Kaba Ma Kyei

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Kaba Ma Kyei (1947)
by Saya Tin

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Kaba Ma Kyei ("Till the End of the World, Myanmar") is the national anthem of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is often translated as "We Shall Never Give Up Our Motherland, Myanmar", but is relatively inaccurate in translating the title's meaning. Myanmar is among only a handful of non-European nations that have anthems rooted in indigenous traditions (including Japan, Iran, and Sri Lanka).

The melody and lyrics were written by Saya Tin, and adopted as the Burmese national anthem in 1947.

The lyrics lack many suffixes and particles to fit the music notes.

— Excerpted from Kaba Ma Kyei on Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.

44703Kaba Ma Kyei1947Saya Tin

Burmese lyrics

Word-for-word phonetic transcription

kam ba ma kyei, myan ma pyei,

to bo bwa a mwei sit mo chit myat no pei.

kam ba ma kyei, myan ma pyei,

to bo bwa a mwei sit mo chit myat no pei.

pyei thaung su ko a tek pay lo to ka kwè ma lei,

da to pyei da to myei to paing dè myei.

to pyei to myei a kyo ko nyi nya swa to ta twei

tam saung par so lei to ta wan pei a phoe tan myei.

Colloquial phonetic transcription

ga ba ma kyei, myan ma pyi,

do bo bwa a mwei sih mo chih myih no bei.

ga ba ma kyei, myan ma pyi,

do bo bwa a mwei sih mo chih myih no bei.

pyi daung zu go a thè pei lo to ka gwè ma lei,

tha do pyi tha do myei do paing dè myei.

do pyi do myei a kyo go nyi nya swa do da twei

tan saung pa so lei do thau win pei a po tan (dè) myei.

English translation

Official

Till the end of the world, Myanmar!,

Since she is the true inheritance from our forefathers, we love and value her.

We will fight and give our lives for the union

This is the country and land of our own

For her prosperity, we will responsibly shoulder the task,

Standing as one in duty to our precious land.

Literal

Until the world crumbles, Myanmar!,

Our ancestors gave us the inheritance after fighting wars with love.

Until the world crumbles, Myanmar!,

Our ancestors gave us the inheritance after fighting wars with love.

We will sacrifice our lives and our labors to protect the Union.

This is our Nation, this is our Land, the land that we own.

Our nation, our land will prosper with productivity and equality as pictured

To unite in keeping to the duties of our valuable land.