Key Burmese sounds, tones, and minimal pairs for accurate pronunciation. Front: the sound, tone, or example word (with romanization). Back: meaning plus a plain-English pronunciation note.
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- Low tone
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A level, relaxed pitch with no special mark in this romanization system, as in the first syllable of Mingalar- High tone (marked with :)
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A tone that starts high and falls slightly, marked here with a colon after the syllable, as in kar: (car)- Creaky tone
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A short, tense tone produced with a slightly creaky voice quality, changing a word's meaning from its low or high tone version- Aspirated consonants (Hp, Ht, Kh)
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Consonants pronounced with a strong puff of air, distinct from their unaspirated counterparts p, t, and k- Unaspirated p, t, k
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Pronounced without a puff of air, softer than English p, t, and k- Nasalized vowels (final n)
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Many Burmese syllables end in a nasal sound produced through the nose rather than a full consonant- The letter ရ
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Usually pronounced like an English y in standard Burmese, not like an English r- Th sound
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Pronounced like the th in English think, as in thwar: (go)- Ky/Gy sound
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A palatalized k or g sound, made by saying k and y together quickly, as in kyet (chicken)- Hpy sound
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An aspirated, palatalized p sound, as in hpyu (white)- Final glottal stop
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Some syllables end in an abrupt stop of the breath, similar to the catch in the middle of uh-oh- Sa vs Sar:
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The same consonant and vowel with different tones carry completely different meanings, letter versus eat- Syllable-timed rhythm
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Burmese speech is syllable-timed, with each syllable taking roughly equal time, unlike stress-timed English- Consonant clusters
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Burmese avoids consonant clusters within a syllable except for a glide like ky or hpy- Vowel a
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Pronounced like the a in father when unmarked
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