The Karen word for ourselves
Learn to read Sgaw Karen
Keep a language alive, one word at a time.
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ကညီknyaw“the Karen, our name for ourselves”
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 ghayShow the meaning
Good morningနံၤလၢအဂ့ၤney law a ghayShow the meaning
Good dayဟါလၢအဂ့ၤha law a ghayShow the meaning
Good eveningတၢ်ဘျုးta bluhShow 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.
- 378,505Karen words we have, ready to check
- 2,236Words checked and live
- 39Topics you can learn now
… and growing every week.
More to see
More than lessons
- Word listSgaw Karen words in their letters, with how to read them and what they mean.
- The lettersThe Sgaw Karen letters, one by one.
- StoriesReal Karen children's books, page by page. Tap any word you know from the lessons to see its meaning.
- The languageWho speaks Sgaw Karen, its letters, its tones, and its story.
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, freeMade 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.