Burmese pronouns (Burmese: နာမ်စား) are words in the Burmese language used to address or refer to people or things.
Subject pronouns begin sentences, though the subject is generally omitted in the imperative forms and in conversation. Grammatically speaking, subject marker particles ((in Burmese pronounced as /ɡa̰/ in colloquial, in Burmese pronounced as /θì/ in formal) must be attached to the subject pronoun, although they are also generally omitted in conversation. Object pronouns must have an object marker particle (in Burmese pronounced as /ɡò/ in colloquial, in Burmese pronounced as /á/ in formal) attached immediately after the pronoun. Proper nouns are often substituted for pronouns, an example of pronoun avoidance. One's status in relation to the audience determines the pronouns used, with certain pronouns used for different audiences.
Polite pronouns are used to address elders, teachers and strangers, through the use of feudal-era third person pronouns in lieu of first and second person pronouns. In such situations, one refers to oneself in third person: (kya. nau in Burmese pronounced as /tɕənɔ̀/) for males, and (kya. ma. in Burmese pronounced as /tɕəma̰/) for females, both meaning "your servant") and refer to the addressee as (min in Burmese pronounced as /mɪ́ɴ/; "your highness"), (khang bya: in Burmese pronounced as /kʰəmjá/; "master lord")[1] or (hrang in Burmese pronounced as /ʃɪ̀ɴ/; "ruler/master"). So ingrained are these terms in the daily polite speech that people use them as the first and second person pronouns without giving a second thought to the root meaning of these pronouns.
When speaking to a person of the same status or of younger age, (nga in Burmese pronounced as /ŋà/; "I/me") and (nang in Burmese pronounced as /nɪ̀ɴ/; "you") may be used, although most speakers choose to use third person pronouns, typically derived from Burmese kinship terms. For example, an older person may use (dau le: in Burmese pronounced as /dɔ̀ lé/; "aunt") or (u: lei: in Burmese pronounced as /ʔú lé/; "uncle") to refer to himself, while a younger person may use either (sa: in Burmese pronounced as /θá/; son) or (sa.mi: in Burmese pronounced as /θəmí/; daughter).
Basic pronouns can be pluralized by suffixing the following particles to the pronoun: (tui.) or colloquial (dui.).
| IPA | Burmese | Person | Level of speech | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as //ŋà// | First | Informal | used when speaking to one's equals or inferiors | |
| pronounced as //tɕənɔ̀// | Formal | used by males | ||
| pronounced as //tɕəma̰// | Formal | used by females | ||
| pronounced as //tɕənouʔ// | Informal | |||
| pronounced as //tɕouʔ// | Informal | a contraction of ကျွန်ုပ် | ||
| pronounced as //nɪ̀ɴ// | Second | Informal | used when speaking to one's equals or inferiors | |
| pronounced as //mɪ́ɴ// | Informal | used when speaking to one's equals or inferiors | ||
| pronounced as //ɲí// | Informal | used by females when addressing another female of same age or one younger | ||
| pronounced as //tɔ̀// | Informal | used by females | ||
| pronounced as //kʰəmjá// | Formal | used by males | ||
| pronounced as //ʃɪ̀ɴ// | Formal | used by females | ||
| pronounced as //(ə)θìɴ// | Formal | |||
| pronounced as //θù// | Third | |||
| pronounced as //θí̃// | ||||
| pronounced as //ʧʰíɴ// |
Other pronouns are reserved for speaking with Buddhist monks. When speaking to a monk, pronouns like bhun: bhun: (from phun: kri:, "monk"), (chara dau in Burmese pronounced as /sʰəjàdɔ̀/; "royal teacher"), and (a.hrang bhu.ra:; in Burmese pronounced as /ʔəʃɪ̀ɴ pʰəjá/; "your lordship") are used depending on their status ; when referring to oneself, terms like (ta. pany. tau ; "royal disciple") or (da. ka in Burmese pronounced as /dəɡà/, "donor") are used. When speaking to a monk, the following pronouns are used:
| Singular | ||
|---|---|---|
| Informal | Formal | |
| 1st person | ta.pany. do | da. ka in Burmese pronounced as /dəɡà/ |
| 2nd person | bhun: bhun: (in Burmese pronounced as /pʰóʊɴ pʰóʊɴ/) (u:) pasang: (in Burmese pronounced as /(ú) bəzín/) | a.hrang bhu.ra: (in Burmese pronounced as /ʔəʃɪ̀ɴ pʰəjá/) chara dau (in Burmese pronounced as /sʰəjàdɔ̀/) |
In colloquial Burmese, possessive pronouns are contracted when the root pronoun itself is low toned. This does not occur in literary Burmese, which uses (in Burmese pronounced as /ḭ/) as postpositional marker for possessive case instead of (in Burmese pronounced as /jɛ̰/). Examples include the following:
The contraction also occurs in some low toned nouns, making them possessive nouns (e.g. or, "mother's" and "Burma's" respectively).
Demonstrative pronouns in Myanmar are same in nature with English. Demonstrative pronouns are identical with the demonstrative adjectives, but demonstrative pronouns stand alone, while demonstrative adjectives qualify a noun. The most common demonstrative pronouns in Myanmar are "this", "that", း "it". They are usually used for referring inanimate objects. These pronouns mostly used with noun or noun phrases. Demonstrative pronouns have the form (pronoun + noun phrase) to demonstrate the previous object. For example, "Mg Thit Lwin was born in Phakant Town." "That Town is also called 'Jade Land'". In the above example sentence, the demonstrative pronoun "that" is used with the noun "town" to refer the "Phakant township".
Burmese has two alternative forms of the reflexive: