Learn to read Sgaw Karen
Start learning, freeYou don't need an account. Free forever, no pay wall. Just the language.
Why this matters now
Families took this language far from home, and now it is slowly being lost.
Sgaw Karen is the first language of more than a million people. Families took it out of Myanmar and the camps by the Thai border. They took it to new countries, to cities where their kids now grow up speaking English first. They speak Karen only at the dinner table, if at all.
A language lives only as long as people speak it at home. When the old people who know it die, the songs, the prayers, and the way a grandma can be both firm and kind in one breath go quiet too.
Knyaw is here to keep it spoken. It is free and made with Karen people, so a child far from home can still learn the words their grandma prays.
A little taste of the lessons
Start by reading the letters, one word at a time
The Karen writing, how to read it, and what it means. Tap a card to show the meaning.
- ဂီၤလၢအဂ့ၤghay law a ghay
Show the meaning
Good morning - နံၤလၢအဂ့ၤney law a ghay
Show the meaning
Good day - ဟါလၢအဂ့ၤha law a ghay
Show the meaning
Good evening - တၢ်ဘျုးta bluh
Show the meaning
Thank you
Knyaw helps you read and understand Karen: the letters, the words, and the meaning. Not how to say the words out loud.
More to see
More than lessons
Look at the words, learn the letters, or read about the language itself.
The largest open collection of Sgaw Karen words anywhere.
- 378,505Karen words we have, ready to check
- 2,236Words checked and live
- 39Topics you can learn now
… and growing every week.
Keep a language alive, one word at a time.
Start learning for free right now, or leave your email and we'll tell you what's new. Then come say ဂီၤလၢအဂ့ၤ with us.
Start learning, freeor follow along
Can you already read Sgaw Karen? Help check the words →Knyaw is free forever, kept alive by people who love this language. You can help keep it that way →
Made with Karen people
Knyaw is made with Karen speakers, old people, and Karen groups. Not for them, but with them. Words are checked in trusted dictionaries, and Karen speakers help check them too.