Introduction to Burmese Script

Learning to read and pronounce Burmese script is the first step toward understanding the meaning behind the written words, and a necessary step toward competency in writing or typing in Burmese. In this lesson, I will introduce you to the characters and a system of pronunciation designed to help you to read Myanmar written words in the shortest possible time.

If you are the first time learner who has never seen the Myanmar written words, my recommendation is to start with recognition of characters and know the basic rules and general spelling patterns rather than memorizing everything. In this stage, you may not remember how all the characters and symbols are pronounced when put together, but you should be able to refer back to the reference guide, and at least be able to get the close pronunciation. My guess is that will be sufficient for most tourists and visitors who need to find out the pronunciation of just a word or two out of curiosity or necessity.

It should be noted that pronunciations of some words do not necessarily follow the way they are spelled. For example, the word Pagoda is spelled "Bu1 Ya3", but read "Pfa1 Ya3".