Burmese Gender

Welcome to the fifth Burmese lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Burmese to help you practice your daily phrases.

man yauk kya

woman main ma

husband lin yauk kya

wife za nie

boy yauk kya lay

girl main ka lay

father a pe

mother a may

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules - Burmese
my son is a student [masculine + noun] kyun note di thar hmar kyaung thar ta yauk phyit thie
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] thu ma ei tha mee hmar kyaung thu ta yauk phyit thie
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] thu hmar a yat shay thaw a ko ta yauk shi thie
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] thu ma hmar a yat shay thaw a ma ta yauk shi thie
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] thu ei nyi myar hmar nge thay thie
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] thu di nyi ma myar hmar nge thay thie

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son thar

daughter tha mee

brother a ko/ nyi

sister a ma/ nyi ma

grandfather a phoe

grandmother a phwar

child ka lay

children ka lay myar

Expressions in Burmese

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Burmese, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Burmese
What do you mean? thin ba ko so lo ba tha le
I don't understand kyun note nar ma le bu
I don't know kyun note ma thi bu
What is that called in Burmese? d har ko bamar lo be lo khaw tha le
What is this? d har ka ba le
What does that word mean in English? d sagar lone ka ingalait lo be lo a dait be ya tha le
Sorry (if you made a mistake) taung ban ba de

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