Learning Guide

Burmese Alphabet

alphabet burmese

The Burmese alphabet is an alphasyllabic writing system derived from the Bráhmi script. It consists of 33 consonants, 12 vowels, and several diacritical marks that modify the vowels to indicate their sound. Each consonant has an inherent vowel that can be modified by adding diacritical marks to create different sounds. Burmese is written from left to right and uses a syllabic structure that generally consists of a consonant followed by a vowel. The Burmese writing system allows for a phonetic representation of the language's sounds, although it can be complex to learn due to its many variations and exceptions.

မြန်မာအက္ခရာ

Contents

  • Introduction
  • How it works?
  • Form a syllable
  • Burmese Alphabet
    • - Consonants
    • - Vowels

Romanization

Romanization based on the MLC romanization system.

Phonetic API

Transcription based on the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Consonants

There are 33 consonants in the Burmese language. Of the 33 consonants, some change shape when combined with other letters. In the table below, there are 4 grayed-out letters, which are always taught but are no longer commonly used in modern language.

က k
kh
ɡ
gh
ng
c
ch
j
jh
ny
t
th
d
dh
n
t
th
d
dh
n
p
ph
b
bh
m
y
r
l
w
s
h
l
/
က /k/
/kʰ/
/ɡ/
/g/
/ŋ/
/s/
/sʰ/
/z/
/z/
/ɲ/
/t/
/tʰ/
/d/
/d/
/n/
/t/
/tʰ/
/d/
/d/
/n/
/p/
/pʰ/
/b/
/b/
/m/
/j/
/j/
/l/
/w/
/θ/
/h/
/l/
/ʔ/

Vowels

Unlike the Latin alphabet, the vowels in Burmese are not distinct letters but signs that are placed around consonants (before, after, above, or below) to form a syllable.

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