K20 Topical vocabularies
ec∑N˙s\Sy\ ngwe hnăs ’ eh tens 5.1 Food and drinks
el;ra' lé-ya or ngwe (money) four K400 5.2 Sites and placenames
ec∑el;ra lé-ya hundreds 5.3 Kin terms
5.4 You and I
The number ten, with currency as with other units, is exempt 5.5 This, that and what
from the Round Number Rule: 5.6 Traditional Burmese clothing
Sy\edÅla s ’ eh-daw-la ten-dollar $10
Sy\mt\ s ’ eh-maq ten-mark DM10 TOPICAL VOCABULARY 5.1
FOOD AND DRINKS
except with Burmese currency:
ts\Sy\' tăs ’ eh or ngwe money one ten K10
The list below gives a selection of common items to choose from
ec∑ts\Sy\ and add to. Smaller cafés and restaurants tend to specialise in
tăs ’ eh
one type of cuisine, mostly Indian, Chinese, Burmese or Euro-
pean, according to the racial origins of the proprietor. Larger es-
Fractions of a kyat (in use till the 1980s)
tablishments offer a wider range.
ts\mt\ tă maq one quarter K-/25
quM;mt\ thoún-maq three quarters K-/75
Drinks
cå;m¨; ngá-mú five mu K-/50 ăye Arv\ juice
lein-maw-ye lim\ema\rv\ orange juice
than-băya-ye qMpurarv\ lime juice
can-ye ÂkMrv\ sugar cane juice
p ’yaw-ye eP¥a\rv\ fruit juice (“infused juice”)
bı́-laq-ye Bilp\rv\ sweet carbonated drink (“foreign
juice”)
lăp ’ eq-ye lk\Pk\rv\ tea
nwá-nó, nó N∑a;Nui≥ or just Nui≥ milk
nó-é Nui≥eA; cold milk
p ’a-lu-da Pål¨då faluda
ye er water
ye-nwé-ján ereN∑;Âkm\; plain tea (“water + warm + crude”)
ye-jeq-é erk¥k\eA; chilled boiled water (“water + boiled
+ cold”)
ăyeq Ark\ alcoholic drink
Café snacks ngá cå; fish

ye-géh-moún erK´mun\≥ ice cream ú U egg
keiq-moún kit\mun\≥ cake ceq-ú Âkk\U chicken egg
i-ca-kwé A^Âkaek∑; dough stick béh-ú BÚ duck egg
bi-săkiq B^sks\ biscuit (cookie) péh-byá p´®pa; tofu, bean curd
pu-dı́n p¨dc\; pudding (like a set pyi-jı́-ngá ®pv\Âk^;cå; squid
custard) ngăshı́n cå;r˙√\≥ eel
paun-moún epåc\mun\≥ bread ăthéh Aq´ or Aqv\; liver
nan-byá nM®pa; Indian nan bread kăli-za kl^za giblets
t ’áw-baq eTapt\ butter nan-yó nMRui; rib
paun-moún t ’áw-baq-thouq epåc\mun\≥eTapt\qut\ buttered bread weq-u-jaún wk\AëK¥ac\; sausage
nan-byá t ’áw-baq-thouq nM®pa;eTapt\qut\ buttered nan gănán k%n\; crab
péh-byouq p´‘pt\ boiled dried peas k ’ăyú KRu oyster
să mu-s’a sm¨Sa samusa theq-thaq-luq qk\qt\l∑t\ vegetarian food
păla-ta plata parata
p ’ eq-t ’ouq Pk\Tup\ wonton – Methods of cooking
pauq-si epåk\s^ Chinese dumpling -p ’ouq -Put\ baked
kaw-byán-(leiq)-jaw eka\®pn\≥(lip\)eÂka\ spring roll -hlaw -el˙a\ parched
ăthouq Aqup\ dressed salad -kin/-gin -kc\ baked, roast, grilled
jı́n-dhouq g¥c\;qup\ fresh ginger salad -paún/-baún -epåc\; steamed
k ’ăyán-jin-dhı́-dhouq Krn\;K¥√\q^;qup\ tomato salad -pyouq/-byouq -‘pt\ boiled
băzun-dhouq puz∑n\qup\ prawn salad -caw/-jaw -eÂka\ fried
-s ’i-byan -S^®pn\ stewed
Hot meals -thouq -qut\ dressed salad
– Starches -ăc ’auq -Ae®Kak\ dried
t ’ă mı́n Tmc\; cooked rice kaun-loún ekac\luM; whole (e.g. chicken)
k ’auq-s ’wéh eKåk\S∑´ noodles -loún -luM; ball (e.g. fish-ball)
nán-jı́ nn\;Âk^; thick noodles ăsaq Asp\ spicy, hot to taste
ca-zan ÂkazM vermicelli ăc ’in AK¥√\ sour tasting
ăc ’o AK¥oi sweet
– Proteins c ’o-c ’in K¥oiK¥√\ sweet and sour
ăthá Aqa; meat
weq-thá wk\qa; pork (“pig meat”) – Names of dishes
ă méh-dhá Am´qa; beef (“beef meat”) hı́n hc\; curry
s ’ eiq-thá Sit\qa; mutton (“goat meat”) t ’ă mı́n-jaw Tmc\;eÂka\ fried rice
béh-dhá B´qa; duck (“duck meat”) dan-bauq t ’ă mı́n dn\epåk\Tmc\; pulao rice
ceq-thá Âkk\qa; chicken (“poultry meat”) k ’auq-s ’wéh-jaw eKåk\S∑éÂka\ fried noodles
băzun puz∑n\ prawn k ’auq-s ’wéh-byouq eKåk\S∑´‘pt\ boiled noodles
ăseı́n-jaw Asim\;eÂka\ fried vegetables k ’ăyán-dhı́ Krm\;q^; aubergine, brinjal,

tauq-tauq-caw etak\etak\eÂka\ fried minced meat eggplant
moún-hı́n-gá mun\≥hc\;Kå; fish soup eaten with noodles k ’ăyán-jin-dhı́ Krm\;K¥√\q^; tomato
tó-zăya tui≥sra to-zaya kaiq-lan kuik\ln\ Chinese kale
hı́n-jo hc\;K¥oi thin soup kănyuq kV∑t\ asparagus
kăzún kn\s∑n\; water cress
– Flavourings kăzún-ú kn\s∑n\;U sweet potato
ngăpı́ cå;pi or cpi fish paste măjı́-dhı́ mn\k¥v\;q^; tamarind
péh-ngăpı́ pćå;pi or cpi soy bean sauce moun-hnyı́n mun\vc\; mustard leaf
ăc ’in AK¥√\ sour sauce moun-la(-ú) mun\la(U) radish
jı́n g¥c\; or K¥c\; ginger moun-la-ú-ni mun\laUn^ beetroot
ngăyouq cRut\ chilli moun-la-ú-wa mun\laUwå carrot
s ’á Sa; salt ngăyouq-thı́ cRut\q^; chilli
ngăyouq-kaún cRut\ekac\; pepper (corns) p ’ăyoun PRuM pumpkin
pán-gaw-bi pn\;egÅB^ cauliflower
– Plants péh p´ bean, pea, pulse
-pin -pc\ plant péh-bin-bauq p´pc\epåk\ bean sprouts
-thı́ -q^; fruit péh-daún-she pétac\.r˙v\ runner bean
-yweq -R∑k\ leaf peı́n-ú pin\;U taro
-ú -U tuber pyaún-bú e®pac\;P¨; maize, sweet corn
-yó -Rui; stem s ’ălaq-yweq Slt\R∑k\ lettuce
-pán -pn\; flower thăk ’wá-dhı́ qK∑a;q^; cucumber
-sı́ -es. seed yoún-băde(di)-dhı́ RuM;pet(or t^)q^; lady’s fingers, okra
– Vegetables – Fruit
hı́n-dhı́-hı́n-yweq hc\;q^;hc\;R∑k\ vegetable áw-za-dhı́ Âqzaq^; custard apple
(“curry-fruits + curry-leaves”) ceq-mauq-thı́ Âkk\emak\q^; rambutan
a-lú Aal¨; potato cwéh-gáw-dhı́ kÁékaq^; pomelo
bú-dhı́ B¨;q^; gourd dú-yı́n-dhı́ d¨;rc\;q^; durian
c ’in-baun K¥√\epåc\ roselle lein-maw-dhı́ lim\ema\q^; tangerine
ceq-hı́n-gá-dhı́ Âkk\hc\;Kå;q^; bitter gourd ma-lăka-dhı́ malkaq^; guava
ceq-thun-byu Âkk\q∑n\®Pø garlic măyán-dhı́ mrn\;q^; marian
ceq-thun-ni Âkk\q∑n\n^ onion meq-mán-dhı́ mk\mn\;q^; damson
gaw-bi-douq egÅB^Tup\ cabbage meq-mun-dhı́ mk\m∑n\q^; peach
gaw-răk ’á-dhı́ egårKå;q^; chayote mı́n-guq-thı́ mc\;k∑t\q^; mangosteen
hmo mOi mushroom na-naq-thı́ nant\q^; pineapple
hmyiq mYs\ bamboo shoots ngăpyáw-dhı́ c˙k\ep¥aq^; banana
oún-dhı́ Aun\;q^; coconut
p ’ăyéh-dhı́ Pr´q^; water melon yaq-kweq rp\k∑k\ neighbourhood, quarter

pán-dhı́ pn\;q^; apple myó-neh ‘mi>ny\ Township
peı́n-néh-dhı́ piN~´q^; jackfruit taı́n tuic\; Division
săbyiq-thı́ sp¥s\q^; grape pyi-neh ®pv\ny\ State
shauq-thı́ er˙ak\q^; grapefruit Bo-jouq Lán buil\K¥op\lm\; Bogyoke Street
(but tastes like lemon) Măha Ban-dú-lá Lán mhabNÎollm\; Maha Bandoola Street
t ’aw-baq-thı́ eTapt\q^; avocado pear Ă naw-yăt ’a Lán Aena\rTalm\; Anawrahta Street
than-băya-dhı́ qMpraq^; lime K án-ná Lán km\;na;lm\; Strand Road
thăyeq-thı́ qrk\q^; mango K oun-dheh Lán kun\qv\lm\; Merchant Street
thi-ho-zı́ q^huiL\es. cashew nuts Pán-zó-dán pn\;Sui;tn\; Pansodan Street
thiq-taw-dhı́ qs\eta\q^; pear Shwe Boun-dha Lán eRWBuMqalm\; Shwe Bontha Street
thı́n-báw-dhı́ qeBçaq^; papaya Pye Lán ®pv\lm\; Pyay Road (Prome
zı́-dhı́ S^;q^; wild plum Road)
Ú W ı́-sa-rá Lán Ë;wisarlm\; U Wisara Road
– Other foods 88 Bo-jouq Lán 88 buil\K¥op\lm\; 88 Bogyoke Street
paun-moún epåc\mun\≥ bread 45 Măha Ban-dú-lá 45 mhabNÎollm\; 47 Maha Bandoola
t ’áw-baq eTapt\ butter Lán Street
bi-săkiq B^sks\ biscuit, cookie
c ’ ı́s K¥is\ cheese Religious centres
ngan-pya-ye cM®parv\ fish sauce p ’ăyá Bura; pagoda
nwá-nó N∑a;Nui≥ milk (also used to refer to Buddha images and the Buddha himself)
thăjá qÂka; sugar Shwe-dăgoun P ’ăyá eRWtig uMBura; Shwedagon Pagoda
s ’i S^ oil S ’ ú-le P ’ăyá S¨;elBura; Sule Pagoda
kaw-p ’i-hmoún eka\P^mOn\≥ instant coffee Ngá-daq-cı́ P ’ăyá cå;Tp\Âk^;Bura; Ngadatkyi Pagoda
nó-hmoún Nui≥mOn\≥ milk powder Bo-tăt ’aun P ’ăyá bu l
i t
\ s\ e Tac\ B r
u a; Botahtaung Pagoda
nó-zi Nui≥S^ condensed milk Meh-lă mú P ’ăyá my\ l mu B r
u a; Mailamu Pagoda
thăjá-loún qÂka;luM; sweets, candy ze-di est^ pagoda
Kăba-é Ze-di kmıaeA;est^ World Peace Pagoda
p ’oún-jı́ caún Bun\;Âk^;ek¥ac\; monastery
TOPICAL VOCABULARY 5.2 yeiq-tha ri pq
\ a meditation centre
SITES AND PLACENAMES Măha-si Y eiq-tha mhasv\rip\qa The Mahasi Meditation
Centre
A selection of the names of places and sites you may need to băli bl^ mosque
know p ’ăyá shiq-k ’ó-jaún Bura;r˙iKui;ek¥ac\; church (“lord-revere-
Homes and addresses monastery”)
ein Aim\ house, home
lán lm\; road, street Offices
taiq tuik\ building yoún RuM; office
Myan-ma T ’ăreh-beh ®mn\maTry\by\RuM; Myanmar Travel office

