Easily the most rewarding thing you can do to prepare for travelling in Myanmar is to write down a few simple sentences of Burmese to use and eventually memorize. Many people you meet will speak at least a few words of English, but there are also a lot of Burmese people, especially in the more rural areas, who don’t know a lot of English. They are absolutely lovely people though, and as curious about you as you are about them. So a few words in their own language will light up their day and win you the most genuine smiles and interactions to treasure and remember!
So let’s start:
“How are you?” - “I am good!” Thanks to our guests Quang (Canada) and Adeline (Switzerland) for modelling this conversation :)
Here are the 10(ish) most important Burmese phrases for you to use on your journey in our beautiful country of Myanmar:
“Mingalabar” means “Hello” and works any time of the day.
“Je zu din ba de” means “Thank you,” the absolutely most important expression you can learn here. Say it with a smile and maybe a slight nod and you’re golden! The short form is “Je zu baaa” and if you draw out the “ba” and say it respectfully, it’s an easy alternative to the full version.
Pro tip: If you’re having trouble memorizing the full version, try to remember “Jesu tin by day” with a mental picture of Jesus in a tin during the day.
“Ne kaun la?” means “How are you?”
“Ne kaun de” means “I am good!”
“Aya da shi de” means “Tasty.” If you enjoyed your meal, don’t forget to let the cook know and thank them for their magic.
“Lade” means “Beautiful” - If you see something or someone pretty, a heartily exclaimed “Lade!” is sure to earn you some happy smiles. Use liberally for clothes, handicrafts, landscapes, people... just don’t use it for males. Those are “Kande,” handsome :)
“Be lau le?” means “How much?” If you ask in Burmese with a friendly smile, you might just end up getting a more local price ;)
Advanced pro tip: if you feel that something is too expensive, ask for a discount by saying “Nae nae htat shot pay par oo.” Don’t forget to accompany this with a smile, haggling in Myanmar is a respectful, fun and friendly affair :)
“Thn thn louh” literally means food “without life” - that is, in effect, vegetarian. This expression is a real life-saver if you don’t want to eat meat: You can literally walk around and point at any item of food in Myanmar and ask “Thn thn louh la?”
The following question is a little bit more difficult to remember, but is really important and helpful:
“Da poun yai lo ya mala?” means “Can I take a picture?” It’s really impolite to take someone’s photo without asking, but if you ask, most people are going to be pleased with your interest in them. Their answer will be something along the lines of “Ya ba de.” – “It’s okay.”Pro tip: Burmese people expect and really love being shown the photo you took of them when you’re done.
And finally, once you start talking a few sentences in Burmese, people are likely to ask you more in Burmese. Then it’s your turn to laugh and say: “Wu ne ba de,” – “I’m sorry,” – and “na ma le bu,” meaning “I do not understand.”
… and as a little bonus: “Ta ta.” means “goodbye.” Easy enough!
Memorized it all? No? No problem, just write them down somewhere and pull them out whenever you have a chance to use them. Use liberally for two or three days. After that, you’ll have them all down, we promise :)
Are you having any difficulties with pronouncation? In general, Burmese is not a tonal language like Mandarin Chinese or Thai are, so you don’t have to be too worried. Just try to sort of slur the ending of each word a little and you’ll be fine. If you’re struggling, ask our lovely staff at Song of Travel Hostel or any other Myanmar local and they’ll be more than happy to help you out with how to say things!
… Psssh: We at Song of Travel Hostel also offer a free weekly Burmese language class with one of our local staff where you can learn and practise useful Burmese words and sentences and ask any questions you might have. Warmly welcome!!
Yours,
Song of Travel Hostel