Independent Vowel Scripts

This lesson introduces six independent vowel symbols that cannot be combined with the consonants. They are traditionally known as akkhâya {အက္ခရာ} meaning "alphabet." 

ဣ

The sound of this script, spelled as "akkhâya í", is [í], the same as the normal script {အိ }. ဣ can be found only in the loanwords from Sanskrit or Pali, e.g., {ဣရိယာ } meaning "posture." 

ဤ

The sound of this script, spelled as "akkhâya i", is [i], the same as the normal script {အီ}.. ဤ is most commonly used for the Burmese literary version of the word  {ဒီ}"this."

ဥ

ဦ 

The sound of this script is [u], the same as the normal script {အူ}. It is rarely used except in few words like {အဆောက်အဦ} meaning "equipment." {ဦး} with high falling tone, however, is frequently used as a prefix to the names of adult men. 

ဧ

This script is read [e] with level tone or [è] with high tone. It is most commonly found in the loan words from Pali, e.g., {ဧရာမ}meaning "big." 
 

သြ 

This script is read `aw. It is most commonly used in the loan words from Pali, e.g.,{သြဝါဒ} meaning "instruction."  
The level tone of this vowel is written {ဪ} for one and only word meaning "Oh," which is now mostly written အော် .