Y oún Public buildings
wun-jı́-yoún wn\Âk^;RuM; ministry (“Minister’s youn RuM large public building
office”) bu-da-youn B¨taRuM railway station (“station build-
than-yoún qMRuM; embassy (“envoy- ing”)
office”) youq-shin-youn Rup\r˙c\RuM cinema (“image-moving +
Byı́-tı́-shá Than-yoún ®bitiqYqMRuM; British Embassy building”)
Ă me-rı́-kan Than- Aemrikn\qMRuM; American Embassy seq-youn sk\RuM factory (“machine building”)
yoún ălouq-youn Alup\RuM workshop (“work building”)
Á w-sătré-lyá Than- ÂqseÂt;l¥qMRuM; Australian Embassy tăreiq-s ’an-youn tirsÍan\RuM zoo (“animal building”)
yoún ăthan-hlwı́n-youn AqMlWc\.RuM broadcasting station (“sound-
le-yin-yoún elya√\RuM; airline office broadcast-building”)
T ’aı́n Le-yin-yoún Tuic\;elya√\RuM; Thai Airways office Myan-má Ă than ®mn\ma.AqM Voice of Myanmar (national
Bı́-mán Le-yin-yoún Bimn\;elya√\RuM; Bangladesh Biman broadcasting station)
office s ’ é-youn eS;RuM hospital (“medicine building”)
Myan-ma Le-yin-yoún ®mn\maelya√\RuM; Myanmar Airways s ’ é-gán eS;Kn\; clinic (“medicine room”)
office yéh-t ’a-ná r´@an police station
tăyá-yoún tra;RuM; law court t ’aun eTac\ prison
Ín-sein T ’aun Ac\;sin\eTac\ Insein Jail
Hotels and restaurants ein-dha Aim\qa toilet
ho-teh huity\ hotel (or restaurant)
ka-ra-o-ke karaAuiek karaoke Markets and shops
Săt ’ărı́n H o-teh sTrc\;huity\ Strand Hotel zé eZ; market
Dăgoun H o-teh dg un\huity\ Dagon Hotel Bo-jouq Zé buil\K¥op\eZ; Bogyoke Market
Săk ’án-dha H o-teh sKn\;qahuity\ Sakantha Hotel Thein-jı́ Zé qim\Âk^;eZ; Theingyi Market
Y ó-má H o-teh Rui;mhuity\ Yoma Hotel Lăha-byin Zé lha®pc\eZ; The Open Air Market
Ín-yá Leiq H o-teh Ac\;ya;lip\huity\ Inya Lake Hotel s ’ain Suic\ shop
Thă mădá H o-teh qmμthuity\ President Hotel sá-thauq-s ’ain sa;eqak\Suic\ restaurant (“eat-drink + shop”)
Kărăweiq H o-teh krwik\huity\ Karaweik Hall and ăé-zain AeA;Suic\ cold drinks bar
Restaurant (“cold things + shop”)
“Buildings” lăp ’ eq-ye-zain lk\Pk\rv\Suic\ café (“tea shop”)
taiq tuik\ brick or stone building daq-poun-zain Dåt\puMSuic\ photography shop
ban-daiq B%\tuik\ bank (“bank building”) (“photograph shop”)
pyá-daiq ®ptuik\ museum (“exhibit building”) zăbin-hnyaq-s ’ain SMpc\V˙p\Suic\ barber’s
sa-daiq satuik\ post office (“letter building”) (“hair cut shop”)
koun-daiq kun\tuik\ department store s ’an-thá-zain SMqSuic\ hairdresser’s
(“goods building”) (“hair beautify shop”)
sa-cı́-daiq saÂkv\.tuik\ library (“text-study + building”) s ’ é-zain eS;Suic\ chemist’s (“medicine shop”)
zănı́ zn^; wife (deferential)

Educational institutes k ’in-bún Kc\p∑n\; husband (deferential)
teq-kătho tk˚quil\ university yauq-cá eyak¥\a; husband (casual)
Y an-goun Teq-kătho rn\kun\tk˚quil\ University of Yangon meı́n-má min\;m wife (casual)
caún ek¥ac\; monastery, school yı́-zá rv\;sa; sweetheart, fiancé/e
ăt ’ eq-tán caún ATk\tn\;ek¥ac\; high school ăs ’ eq ASk\ sweetheart, fiancé/e
caún-zaun ek¥ac\;eSac\ hostel, dorm thá qa; son
thă mı́ qm^; daughter
Open air places myı́ e®m; grandchild
pán-jan pn\;®KM garden, park meiq-s’we mit\eS∑ friend
(“flower enclosure”) ú-lé Ë;el; uncle
ú-yin Uy¥a√\ garden, park daw-daw/ ădaw edÅedÅ/AedÅ aunt
Pyi-dhú Ú-yin ®pv\q¨>Uy¥a√\ People’s Park ă má Am sister (older than self)
ye-kú-gan erk¨;kn\ swimming pool ăko Akui brother (older than self)
(“water-cross + pool”) maun emac\ brother (of female, younger
gauq-kwı́n egåk\k∑c\; golf course (“golf field”) than self)
á-kăzá-gwı́n Aa;ksa;k∑c\; sports field nyi v^ brother (of male, younger than
(“strength-play + field”) self)
nyi-má v^m sister (younger than self)
Transport tu t¨ nephew
le-yin-gwı́n elya√\k∑c\; air field (“air-vehicle + field”) tu-má t¨m niece
le-zeiq elSip\ airport (“air port”)
thı́n-báw-zeiq qeBçaSip\ dock, embarcation point Kin terms are frequently modified in one of two ways.
(“ship port”) 1. They may be duplicated, which has the effect of making them
ká-geiq ka;git\ bus depôt (“car gate”) sound more affectionate; e.g.
hmaq-tain m˙t\tuic\ bus stop ădaw AedÅ aunt
bu-da(-youn) B¨ta(RuM) railway station daw-daw edÅedÅ – auntie
ă me Aem mother
me-me emem – mummy
TOPICAL VOCABULARY 5.3 and so on for almost all the kin terms.
KIN TERMS
2. They may be followed by a suffix indicating relative age: most
ăp ’ó APui; grandfather frequently
ăp ’wá AP∑a; grandmother -jı́ -Âk^; older
ăp ’ e AeP father -lé -el; younger
ă me Aem mother -laq -lt\ middle
ă myó-thá Am¥oi;qa; husband, boyfriend
ă myó-thă mı́ Am¥oi;qm^; wife, girlfriend
Examples: speaker)” and că má “I (female speaker)”. Careful speakers

ăko-jı́ AkuiÂk^; older brother say cun-daw and cun-má , but the slightly shortened forms
daw-lé edÅel; younger aunt cănaw and că má are more common. Originally the words
thá-laq qa;lt\ middle son meant “your honoured servant” and “your female servant”
respectively.
TOPICAL VOCABULARY 5.4 (b) Among friends and family (and in some contexts to strangers)
YOU AND I people often use kin terms for “I” – the words for “Uncle”,
“Sister”, “Son” etc (L 10.4).
Burmese does have words that correspond to you and I and it (c) Teachers and Buddhist monks often use their title: S ’ăya
and other English pronouns, but most of the time it’s quite clear (male) or S ’ăya-má (female) “Teacher”, P ’oún-jı́ “Monk”, etc.
from the situation who or what you are talking about, so people A lay person speaking to a monk refers to him/herself as
simply leave out those words (L 1.3). For example, in the follow- Tăbyı́-daw (male) or Tăbyı́-daw-má (female) “Your disciple”.
ing exchange: (d) Children and young women often use their names to refer to
S1 Caiq-teh-naw? You like it, don’t you? themselves; e.g. a girl named Má Sán Sán might say
S2 H ouq-kéh. Caiq-pa-deh. Yes, I do. Sán Sán-léh caiq-pa-deh. sm\;sm\;l´ ’kik\påty\" I like it too.
all you are in fact saying in Burmese is – Literally: “San San likes it too.”
S1 Caiq-teh-naw? Like, right?
S2 H ouq-kéh. Caiq-pa-deh. True. Like. Words for he, she, and it are normally omitted in the same way as
words for you and I . When you need one, you can use thu ; e.g.
When you can’t avoid using a word for “you” (as you couldn’t, Că má caiq-teh. k¥m ’kik\ty\" I like it.
for example, in “I’m fine. How are you?”) you have a range of Thu măcaiq-pa-bú. q¨ m’ki k p
\ åB¨ ; " She doesn’t.
options. The most common are listed below in order of
frequency. Plural pronouns
Equivalents for English we, you (plural) and they are made
(a) kin terms, such as Ú-lé “uncle”, Daw-daw “aunt”, etc (for by adding the suffix -dó to the singular form; e.g.
more see L 7.1, 7.2) singular plural
(b) a title such as S ’ăya-má “teacher”, Than-ă maq-cı́ cănaw I cănaw-dó we (man speaking)
“Ambassador”, Ă shin-p ’ăyá “Reverend Sir” că má I că má-dó we (woman speaking)
(c) the person’s name (if you know it), normally with a prefix thu he, she, it thu-dó they
(see L 10.1) You and I using kin term
(d) as a fallback, the word Meiq-s ’we “friend” (L 10.4) Daw-daw I (Aunt) Daw-daw-dó we
Daw-daw you (Aunt) Daw-daw-dó you (plural)
Similarly there are occasions when you are forced to use a word You and I using title
for “I” (e.g. when saying “And I am happy to have met you.”). S ’ăya I (Teacher) S ’ăya-dó we
The Burmese equivalents for “I” are equally varied (L 10.5). S ’ăya you (Teacher) S ’ăya-dó you (plural)
You and I using name
(a) Perhaps the most common equivalents, in courteous speech Sán Sán I (San San) Sán Sán-dó we
between social equals, are the words cănaw “I (male Sán Sán you (San San) Sán Sán-dó you (plural)
TOPICAL VOCABULARY 5.5

