Myanmar Letter Wa

Use a Myanmar Unicode keyboard; the key depends on its layout.

Unicode does not prescribe one keyboard arrangement, so the key or gesture varies by provider.

The letter ဝ is not the digit ၀ (Myanmar zero), although some fonts give them similar outlines.

What sound does ဝ make?

It is the consonant w, as in English “we.”

In Burmese, ဝ is a base consonant. The separate sign ွ, called medial wa, adds a w glide inside a syllable; older Burmese spelling and Pali or Sanskrit written in Myanmar script can also place wa below another consonant.

The surrounding vowels and marks help show whether ဝ is the letter on its own or part of a Burmese word.

Where did the Myanmar script come from?

Historical accounts trace the Myanmar script to a Brahmi-related script from South India, adapted to write Mon about the eighth century. The first known Myanmar-script inscription dates to the eleventh century and uses an alphabet close to those in Mon inscriptions. Writing in what is now Myanmar is older: Pyu-language and Pali writing at the ancient city of Śrīkṣetra dates from the second half of the fifth century. Pali is a language used in Buddhist texts.

The script later served Burmese, Mon, Karen, Shan, Pali, Sanskrit, and other languages. Buddhist Pali appears on gold plates and votive objects, while Burmese Kammavācā manuscripts—books of Pali passages for monks to recite—were also made as acts believed to bring religious merit to donors. Its rounded forms are traditionally linked to writing on palm leaves without splitting them.