THIS, THAT AND WHAT Other interrogatives
beh By\ [noun] di d^ [noun] éh-di A´d^ ho hui [noun] ba [noun] what [noun]? Ba [noun]
which this [noun] [noun] that [noun] – Da ba zé-léh? – What market is that? – då BaeZ;l´ "
[noun]? (near speaker) that [noun] there (some – Da ba-léh? – What is that? – då Bal´ "
(near listener) way off) beh-lauq how much By\elak\ *
Examples beh-lauq ca-ja for how long By\elak\ÂkaÂka
beh-beq di-beq d^Bk\ éh-di-beq ho-beq huiBk\ beh-hnă- how many … By\N˙s\-
By\Bk\ this/that A´d^Bk\ that way beh-hnă-na-yi at what time By\N˙s\nar^
which way? way that way over there beh-doún-gá when (in the past) By\tun\;k *
ho-lán huilm\; beh-dáw when (in the future) By\eta.
beh-lán By\lm\; di-lán d^lm\; éh-di-lán that road beh-lo how, in what way By\lui *
which road? this/that A´d^lm\; there beh-ăc ’ ein at what time By\AK¥in\ *
beh-ha By\ha road that road ho-ha huiha beh-dhu who By\q¨
which thing? di-ha d^ha éh-di-ha A´d^ha that thing, ba-p ’yiq-ló why Ba®Ps\lui≥
which one? this thing, that thing, that one ba-jaún why, for what reason BaeÂkac\. *
this one that one ba-louq or ba-louq-p ’ó why, to do what, what for Balup\(Pui≥)
Referring to place
beh-hma By\m˙a di-hma d^m˙a éh-di-hma ho-hma huim˙a * These items have corresponding demonstrative forms:
in which in this place, A´d^m˙a in that place, this much, that much
di-lauq, éh-di-lauq dêlak\' A´dêlak\
place? (at) (at) here in that place, (at) there (far di-lo, éh-di-lo in this way, in that way d^lui' A´d^lui
where? right (at) off) da-jaún for this reason dåeÂkac\.
there éh-da-jaún for that reason A´dåeÂkac\.
beh By\ di d^ éh-di A´d^ ho hui etc
to which to this place, to that place, to that
place? (to) here (to) there distant place,
(to) where? (to) there TOPICAL VOCABULARY 5.6
beh-gá By\k di-gá d^k éh-di-gá A´d^k ho-gá huik TRADITIONAL BURMESE CLOTHING
from which from this from that from that
gaún-baún eKåc\;epåc\; gaung-baung (Burmese turban: a cloth
place? place, place, distant place,
from where? from here from there from there wrapped round head and tucked
in to leave a corner protruding)
Referring to things
eı́n-ji Ak¥Ç upper garment (shirt, blouse, jacket,
ba Ba da då éh-da A´då ho-ha huiha
coat)
what thing? this/that that thing that thing
thăbeq, păwa qBk\' pwå tabet or pawa (woman’s light scarf for
thing over there
formal occasions)
(also used to
taiq-poun-eı́n-ji tuik\puMAk¥Ç man’s formal jacket
mean “the
loun-ji luMK¥v\ longyi, sarong
wossaname”)
188 Burmese By Ear Appendix 6 Further reading 189
păs ’ó puSui; paso (long longyi for men, worn on APPENDIX 6
formal occasions) FURTHER READING
t ’ă mein TB^ tamein (long longyi for women, worn
by stage dancers) Learning Burmese: self-study
suq-ceh s∑p\k¥y\ vest, undershirt Spoken language
baw-li eBa\l^ woman’s bodice Burmese: An Introduction to the Spoken Language, Books 1 and 2, by
hnyaq-p ’ănaq V˙p\Pinp\ thong sandals John Okell. 1994, Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois
jăpan-p ’ănaq g¥pn\Pinp\ rubber sandals University. All in script and roman, with 12 tapes for Book 1
and 14 tapes for Book 2. Book 1 lays the groundwork, with
copious exercises on tape, covering high-frequency sentence
structures, pronunciation, question and answer, numbers,
prices, want to, have to, please do, and so on. It ends with a
set of dialogues, again with plenty of oral practice, covering 12
situations, including survival (shops, taxis and so on) and
social (Where are you from? Are you married? Shall we meet
again? and so on). Book 2 extends your competence in the 12
situations. Includes a full vocabulary, an outline grammar,
and notes on social customs, talking about language, talking
to monks.
Beginning Burmese, by W S Cornyn and H D Roop. 1968, Yale
Univ Press, 501pp, reprinted 1987. Book + 25 tapes including
exercises. Dialogues, explanations and exercises, including
sections introducing the script; copious drills. Helpful expla-
nations of grammar. Tapes available separately. Inquiries to
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawaii,
Moore 416, 1890 East-West Road, Honolulu HI 96822
A reference grammar of colloquial Burmese, 2 vols, by John Okell.
1969, London, Oxford UP. A description, no exercises, no
training in script. Vol 2 is a list of grammatical forms with
translations and examples.
Burmese/Myanmar: a dictionary of grammatical forms, by John Okell
and Anna Allott. Curzon Press, Richmond, England, Dec
2000. A dictionary-style listing of the grammatical suffixes of
Burmese (the equivalents of with, to, when, if, etc).
Phrase books
Practical Myanmar, by SUN Associates. 1995, Pranom Supavi-
molpun, Book Promotion and Service Ltd, Bangkok. Small
format, 347 pp. Contents: pronunciation and grammar, social
190 Burmese By Ear Appendix 6 Further reading 191
customs and home life, common phrases, arrival in Myanmar, The modern Myanmar-English pocket dictionary, by Saya U Soe
travelling around, at the hotel, eating and drinking, shopping Thway. 2nd reprint 1996, Sape Hin-le-o-gyi, Yangon. 524 pp.
and bargaining, making friends, living in Myanmar, at a English-Myanmar Dictionary, compiled and pub by Burma
doctor’s office, post telegraph and telephone, ministries and Language Commission, 2001, Yangon. 1621 pp, with
government departments, English Myanmar vocabulary. All examples of English usage.
words are presented in three cols: English, roman, script. Students’ English-English/Myanmar dictionary, by SAM Translation
Burmese phrase book, by David Bradley. 1988 and later editions, and Publishing. 1994, Rangoon. 1568 pp. Comprehensive,
South Yarra Australia, Lonely Planet, 125 pp. V compact: and generous with examples.
small pocket size. Has roman and Burmese script. Sections
on: pronunciation, grammar, greetings, smalltalk, accommo- Burmese customs
dation, getting around, around town, in the country, food, Culture shock Burma, by Saw Myat Yin. 1994, London, Kuperard.
shopping, health, times and dates, numbers. 207 pp.
Dos and Don’ts in Myanmar, by Win Pe. Book Promotion and
Learning the script Service Ltd, Bangkok, 1996, pp 151-153
Burmese: an introduction to the script, by John Okell. 1994, Center
for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University. c.450 pages Where to find more
and 7 x 60" tapes. The method largely avoids relying on Burma (World bibliographical series 132), by P. Herbert. Oxford,
romanized equivalents: students learn by associating script Clio Press, 1991. 327 pp. A very well selected bibliography,
symbols on the page with sound from the tapes. Includes with illuminating comments on almost all entries.
sections on alphabetical order, the Burmese names of the
letters, handwriting, and display typefaces. Book suppliers
An introduction to the Burmese writing system, by H D Roop. 1972, John Randall, 47 Moreton Street, London SW1V 2NY. 071 630
Yale University Press. A programmed teach-yourself course, 5331
which assumes you are already familiar with the pronuncia- U Thant Thaw Kaung, Nandawun, Nº Y Thukhawady, Kaba Aye
tion. Pagoda Road (next to Sedona Hotel), Yankin Tnsp, Yangon.
Ph 571498, 542744. Email mbcbook@mptmail.net.com or
Literary style nandawun@yahoo.com.
Burmese: an introduction to the literary style, by John Okell. 1994, U Ba Kyi, Pagan Bookshop, 100 37th Street, Yangon.
Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University. c 200 Stationery, Printing and Photographic Stores Trading, 72 Bo
pp and 1 x 60’ tape of readings of the texts. A selection of Aung Kyaw Street, Botahtaung, Yangon
passages from school readers, with “interludes” of material Tamarind Books, PO Box 49217, Greensboro, NC 27419, USA. ph
from other sources, provided with vocabularies and exercises. 919 852-1905, fax -5510
White Lotus Co. Ltd, GOP Box 1141, Bangkok 10501 Thailand, ph
Dictionaries 662-2861100, fax 662-2131175.
®mn\ma Agçlip\ABiDan\ ("Myanmar English dictionary"), by ®mn\masaAP∑´>" Copies of John Okell’s Burmese: an introduction … can be obtained
1993, Rangoon. 635 pp, over 30,000 entries. With etymolo- from: The Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois Univer-
gies, pronunciation, and sketches. Very useful. Effectively sity, 412 Adams Hall, DeKalb, Illinois 60115, USA. Fax 0101
supersedes all earlier B-E dictionaries. 815 753 1651, phone 815 753 1771. Or Probsthain’s bookshop
192 Burmese By Ear Appendix 7 General vocabulary 193
in London: Arthur Probsthain, 41 Great Russell Street, London APPENDIX 7

WC1B 3PH. ms61@soas.ac.uk. Ph 7636 1096. At SOAS ext GENERAL VOCABULARY ENGLISH-BURMESE
2923. Or the UK distributors Bay Foreign Language Books,
Unit 3(b) Frith Business Centre, Frith Road, Aldington, Ash- This vocabulary contains all the words introduced on the tapes,
ford, Kent TN25 7HJ, England. Phone: (+44) 01233 720020. and a selection of other words you may find useful. Turn to the
Fax: (+44) 01233 721272. E-mail: Topical Vocabularies in Appendix 5 for separate lists of food and
sales@baylanguagebooks.co.uk. drinks, sites and placenames, kin terms, You and I, “this, that
and what”, and traditional Burmese clothes
Learning Burmese: taught language courses
In Burma/Myanmar courses for foreign learners are given at the Symbols
University of Foreign Languages, 119-131 University Avenue, In the entries below –
Yangon 11081, Myanmar (Burma). Phone +95 1 531713. Also > marks the beginning of the Burmese translation or equiva-
at several commercial language schools. Look in the Yellow lent
Pages, or ask expatriates for recommendations. 9 introduces an example or phrase or compound
Burmese courses are also given at the School of Oriental and the figures refer to the lesson in which the word is introduced
African Studies, University of London, and at universities in on the tapes. Entries without figures are for words not used
Berlin, Heidelberg, Paris, Australia, the USA, Russia, China, on the tapes.
Japan, Korea, and Thailand.
There is an intensive nine-week course held every summer in the absorbent cotton, cotton wool > airline office > le-yin-yoún
USA. It is called The South East Asian Studies Summer Insti- gún g∑m\; elya√\RuM; 5.2
tute (SEASSI). It gives you a concentrated dose of language accompany, follow > laiq-teh airport > le-zeiq elSip\" (“air
learning: 4 hours of classwork a day, five days a week, and luik\ty\ port”)
plenty of homework. accountant > săyı́n-gain alive 9 Are your parents still
Otherwise try – sarc\;kuic\ living? > Ă p ’e-ă me shı́-dhé-
Private lessons with a Burmese speaker. Advantages: relatively afternoon > nyá-ne ven 5.9 dhălá? AePAem r˙ieq;qla;"
cheap, can be timed to suit your schedule. Disadvantage: the again 9 Could you please say 12E
teacher may not have much experience in the needs of foreign that again? > T ’aq-pyáw-ba- all right: to be all right > yá-deh
learners. oún Tp\e®papåAuM;" 3.2 rty\ 1.1 9 That will be all
Self-study, with book and tapes. Advantages: cheap, can be age, old > ătheq Aqk\ 9 How right, won’t it? > Y á-deh-
timed to suit your schedule. Disadvantage: you have no one old are you? > Ă theq beh- naw? rty\ena\" 7.3; to be all
to encourage, correct, and urge you on. lauq shı́-bi-léh? Aqk\ right, to work out OK > ăs ’in
By\elak\ r˙i®p^l´" 10.6 pye-deh ASc\*e®pty\ 1.7
Contacts: agent, middle-man > pwéh-zá all 9 Is that all? > Da-béh-lá?
SOAS Burmese language learning web pages: p∑´sa; dåp´la;" 9 That’s everything,
http://www.soas.ac.uk/SouthEastAsia/Burmese/home1.html air field > le-yin-gwı́n is it? > Da-béh-naw? dåpéna\"
Justin Watkins, Lecturer in Burmese: justin.watkins@soas.ac.uk elya√\k∑c\; (“air-vehicle + 9 Yes, that’s all. > Da-ba-béh.
John Okell, retired Lecturer in Burmese: jo@soas.ac.uk field”) dåpåp´" 9 No, there’s some-
thing else. > Shı́-ba-dhé-deh. backside, anus > p ’in Pc\ breast > yin-dhá rc\qa; bus stop > hmaq-tain m˙t\tuic\
r˙ipåeq;ty\" 4.5 bad: to be bad > s ’ó-deh Sui;ty\" briefcase > leq-s ’wéh-eiq business, commerce, trade >
amount to, come to, cost > cá- 9 It’s not bad > măs ’ó-ba-bú lk\S∑Áit\ ăyaún-ăweh keiq-sá
deh k¥ty\ 9 How much mSui;påB¨;" 9.9 bring down, drop, reduce, Aerac\;Awy\kisß 9.7
does it amount to? > Beh- bag > eiq Ait\" handbag, purse lower (price) > sháw-deh businessman, merchant > koun-
lauq cá-dhăléh? By\elak\ > paiq-s ’an-eiq puik\SMAit\" elYa.ty\" 9 How about dheh kun\qv\ 11.1
k¥ql´" 4.8 shoulder bag > lweh-eiq reducing the cost? Sháw-ba- buttock > tin-bá tc\på;
and 9 A and B > A -néh B A-n´≥ B l∑y\Ait\ oún-lá? elYa.påAuM;la;" 5.4 buy > weh-deh wy\ty\ 6.2
4.1 ball point pen > báw-pin eBapc\ broadcasting station > ăthan- café > lăp ’eq-ye-zain
anus, backside > p ’in Pc\ 6.2 hlwı́n-youn AqMlWc\.RuM (“sound- lk\Pk\rv\Suic\ (“tea shop”)
apart: apart from this > dı́-pyin bamboo > wá wå; broadcast + building”) 8.2
d^.®pc\ 9 What do you have Band Aid, plaster > păla-săta brother (older than self) > ăko cake > keiq-moún kit\mun\≥ 4.2 and
apart from this? > Dı́-pyin ba plasta 6.2 Akui 7.1, (of male, younger see the Topical Vocabulary for
shı́-dhé-dhăléh? d^.®pc\ Ba bandage > paq-tı́ pt\t^; than self) > nyi v^ 12E; (of food and drinks
r˙ieq;ql´" 6.6 bangle, bracelet > leq-kauq female, younger than self) > calendar > pyeq-k ’ădein ®pkdin\
architect > bı́-thú-ka biquka lk\ekak\ maun emac\ 12E; see also the call: to call, to be called > k ’aw-
arm, hand > leq lk\ bank > ban-daiq B%\tuik\ (“bank Topical Vocabulary for kin deh eKÅty\" 9 What is that
armpit > jaı́n g¥oic\; building”) 11.2 terms called? > É h-da beh-lo k ’aw-
army officer > siq-bo ss\buil\ barber’s > zăbin-hnyaq-s ’ain brothers and sisters, siblings > dhăléh? A´då By\lui eKÅql´"
arrange > si-zin-deh s^s√\ty\ SMpc\V˙p\Suic\ (“hair-cut + nyi-ăko maun-hnă má or maun- 3.5, 9 It is called “X” > “X”-ló
arrive, reach > yauq-teh shop”) hnă má (vÂkui)emac\N˙m 12E k ’aw-ba-deh {X}lui≥ eKÅpåty\"
erak\ty\ basket > c ’ı́n ®Kc\; brown > ănyo AVui 3.6
artist > băji-s ’ăya pn\;K¥^Sra battery > daq-k ’éh Dat\K´ building: brick or stone camera > kin-măra kc\mra
ashtray > s ’é-leiq-pya-gweq belt > k ’ăbaq Kå;pt\ building > taiq tuik\ can [verb] > [verb]-nain- or
eS;lip\®paK∑k\ bit, a little > néh-néh nń´ 1.6 Burmese, Myanmar > Bă ma bma -hnain- [verb]-Nuic\- 9 I can’t
aspirin > gaún-kaiq-pyauq-s ’é black > ăneq Ank\ or Myan-ma, Myă ma ®mn\ma" lower the price this much >
eKåc\;kuik\ep¥ak\eS; (“head- blood > thwé eq∑; Burma, Myanmar (country) Di-lauq măsháw-nain-ba-bú
ache-remove + medicine”) blouse > bălauqs Belak\s\ > Bă ma or Myan-ma + pye or dêlak\ melYa.Nuic\påB¨;" 5.5, 5.6
aunt > daw-daw edÅedÅ/AedÅ 7.2 blue > ăpya A®pa pyi or nain-ngan bma®pv\' can, bottle (countword) > -loún
see also the Topical Vocabulary bone > ăyó ARui; ®mn\maNuic\cM" Burmese -luM; 2.2 pălı́n pulc\;
for kin terms book > sa-ouq saAup\ (language) > Bă ma or Myan- card: greetings card > kaq-pyá
author,writer (male) > sa-yé- bottle, can (countword) > -loún ma + săgá bmaska; or kd\®pa;" birthday card >
s ’ăya saer;Sra" (female) > -luM; 2.2, pălı́n pulc\; ®mn\maska; 3.4, 9 in Burmese > mwé-né kaq-pyá em∑;en≥–kd\®pa;"
sa-yé-s ’ăya-má saer;Sram" box, chest, trunk, suitcase > Bă ma-lo bmalui 3.5; and see Christmas card > K ’ăriq-
bachelor: old bachelor > lu-byo- thiq-ta, tiq-ta eqt†a About Burmese in the intro- să maq kaq-pyá Krsßmt\kd\®pa;"
jı́ l¨p¥oiÂk^; 12.1 bra > băra-si-ya Bras^ya duction cardigan, sweater > s ’weh-ta
back > cá w or cá w-goú n ek¥a or bracelet, bangle > leq-kauq bus depôt > ká-geiq ka;git\ S∑y\ta
ek¥akun\; lk\ekak\ (“car gate”)
cassette player > keq-s ’eq climb up, get up onto, get into dhăléh? By\elak\ k¥ql´" cá-yé-hmú
kk\Sk\ (taxi etc) > teq-teh tk\ty\" 4.8 lk\eTak\VWn\Âka;er;mØ;
cassette tape > keq-s ’eq-k’we 5.1 cotton > c ’i K¥v\ distant: to be distant, a long
kk\Sk\eK∑ clinic > s ’é-gán eS;Kn\; cotton wool, absorbent cotton > way > wé-deh ew;ty\
certain: to be definite, certain > (“medicine room”) gún g∑m\; Division > taı́n tuic\;
the-ja-deh eqK¥aty\ cloth > ăwuq-sá, ăt ’eh Awt\s' cup, glass > k ’weq K∑k\ 2.3 divorced, separated 9 We have
charge: room charge, rate per ATv\ dark: to be dark > hmaun-deh split up > K wéh-dhwá-ba-bi
room (in hotel etc) > ăk ’án-gá clothing > ăwuq-ăsá Awt\Asa; em˙ac\ty\ k∑´q∑a;på®p^" 12.1
AKn\;K 9.6 coat, overcoat > laún-kouq daughter > thă mı́ qm^; 7.2, 12.2 dock, embarcation point > thı́n-
cheap: to be cheap, inexpensive elac\;kut\ see also the Topical Vocabulary báw-zeiq qeBçaSip\ (“ship
> zé*c ’o-deh eZ;*K¥oity\ 1.7 cold drinks bar > ăé-zain for kin terms port”)
chemist’s shop, drugstore > s ’é- AeA;Suic\ (“cold things + day > -yeq -rk\ 9.3 doctor > s ’ăya-wun Srawn\ 11.1
zain eS;Suic\ (“medicine shop”) 8.2 dead, died 9 They are dead > doll, image, statue > ăyouq ARup\
shop”) 8.2 cold: to be cold > é-deh eA;ty\ S ’oún-dhwá-ba-bi SuM;q∑a;på®p^" dollar > daw-la edÅla 2.1
cheroot > s ’é-báw-leiq 1.1; to feel cold > c ’án-deh 12.1 dorm, hostel > caún-zaun
eS;epå≥lip\ K¥m\;ty\ deep [colour] > [colour]-yı́n -rc\. ek¥ac\;eSac\
chest > yin or yin-baq rc$pt$ colour > ăyaun Aerac\ defecate > c ’ı́*pa-deh eK¥;*påty\" dress > ga-wun gåwn\ (English
child > k ’ălé kel; 12.2 comb > bı́ B^; cin-jı́*sún-deh k¥c\Âk^;*s∑n\≥ty\" “gown”)
chin > mé em; come > la-deh laty\" come definite: to be definite, certain > drink: to drink > thauq-teh
church > p ’ăyá shiq-k ’ó-jaún round, come over > la-géh- the-ja-deh eqK¥aty\ eqak\ty\ 2.1
Bura;r˙iKui;ek¥ac\; (“lord-revere + deh laK´.ty\" come and fetch dentist > thwá-s ’ăya-wun driver > dărain-ba dRuic\Ba or ká-
monastery”) > la-k ’aw-deh laeKÅty\ 5.11 q∑a;Srawn\ dhă má ka;qma; or yin-maún
cigar > s ’é-byı́n-leiq eS;®pc\;lip\ come to, amount to, cost > cá- department store > koun-daiq ya√\emac\; 11.1
cigarette > sı́-găreq s^;krk\ 6.2 deh k¥ty\ 9 How much kun\tuik\ (“goods building”) drop, reduce, lower, bring
cigarette, cheroot, cigar (general does it come to? > Beh-lauq 11.2 down (price) > sháw
term) > s ’é-leiq eS;lip\ cá-dhăléh? By\elak\ descend, come down, get out > elYa. ty\" 9 How about
cinema > youq-shin-youn Rup\r˙c\RuM k¥ql´" 4.8 s ’ ı́n-deh Sc\;ty\ reducing the cost? Sháw-ba-
(“image-moving + building”) commerce, trade, business > dictionary > ăbı́-dan ABiDan\ oún-lá? elYa.påAuM;la;" 5.4
civil servant, government ăyaún-ăweh-keiq-sá died, dead 9 They are dead > drugstore, chemist’s shop > s ’é-
servant > ăsóyá ăhmú-dán Aerac\;Awy\kisß 9.7 S ’oún-dhwá-ba-bi SuM;q∑a;på®p^" zain eS;Suic\ 8.2
Asui;rAmOTm\; 11.1 condom > kun-doún k∑n\duM; 12.1 dumpling > pauq-s ’i epåk\S^ 4.2
clerk > săyé saer; contain, include, have in > pa- difficult: to be difficult > k ’eq- and see the Topical Vocabulary
clever: to be clever, talented > deh påty\ teh Kk\ty\ for food and drinks
taw-deh eta\ty\ correct: to be right, true, correct Director > H nyun-cá-yé-hmú dust > p ’oun PuM" to be dusty >
climate, weather > ya-dhi-ú-dú > hman-deh m˙n\ty\ VWn\Âka;er;mØ; 9 Deputy Direc- p ’oun t ’ u-deh PuM*T¨ty\ or
raqÛtu 9.10 cost, come to, amount to > cá- tor > Dú H nyun-cá-yé-hmú p ’oun t ’á-deh PuM*Tty\"
deh k¥ty\ 9 How much duVWn\Âka;er;mØ; 9 Assistant ear > ná or năyweq na;(R∑k\)
does it cost? > Beh-lauq cá- Director > Leq-t ’auq H nyun- earring > năgaq na;kp\
easy: to be easy > lweh-deh excuse me > use kin term 7.1 and finish > pı́-deh ®p^;ty\" 9 I’ve go > thwá-deh q∑a;ty\" 5.1, go
l∑y\ty\ 7.2 and see the Topical Vocabu- finished now > Pı́-bi ®p^;®p^" 7.3 beyond, go past > lun-dhwá-
eat > sá-deh sa;ty\ 2.1 lary for You and I five > ngá cå; (5) 1.2 deh l∑n\q∑a;ty\
editor > eh-di-ta Ay\d^ta expect, look out for > hmyaw- flashlight, torch > leq-hneiq daq- going to [verb] > [verb]-meh
eight > shiq r˙s\ (8) 1.3 ne-deh emYa\enty\ m ı́ lk\N˙ip\Dåt\m^; [verb]-my\ 2.2 and see
elastic band > thăye-gwı́n expensive: to be expensive > flower > pán pn\; Grammar outline
qerk∑c\; zé*cı́-deh eZ;*Âk^;ty\ 1.5 follow, accompany > laiq-teh gold > shwe eRW" 9 gold colour >
elbow > tădaun-ziq tMetac\Ss\ eye > myeq-sı́ m¥k\si luik\ty\ shwe-yaun eRWerac\
else 9 What else do you have? > face > myeq-hna m¥k\N˙a foot, leg > c ’i or c ’i-dauq golf course > gauq-kwı́n
Ba shı́-dhé-dhăléh? Ba factory > seq-youn sk\RuM e®K(eTak\) egåk\k∑c\; (“golf field”)
r˙ieq;ql´" 6.6 (“machine building”) four > lé el; (4) 1.1 Good morning, Good after-
embarrassed: to feel bad about faeces > c ’ı́ eK¥;" defecate > free: to be free, not engaged > á- noon, etc > see Lesson 2.8
imposing on someone > c ’ ı́*pa-deh eK¥;*påty\" cin- deh Aa;ty\ 1.3 good: to be good > kaún-deh
á*na-deh Aa;*naty\ jı́*sún-deh k¥c\Âk^;*s∑n\≥ty\" friend > meiq-s’we mit\eS∑ 9.5, ekac\;ty\ 1.1
embarrassing: to be embarrass- fan (electric) > pan-ka pn\ka" and see the Topical Vocabulary Goodbye > Thwá-meh-naw?
ing > á-na-zăya*kaún-deh (hand-held) > yaq-taun for kin terms q∑a;my\ena\" 4.9, Thwá-meh
Aa;nasra*ekac\;ty\ yp\etac\ from [place] > [place]-ká/-gá q∑a;my\" 5.3
embassy > than-yoún qMRuM; farmer, peasant > leh-dhă má [place]-k 9.2 government servant, civil
(“envoy office”) 5.2 ly\qma; fun: to be enjoyable, to be fun > servant > ăsó-yá ăhmú-dán
employee > wun-dán wn\Tm\; father > ăp ’e AeP 12E and see the pyaw-zăya*kaún-deh Asui;rAmOTm\; 11.1
engineer > in-jin-ni-ya Ac\g¥c\n^ya Topical Vocabulary for kin ep¥a\sra*ekac\;ty\ grandchild > myı́ e®m; see also the
11.1 terms garden, park > pán-jan pn\;®KM Topical Vocabulary for kin
English (language) > Ín-găleiq- fetch: come and fetch > la-k ’aw- (“flower enclosure”) or ú-yin terms
săgá Agçlip\ska; 3.4 deh laeKÅty\ 5.11 Uy¥a√\ grandfather > ăp ’ó APui; see also
enjoy: to enjoy oneself, have a few: to be little, few > néh-deh gasoline, petrol > daq-s ’i Dat\S^ the Topical Vocabulary for kin
good time > pyaw-deh n´ty\ genitals (male) > yauq-cá-in-ga terms
ep¥a\ty\ 9.9, to be enjoyable, fiancé/e, sweetheart > ăs ’eq eyak¥\a;Agçå" (female) > grandmother > ăp ’wá AP∑a; see
to be fun > pyaw-zăya*kaún- ASk\ or yı́-zá rv\;sa; see also meı́n-má-in-ga min\;mAgçå also the Topical Vocabulary for
deh ep¥a\sra*ekac\;ty\ the Topical Vocabulary for kin get into (taxi etc) > teq-teh kin terms
enter: to come or go in > win-deh terms tk\ty\" 5.1 green > ăseı́n Asim\;
wc\ty\ film > p ’ălin Plc\ (English give > pé-deh ep;ty\" 9 Please Greetings! > see Lesson 2.8
envelope > sa-eiq saAit\ 6.4 “film”) 6.2 bring us two cups of coffee > grey > mı́-gó-yaun m^;Kui;erac\
eraser, rubber > k ’éh-byeq K´P¥k\ film actor > youq-shin mı́n-dhá K aw-p’i hnăk ’weq pé-ba eka\P^ guide: tourist guide > éh-lán-
escort, take someone some- Rup\r˙c\mc\;qa;" actress > youq- N˙s\K∑k\ ep;på" 4.1 hnyun Ev\.lm\;VWn\
where > laiq-pyá-deh shin mı́n-dhă mı́ Rup\r˙c\mc\;qm^;" give permission > k ’wı́n*pyú-deh hair (of head) > zăbin SMpc\
luik\®pty\ fine 9 Fine, OK > K aún-ba-bi K∑c\.*‘pty\ hairbrush > băraq Brt\
evening > nyá v 5.9 ekac\;på®p^" 4.1 glass, cup > k ’weq K∑k\ 2.3
finger > leq-c ’aún lk\eK¥ac\; glue > kaw eka\
hairdresser’s > s ’an-thá-zain hospital > s ’é-youn eS;RuM husband, boyfriend (normal karaoke bar > ka-ra-o-ke
SMqSuic\ (“hair-beautify + (“medicine building”) level of politeness) > ă myó-thá karaAuiek 8.2
shop”) hostel, student hostel, dorm > Am¥oi;qa; 12.1, (deferential) > kerosene, paraffin > ye-nan-zi
Hallo > see Lesson 2.8 caún-zaun ek¥ac\;eSac\ k ’in-bún Kc\p∑n\;" (casual) > ernMS^
hand, arm > leq lk\ hot: to be hot > pu-deh p¨ty\ 1.1, yauq-cá eyak¥\a; see also the key > tháw eqa.
handbag, purse > paiq-s ’an-eiq to feel hot > aiq-teh Auik\ty\ Topical Vocabulary for kin key-chain > kı́-c ’eı́n k^;K¥in\;
puik\SMAit\ 6.4 hot: to be hot to taste, spicy > terms kind > -myó -m¥oi;" 9 that kind >
handkerchief > leq-kain-păwa saq-teh sp\ty\ 1.3 I > see the Topical Vocabulary for da-myó dåm¥oi;" 9 three kinds >
lk\kuic\pwå hotel > ho-teh huity\ 8.2 You and I thoún-myó quM;m¥oi;" 9 many
happy: to be happy > wún*tha- hour > na-yi nar^ 5.10 ice cream > ye-géh-moún erK´mun\≥ kinds, all sorts > ă myó-myó
deh wm\;*qaty\" 9 I am house > ein Aim\ 9.5, friend’s 4.2 and see the Topical Vocabu- Am¥oi;m¥oi;" 6.6
happy to have met you > house > meiq-s’we ein lary for food and drinks kind: to be kind > thăbáw*kaún-
Twé-yá-da wún-tha-ba-deh mit\eS∑Aim\ 9.5 image, statue, doll > ăyouq ARup\ deh qeBa*ekac\;ty\
et∑>rta wm\;qapåty\" 10.3 housework > ein-hmú-keiq-sá in that case > di-lo-s ’o d^luiSui 4.4 knee > dú d¨;
hat > ouq-t ’ouq Ë;Tup\ 6.4 Aim\mOkisß 11.3 in: to come or go in, enter > win- know > thı́-deh qity\ 8.1
have, there is > shı́-deh, yá-deh how about [noun]? > [noun]- deh wc\ty\ kyat (Burmese currency) > caq
r˙ity\" rty\" 9 Do you have káw/-gáw [noun]-eka 10.4 include, contain, have in > pa- k¥p\ 1.11
any coffee? K aw-p’i shı́- how long? 9 How long have deh påty\ labourer > ălouq-thă má
dhălá? K aw-p’i yá-mălá? you been here? > Y auq-ne-da inexpensive: to be inexpensive, Alup\qma;
eka\P^ r˙iqla;" eka\P^ rmla;" beh-lauq ca-bi-léh? cheap > zé*c ’o-deh eZ;*K¥oity\ lacquerware > yún-deh y∑n\;Tv\
4.3; 9 I have three children > erak\enta By\elak\ 1.7 lavatory, toilet > ein-dha Aim\qa
K ’ălé-thoún-yauq shı́-ba-deh Âka®p^l´ 9.3 inn > ı́n Ac\; 9.5 4.7
kel; quM;eyak\ r˙ipåty\" 12.2 how many X? > Beh-hnă-X-léh? insecticide > pó-thaq-s ’é lawyer > shé-ne er˙>en
he, she, it > thu q¨ and see the By\N˙s\-X-l´" 4.3 and see the pui;qt\eS; leather > thăye qa;er
Topical Vocabulary for You and Topical Vocabulary for this, insurance > a-má-gan AamKM leg, foot > c ’i or c ’i-dauq
I that and what intend, plan > ăsi-ăsin shı́-deh e®K(eTak\)
head > gaún eKåc\; how much? > Beh-lauq-léh? AsÂs√\ r˙ity\ library > sa-cı́-daiq saÂkv\.tuik\
hear > cá-deh Âka;ty\ By\elak\l´" 9 How much is introduce to someone > meiq- (“text-study + building”)
helping, portion (countword) > that? Da beh-lauq-léh? då s’ eq*pé-deh mit\Sk\*ep;ty\ lighter, match > mı́-jiq m^;®Ks\
-pwéh/-bwéh -p∑´ 2.4 By\elak\l´" 1.11, 9 How iron > than qM like: like this > di-lo d^lui
here, in this place > di-hma d^m˙a much does it come to? > Beh- it, he, she > thu q¨ and see the like: to like > caiq-teh ’kik\ty\
2.3 and see the Topical Vocabu- lauq cá-dhăléh? By\elak\ Topical Vocabulary for You and 1.3
lary for this, that and what k¥ql´" 4.8 I line up, queue > tán*si-deh
hold, grasp > kain-deh kuic\ty\, how? > beh-lo By\lui 3.5 9 How item, unit (countword) > -k ’ú/-gú tn\;*s^ty\
hold fast > kain-t ’á-deh is it? What is it like? > Beh-lo -Ku 2.5 lipstick > hnăk ’án-ni-s ’ó-zé
kuic\Ta;ty\ ne-dhăléh? By\lui enql´" 9.9 ivory > s ’in-zweh Sc\s∑y\ NOt\Km\;n^Sui;eS;
home, house > ein Aim\ and see the Topical Vocabulary jacket (“jerkin”) > ja-kin g¥akc\ listen > ná*t ’aun-deh
for this, that and what jeans > jı́n-baún-bi g¥c\;eBac\;B^ na;*eTac\ty\
little: a little, a bit > néh-néh nń´ married 9 Is he married? > E in- > tha-dhăna-byú-s ’ăya-má near: near here > di-ná-hma
1.6, to be little, few > néh-deh daun shı́-dhălá? Aim\eTac\ qaqna‘pSram d^na;m˙a 8.1, to be near > nı́-deh
n´ty\ r˙iqla;" 12.1 9 Is he married moment > k ’ăná K% 9 Just a n^;ty\
live > ne-deh enty\ yet? > E in-daun cá-bi-lá? moment please > K ’ăná-lé- neck > leh-dain or leh-bı́n
long time 9 How long has it Aim\eTac\ k¥®p^la;" naw? K%el;ena\" 7.3 lv\tuic\ or lv\pc\;
been? > Beh-lauq ca-bi-léh? match, lighter > mı́-jiq m^;®Ks\ monastery, school > caún ek¥ac\; need: to need > lo-deh luity\"
By\elak\ Âka®p^l´" 9.3 9 Has matter 9 It doesn’t matter > money > paiq-s ’an puik\SM 4.8 to need, want (something) >
it been long? > Ca-bi-lá? K eiq-sá măshı́-ba-bú kisß monk: Buddhist monk > p ’oún-jı́ lo-jin-deh luiK¥c\ty\ 1.10
Âka®p^la;" 9.4, 9 Not long yet. mr˙ipåB¨;" 6.3 Bun\;Âk^; 9 novice monk > ko- neighbourhood, quarter > yaq-
> Măca-dhé-ba-bú meat > ăthá Aqa;" 9 Does it yin kuirc\ kweq rp\k∑k\
mÂkaeq;påB¨;" 9.4, 9 It’s been have meat in it? > Ă thá*pa- month > lá l 9.4 nephew > tu t¨ see also the Topi-
about three weeks. > Thoún- dhălá? Aqa;*påqla;" 1.10; morning > măneq mnk\ 5.8 cal Vocabulary for kin terms
baq-lauq shı́-bi quM;pt\elak\ meat, minced and fried > mosque > băli bl^ newspaper > thădı́n-za qtc\;sa
r˙i®p^" tauq-tauq-caw mosquito > c ’in ®Kc\" mosquitoes niece > tu-má t¨m see also the
long way: to be distant, a long etak\etak\eÂka\ 4.2 and see bite > c ’in kaiq-teh ®Kc\ Topical Vocabulary for kin
way > wé-deh ew;ty\ the Topical Vocabulary for food kuik\ty\" terms
look > cı́-deh Âkv\.ty\" 9 Do and drinks mother > ă me Aem 12E and see nine > kó kui; (9) 1.3
you mind if I have a look? > medicine > s ’é eS; the Topical Vocabulary for kin no > mă-[verb]-ba-bú m-[verb]-
Cı́-meh-naw? Âkv\.my\ena\" 6.2, meditate > tăyá-á*t ’ouq-teh terms påB¨; 1.4
9 I’ll keep looking around > tra;Aa:*Tut\ty\" medita- mouth > păzaq på;sp\ noodles > k ’auq-s ’wéh eKåk\S∑´
Cı́-oún-meh-naw? tion centre > yeiq-tha rip\qa much, too much > myá-deh 4.2 and see the Topical Vocabu-
Âkv\.AuM;my\ena\" 6.7 meet > twé-deh et∑>ty\ 10.3, m¥a;ty\" 9 That’s a bit too lary for food and drinks
lot: very, very much, a lot > s ’oun-já-deh SuMÂkty\ much, too expensive. Néh- nose > hnăk ’aún N˙aeKåc\;
theiq qip\ 1.6 merchant, businessman > koun- néh myá-ba-deh nń´ notebook > hmaq-sú-sa-ouq
lovable: to be lovable > c ’iq- dheh kun\qv\ 11.1 m¥a;påty\" 5.4 m˙t\susaAup\
săya*kaún-deh midday > né-leh en≥ly\ 5.8 museum > pyá-daiq ®ptuik\ nought, zero > thoun-nyá quv
K¥s\sra*ekac\;ty\ middle 9 the middle son > thá- (“exhibit building”) (0) 1.4
lower, bring down, drop, ălaq qa;Alp\ 12.3 Myanmar see under Burmese number > nan-baq nMpåt\ 1.4
reduce (price) > sháw-deh milk > nwá-nó or nó (N∑a;)Nui≥ 4.2 name > nan-meh nMmv\ 9 What’s nun: Buddhist nun > meh-thi-lá-
elYa.ty\" 9 How about and see the Topical Vocabulary your name? > Nan-meh beh- yin my\q^lrc\
reducing the cost? Sháw-ba- for food and drinks lo k ’aw-dhăléh? nMmv\ By\lui nurse (male) > naqs nt\s\"
oún-lá? elYa.påAuM;la;" 5.4 mind 9 Never mind > K eiq-sá eKÅql´" 9 I am called Ye (female) > naqs-má nt\s\m"
luggage > pyiq-sı́ psßv\; măshı́-ba-bú kisß mr˙ipåB¨;" 6.3 Myint. Y éh Myı́n-ba r´®mc\.på" or thu-na-byú-s ’ăya-má
magazine > meq-găzı́n mg©zc\; ministry > wun-jı́-yoún wn\Âk^;RuM; Y éh Myı́n-ló k ’aw-ba-deh q¨na‘pSram"
manager > măne-ja meng¥a (“Minister’s office”) r´®mc\.lui≥ eKÅpåty\" 10.2 o’clock 9 nine o’clock > kó-na-yi
map > mye-boun e®mpuM minute > mı́-niq, măniq mins\ 5.10 nationality, race > lu-myó l¨m¥oi; kui;nar^ 5.10
market > zé eZ;" market stall- missionary > tha-dhăna-byú- 9.2 office > yoún RuM; 5.2, airline office
holder > zé-dheh eZ;qv\ s ’ăya qaqna‘pSra" (female) > le-yin-yoún elya√\RuM; 5.2
ointment > leı́n-zé lim\;eS; paper clip > kăliq kls\ plaster, Band Aid > păla-săta race, nationality > lu-myó l¨m¥oi;
OK: to be OK > yá-deh rty\ paraffin, kerosene > ye-nan-zi plasta 6.2 9.2
1.1, to work out all right > ernMS^ plastic > păla-săteiq, păla-sătiqradio > re-di-yo erd^yui
ăs ’in*pye-deh ASc\*e®pty\ parata > pălata plata 4.2 and plastit\' plasts\ railway station > bu-da or bu-da-
1.7, 9 OK, Fine > K aún-ba-bi see the Topical Vocabulary for please [verb] > [verb]-pa/-ba youn B¨ta(RuM) (“station
ekac\;på®p^" 4.1 food and drinks [verb]-på" please don’t [verb] building”)
old 9 How old are you? > Ă theq parents > ăp ’e-ă me AePAem 12E > mă-[verb]-pa/-ba-néh m- rain: to rain > mó*ywa-deh
beh-lauq shı́-bi-léh? Aqk\ park, garden > pán-jan pn\;®KM [verb]-pån´≥ 2.6 mui;*R∑aty\
By\elak\ r˙i®p^l´" 10.6 9 How (“flower enclosure”) or ú-yin police station > yéh-t ’a-ná r´@an razor, razor blade > mouq-s’eiq-
old is your son? > Thá beh- Uy¥a√\ policeman > yéh-ăya-shı́ rÁrar˙i yeiq-dá mut\Sit\rip\då; (“beard-
ăyweh shı́-bi-léh? qa; pay > pé-deh ep;ty\ 9 How polite tag > k ’in-bya Kc\b¥a (male shave + blade”) g¥ot\
By\AR∑y\ r˙i®p^l´" 12.3, 9 the much shall I have to pay? > speaker), shin r˙c\ (female reach, arrive > yauq-teh
oldest son, older son > thá- Beh-lauq pé-yá-măléh? speaker) 2.7 erak\ty\
ăcı́ qa;AÂk^; 12.3 By\elak\ ep;rml´" 5.3 porcelain, enamel > cwe or cwe- read > p ’aq-teh Pt\ty\ 9.1
one > tiq (or tă- in compounds) peasant, farmer > leh-dhă má deh eÂk∑(Tv\) red > ăni An^
ts\ (1) 1.1 ly\qma; portion, helping (countword) > reduce, lower, bring down,
orange (colour) > lein-maw-yaun pencil > k ’éh-dan K´tM" pencil -pwéh/-bwéh -p∑´ 2.4 drop (price) > sháw-deh
lim\ema\erac\ sharpener > k ’éh-dan-c ’un-zeq post office > sa-daiq satuik\ elYa.ty\" 9 How about
orange juice > lein-maw-ye K´tMKÁn\sk\ (“letter building”) 11.2 reducing the cost? Sháw-ba-
lim\ema\rv\ 4.2 and see the Topi- pension > pin-sin pc\sc\ 9 I am postage stamp > tăzeiq-gaún oún-lá? elYa.påAuM;la;" 5.4
cal Vocabulary for food and retired > Pin-sin yu-laiq-pi tMSip\eKåc\; rent: to rent a house > ein hngá-
drinks pc\sc\ y¨luik\®p^" 11.3 postcard > pó-săkaq pui≥skd\ 6.2 ne-deh Aim\ c˙a;enty\" 9.5
order: to order (in restaurant etc) perfume > ye-hmwé eremW; pottery > mye or mye-deh repeat 9 Could you please
> hma-deh m˙aty\ 1.10 petrol, gasoline > daq-s ’i Dat\S^ e®m(Tv\) repeat that? > T ’aq-pyáw-ba-
out: to come or go out > t ’weq- photograph > daq-poun Dåt\puM" powder > paun-da epåc\då oún Tp\e®papåAuM;" 3.2
teh T∑k\ty\ to take a photograph daq- pretty: to be pretty > hlá-deh reporter > thădı́n-dauq
pagoda > p ’ăyá Bura; or ze-di poun* yaiq-teh Dåt\puMRuik\ty\ l˙ty\ 1.3 qtc\;eTak\
est^ 5.2 2.4; photographer > daq-poun printing press > poun-hneiq-taiq research > thú-te-thăná quetqn"
painkiller > gaún-kaiq-pyauq-s ’é s ’ăya Dåt\puMSra" photography puMN˙ip\tuik\ 11.2 9 to do research > thú-te-
eKåc\;kuik\ep¥ak\eS; shop > daq-poun-zain prison > t ’aun eTac\ thăná louq-teh quetqn
(“headache-remove + Dåt\puMSuic\ (“photograph purple > k ’ăyán-yaun Krm\;erac\ lup\ty\ 9.8
medicine”) shop”) purse, handbag > paiq-s ’an-eiq restaurant > sá-thauq-s ’ain
pale [colour] > [colour]-nú -Nu pill > s ’é-byá eS;®pa; puik\SMAit\ 6.4 sa;eqak\Suic\" t ’ă mı́n-zain
pants, underpants > ătwı́n-gan- pink > pán-yaun pn\;erac\ put, place > t ’á-deh Ta;ty\" Tmc\;Suic\" (“eat-drink +
baún-bi At∑c\;KMeBac\;B^ pipe (for smoking) > s ’é-dan put in > t ’éh-deh Tv\.ty\ shop”) 8.2
paper > seq-ku sk˚ø ' writing eS;tM queue, line up > tán*si-deh retired 9 He is retired > Pin-sin
paper > sa-yé-seq-ku plan, intend > ăsi-ăsin shı́-deh tn\;*s^ty\ yu-laiq-pi pc\sc\ y¨luik\®p^" 11.3
saer;sk˚ø 6.4 AsÂs√\ r˙ity\
return: to return, get back > script: Burmese script > Bă ma- singer > ăs ’o-daw ASuieta\ steel > than-mănı́ qMm%i
pyan*yauq-teh ®pn\*erak\ty\ za or Myan-ma-za bmasa' sister (older than self) > ă má Am stockings > taiq-ts tuik\t\s\
rice > t ’ă mı́n Tmc\; 4.2 and see the ®mn\masa 9.1 7.2, (younger than self) > nyi- stomach > baiq buik\
Topical Vocabulary for food and secretary > săyé saer;" (female) má v^m 12E and see the Topical stop, stand > yaq-teh rp\ty\ 2.4,
drinks secretary > săyé-má saer;m Vocabulary for kin terms 5.7
ride, take (taxi, bus etc) > sı́-deh sell > yaún-deh erac\;ty\ sit > t ’ain-deh Tuic\ty\ 2.4 street, road > lán lm\; 5.2
s^;ty\ 5.6 sellotape, Scotchtape > s ’eh-lo- six > c ’auq e®Kak\ (6) 1.2 student (male) > caún-dhá
right 9 It’s just right > Ă ne-daw- teiq Sy\luitip\ 6.2 skin > ăye-byá Aer®pa; ek¥ac\;qa;" (female) > caún-
ba-béh Aeneta\påp´" 9.10 separated, divorced 9 We have skirt > săkaq skt\ dhu ek¥ac\;q¨"
right: to be right, correct > split up > K wéh-dhwá-ba-bi sleep > eiq-teh Aip\ty\ suit > suq-wuq-soun s∑t\wt\suM
hman-deh m˙n\ty\ k∑´q∑a;på®p^" 12.1 small: to be small > thé-deh suitcase, box, chest, trunk >
ring: finger ring > leq-suq settle up, pay the bill > paiq-s ’an eq;ty\ thiq-ta, tiq-ta eqt†a
lk\s∑p\ shı́n-deh puik\SM r˙c\;ty\ 4.8 soap > s ’aq-pya Sp\®pa" soap sun > ne en" to be sunny >
road, street > lán lm\; 5.2 seven > k ’un-hniq or k ’un (in powder, detergent > s ’aq- ne*tha-deh en*qaty\"
room charge, rate per room (in compounds k ’un-nă-) KuN˙s\ (7) pya-hmoún Sp\®pamOn\≥ sweat > c ’wé eKÁ;
hotel etc) > ăk ’án-gá AKn\;K 9.6 1.2 socks > c ’i-eiq e®KAit\ sweater, cardigan > s ’weh-ta
rubber, eraser > k ’éh-byeq K´P¥k\ shampoo > gaún-shaw-zé soldier > siq-thá ss\qa; S∑y\ta
run out > koun-deh kun\ty\" 9 It eKåc\;elYa\eS; son > thá qa; 7.1, 12.2 see also sweet: to be sweet > c ’o-deh
has run out, We’re sold out Shan bag, shoulder bag > lweh- the Topical Vocabulary for kin K¥oity\
koun-dhwá-bi kun\q∑a;®p^" 4.3 eiq l∑y\Ait\ 6.4 terms sweetheart, fiancé/e > ăs ’eq
sailor > thı́n-báw-dhá qeBçaqa; she, he, it > thu q¨ and see the sorry > s ’áw-rı́-naw? s ’áw-rı́-béh, ASk\ or yı́-zá rv\;sa; see also
sales assistant > kaun-ta-săyé Topical Vocabulary for You and s ’áw-rı́-béh-naw? eSar^;ena\" the Topical Vocabulary for kin
ekac\tasaer; I eSar^;p´" eSar^;péna\" 3.1 terms
samusa > să mu-s’a sm¨Sa 4.2 and shirt > shaq-eı́n-ji r˙p\Ak¥Ç speak: to be able to speak > swim > ye*kú-deh er*k¨;ty\"
see the Topical Vocabulary for shoes > shú-p ’ănaq RØ;Pinp\ pyáw-daq-teh e®patt\ty\ 3.4 swimming costume > ye-kú-
food and drinks shop > s ’ain Suic\" shopkeeper > spectacles > myeq-hman m¥k\m˙n\ wuq-soun erk¨;wt\suM"
sanitary towel > paqd pd\ s ’ain-shin Suic\r˙c\ spinster: old spinster > ăpyo-jı́ swimming pool > ye-kú-gan
school, monastery > caún ek¥ac\; shorts > baún-bi-do eBac\;B^tui Ap¥oiÂk^; 12.1 erk¨;kn\ (“water-cross +
9 She is attending school. > shoulder > păk ’oún pKuM; sports field > á-kăzá-gwı́n pool”)
Caún teq-ne-deh ek¥ac\; shoulder bag, Shan bag > lweh- Aa;ksa;k∑c\; (“strength-play T-shirt > ti-shaq t^r˙p\ 6.2
tk\enpåty\" 11.3; high eiq l∑y\Ait\ 6.4 + field”) take (someone somewhere) >
school > ăt ’eq-tán caún show > pyá-deh ®pty\ stand, stop > yaq-teh rp\ty\ 2.4 laiq-pó-deh luik\pui≥ty\ or laiq-
ATk\tn\;ek¥ac\; siblings, brothers and sisters > State > pyi-neh ®pv\ny\ pyá-deh luik\®pty\ 9 Could
scissors > kaq-cı́ kt\eÂk; maun-hnă má or nyi-ăko maun- station: railway station > bu-da you take us there? > Laiq-pó-
Scotchtape, sellotape > s ’eh-lo- hnă má (vÂkui)emac\N˙m 12E or bu-da-youn B¨ta(RuM) pé-nain-mălá?
teiq Sy\luitip\ 6.2 silk > pó pui; (“station building”) luik\pui≥ep;Nuic\mla;" 5.9; take,
silver > ngwe ec∑" 9 silver stay (in hotel, with friend) > have (in café, shop etc) > yu-
(colour) > ngwe-yaun ec∑erac\ téh-deh t´ty\ (tv\;ty\) 9.5 deh y¨ty\ 4.1; take, ride
(taxi, bus etc) > sı́-deh s^;ty\ K aw-p’i yá-mălá? eka\P^ r˙ila;" toothpaste > thwá-taiq-s ’é very, very much, a lot > theiq
5.6 eka\ P^ rmla;" 4.3 q∑a;tuik\eS; qip\ 1.6, ăyán Arm\; 9 You have
talented: to be clever, talented > there, in that place (nearer you) torch, flashlight > leq-hneiq-daq- a wonderful pronunciation!
taw-deh eta\ty\ > éh-di-hma A´d^m˙a 2.3; (over m ı́ lk\N˙ip\Dåt\m^; > Ă yán pi-da-béh! Arm\;
talk > săgá*pyáw-deh there, some way off) > ho- tourist > tú-riq t¨;rs\ 9.7 p^tap´" 9.1
ska;*e®paty\ hma huim˙a" over there > ho- township > myó-neh ‘mi>ny\ visit 9 Just for a visit > ăleh-béh
tampon > use trade name beq-hma huiBk\m˙a" 8.1; and see trade, business, commerce > Alv\p´' 9.7
tape (audio) > teiq-k ’we tip\eK∑ the Topical Vocabulary for this, ăyaún-ăweh-keiq-sá wait > saún-ne-deh esac\.enty\
tea > lăp ’eq-ye lk\Pk\rv\ 4.2, that and what Aerac\;Awy\kisß 9.7 5.11
plain tea > ye-nwé-ján they > thu-dó q¨tui≥ and see the tray > bán bn\; wake up > nó-deh Nui;ty\
ereN∑;Âkm\; 4.2 and see the Topi- Topical Vocabulary for You and trishaw pedaller > s ’aiq-ká- walk > lán*shauq-teh
cal Vocabulary for food and I dhă má Suik\ka;qma; lm\;*elYak\ty\
drinks thing, object, luggage > pyiq-sı́ trousers > baún-bi eBac\;B^ want [to verb] > [verb]-c ’in-/-jin-
teacher: school teacher (male) > psßv\; true: to be true, correct > hman- [verb]-K¥c\ 2.5; want: to need,
caún-s ’ăya ek¥ac\;Sra" this, that (nearer me) > da då 1.9 deh m˙n\ty\ want (something) > lo-jin-deh
(female) > caún-s ’ăya-má 9 this way > di-beq d^Bk\ 4.7 two > hniq or hnă- N˙s\ (2) 1.1 luiK¥c\ty\ 1.10, 9 What do you
ek¥ac\;Sram" 11.1; university and see the Topical Vocabulary umbrella, sunshade > t ’ı́ T^; need? > Ba ălo shı́-ba-
teacher (male) > teq-kătho- for this, that and what uncle > ú-lé Ë;el; 7.1 see also the dhăléh? Ba Aluir˙ipåql´" 6.2
s ’ăya tk˚quil\Sra" (female) > three > thoún quM; (3) 1.1 Topical Vocabulary for kin watch, wrist watch > leq-paq-
teq-kătho-s ’ăya-má tie (clothing) > neq-tain nk\tuic\ terms na-yi lk\pt\nar^" watch
tk˚quil\Sram" time > ăc ’ein AK¥in\ 9 at what underpants, pants > ătwı́n-gan- strap > leq-paq-na-yi-có
telephone > teh-li-p ’oún time? > beh-ăc ’ein-léh? baún-bi At∑c\;KMeBac\;B^ lk\pt\nar^’ki;
ty\l^Pun\; 1.4, phone number By\AK¥in\l´ 5.11 understand > ná-leh-deh way: this way > di-beq d^Bk\ 8.1
> teh-li-p ’oún nan-baq tissue, paper tissues > tiq-shú na;*lv\ty\ 1.5 we > see the Topical Vocabulary
ty\l^Pun\;nMpåt\ 1.4, to make a ts\RØ; unit, item (countword) > -k ’ú/-gú for You and I
phone call > p ’oún*s ’eq-teh today > di-né dên≥ and variants -Ku 2.5 weather, climate > ya-dhi-ú-dú
Pun\;*Sk\ty\ 5.8 university > teq-kătho tk˚quil\ raqÛtu 9.10
ten > tăs ’eh ts\Sy\ (10) 1.3 toe > c ’i-jaún e®KeK¥ac\; urine > s ’ı́ S^; or thé eq;" week (countword) > -paq/-baq
Thank you > Cé-zú tin-ba-deh toilet, lavatory > ein-dha Aim\qa" urinate > thé*pauq-teh -pt\ 9.3
ek¥;z¨; tc\påty\" 4.9 public convenience > ă myá- eq;*epåk\ty\" cin-ngeh*sún- well: to be well > ne*kaún-deh
that (nearer you) > éh-da A´då dhoún ein-dha Am¥a;quM;Aim\qa" deh k¥c\cy\*s∑n\≥ty\" en*ekac\;ty\" 9 You’re well,
1.9 9 that [noun] > éh-di toilet paper > ein-dha-dhoún- useful: to be useful > ăthoún*cá- I hope? Ne-kaún-deh-naw?
[noun] A´d^ [noun] and see the seq-ku Aim\qaquM;sk˚ø deh AquM;*k¥ty\ en*ekac\;ty\ena\" 1.7
Topical Vocabulary for this, tomorrow > măneq-p ’an mnk\Pn\ vegetables, fried mixed > ăseı́n- what? > ba-léh Bal´" 9 What is
that and what and variants 5.8 jaw Asim\;eÂka\ 4.2 and see the that? > Da ba-léh? då Bal´"
there is, have > shı́-deh, yá-deh tongue > sha lYa Topical Vocabulary for food and 4.6, 9 What is your phone
r˙ity\" rty\" 9 Do you have tooth > thwá q∑a;" toothbrush > drinks number? > Teh-li-p ’oún nan-
any coffee? K aw-p’i shı́-lá? thwá-taiq-tan q∑a;tuik\tM" baq beh-lauq-léh?
ty\l^Pun\;nMpåt\ By\elak\l´" who? > Beh-dhu-léh? By\q¨l´ write > yé-deh er;ty\" write hut\k´. 1.2, (= that is correct)
1.4 9 what [noun]? > Ba and see the Topical Vocabulary out for someone > yé-pé-deh > H ouq-pa-deh hut\påty\" 5.3
[noun]-léh? Ba [noun]-l´ 2.1; for this, that and what er;ep;ty\ you > see the Topical Vocabulary
and see the Topical Vocabulary why? > ba-p ’yiq-ló-léh? writer, author for You and I
for this, that and what Ba®Ps\lui≥l´ 9 for what pur- (male) > sa-yé-s ’ăya young 9 the youngest son,
when? (future) > beh-dáw-léh? pose? > ba keiq-sá-néh-léh? saer;Sra" (female) > sa-yé- younger son > thá-ăngeh
By\eta.l´ 5.9, when (= at Bakisßn´≥l´ 9 Why have you s ’ăya-má saer;Sram" qa;Acy\ 12.3
what time)? > beh-ăc ’ein-léh? come to Burma? > Bă ma-pye wrong: to be wrong > hmá-deh zero, nought > thoun-nyá quv
By\AK¥in\l´ 5.9 when? (past) > ba-keiq-sá-néh la-dhăléh? m˙a;ty\ (0) 1.4
beh-doún-gá-léh? By\tuM;kl´ bma®pv\ Bakisßn´≥ laql´" 9.7 year (countword) > -hniq -N˙s\" 9.4 zoo > tăreiq-s ’an-youn tirsÍan\RuM
and see the Topical Vocabulary or Ba louq-p ’ó la-da-léh? Ba yellow > ăwa Awå (“animal building”)
for this, that and what lup\Pui≥ latal´" 9.8 and see the yes (= I agree, I understand,
where from? > beh-gá-léh? Topical Vocabulary for this, that’s right) > H ouq-kéh
By\kl´" 9 What country are that and what
you from? > Beh-nain-ngan- wife(normal level of politeness) >
gá-(la-dhă)léh? By\Nuic\cMk ă myó-thă mı́ Am¥oi;qm^; 12.1,
(laq)l´" 9.2 and see the Topi- (deferential) > zănı́ zn^;, (casual)
cal Vocabulary for this, that and > meı́n-má min\;m 12.1 and see
what the Topical Vocabulary for kin
where to? > Beh-léh? By\l´" 9 terms
Where are you going to? > wind > le el" the wind blows,
Beh thwá-măléh? By\ to be windy > le*taiq-teh
q∑a;ml´" 5.1 and see the Topical el*tuik\ty\"
Vocabulary for this, that and wood > thiq-thá qs\qa;
what wool > thó-mwé qui;em∑;" woollen
where, in which place > Beh- jersey > thó-mwé eı́n-ji
hma-léh? By\m˙al´ 2.3 and see qui;em∑;Ak¥Ç
the Topical Vocabulary for this, work > ălouq Alup\ 9.7, to work,
that and what do a job > ălouq*louq-teh
which [noun]? > Beh [noun]- Alup\*lup\ty\ 9.8
léh? By\ [noun]-l´ which workshop > ălouq-youn Alup\RuM
[noun]? 9 which one? > Beh- (“work building”)
ha-léh? By\hal´ 1.11 and see worth: to be worth the price,
the Topical Vocabulary for this, good value > tan-deh tn\ty\
that and what wrist watch > leq-paq-na-yi
white > ăp ’yu A®Pø lk\pt\nar^

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Burmese By Ear

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begins on: page nº tape nº

In addition to articles on Burmese grammar,

ABOUT THIS COURSE

BBE is a systematically graded foundation course in

BBE has several advantages over the conventional trav-

Secondly, you take a speaking part in the exercises and

Thirdly, because you take in the whole course through your

ABOUT BURMESE Not everyone accepts the change of name. International

The two styles of Burmese

Sentences Writing and pronouncing Burmese. Burmese is normally written

Pronunciation point Numbers

1.3. NEW WORDS Pronunciation point

Pronunciation points Pronunciation point

Theiq caiq-pa-deh. qip\ ’kik\påty\" I like it very much. s ’ éh-tiq, Sy\.ts\'

Pronunciation point Example sentences

Notes REVIEW FOR UNIT 1: FOUNDATIONS, PART 1

S1 Do you want this one? Da lo-jin-dhălá? då luiK¥c\qla;"

obscured. Compare the following two sets of sentences. They Numbers

2.4. NEW WORDS Example sentences

Counting in round numbers also follows the same pattern

S1 Da beh-lauq-léh? då By\elak\l´" How much is that?

S1 Ba yu-măléh? Ba y¨ml´" What will you pauq-si epåk\s^ Chinese dumpling 4

yá-deh rty\ to get, to obtain 4.5. IS THAT ALL?

S ’áw-rı́-naw? eSar^;ena\" I’m sorry.

New words Ngá-daq-cı́ P ’ăyá cå;Tp\Âk^;Bura; Ngadatkyi Pagoda

At the end of the journey S2 Y á-ba-deh. rpåty\" All right.

New words Di-hma yaq-yá- d^m˙a rp\rmla:" Do we have to stop

S1 Néh-néh myá-ba- n´n´ m¥a;påty\" That’s a bit steep. Answers

S2 Tăya-dáw néh- 100/-eta. n´påty\ K100 is too little (+

Review Dialogue 2 Laiq-pó-pé-nain- luik\pui≥ep;Nuic\mla;" Would you be able

Examples of times New words

Shiq-na-yi-gwéh-hma : the suffix -hma “at, on, in” is optional with

S3 Á -ba-deh K ’in- Aa;påty\ Kc\b¥a" Yes, I will. At what

6.1. ASKING THE PRICE AND PAYING UP New words

6.2. HAVE YOU GOT …? YES. Variant

6.3. HAVE YOU GOT …? NO.

S2 Da-myó theiq dåm¥oi; qip\ I don’t like that kind

Colours 6.7. I’LL LEAVE IT THANKS

Notes S1 Theiq măcaiq-pa- qip\ m’kik\påB¨;" Not very much.

9.1. TOPIC 1: YOU SPEAK BURMESE! New words

Notes Alternative question

quial term has thus been given, in those contexts, a hint of

Notes S2 A w. Cé-zú tin- eAa\" Oh. Thank you

The answer 9.9. TOPIC 6: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BURMA?

teacher: school teacher (male) > teq-kătho s ’ăya-má

Pronounce ei as in vein, ai as in Thailand, ou as in though, au as in Sauerkraut.

S1 Ă louq mălouq- Alup\ mlup\eq;påB¨;" Not yet. Variants

Words for siblings APPENDIX 1

Pronounce ei as in vein, ai as in Thailand, ou as in though, au as in Sauerkraut.

Heads s’ S same as s but aspirated: see under Aspirates below

t ’án “palm” weakens in: t ’ăleq “palm frond”

Weakening occurs regularly with tiq, hniq, k ’ un-hniq (“one, two,

k ’ un-hniq + caq  k ’ un-năcaq (not k ’ un-hniq-caq)

Weakening also occurs regularly in combinations in which -m eh

ba + lo-jin-deh + léh  ba lo-jin-dhăléh

In most other contexts weakening occurs sporadically and

APPENDIX 2 syllable = head + rhyme

1.3. Tones 2.2. Medial consonants

s S z Z v √ 3.1. Attached vowel symbols and tone marking

4.2. Abbreviated syllables (used in literary style Burmese)

In many words, or combinations of words, there is a mismatch

APPENDIX 3 phrase” is used as a wide-cover term to include “adverbs” and

k ’ un-hniq + caq k ’ un-năcaq (not k ’ un-hniq-caq)

ba + lo-jin-deh + léh ba lo-jin-dhăléh