Meaning
Stating lack of knowledge.
Cultural Background
The concept of 'Face' is important. If someone says 'Ma thi bu' very quickly, they might be trying to avoid a long conversation where they might lose face by not being able to help. In the fast-paced city, 'Ma thi bu' is often shortened in speech to sound almost like 'M'thee-bu'. When speaking to monks, you must use 'Ma thi par bu phayar'. 'Phayar' is a title for Buddha/monks. Younger people use 'mtb' in chat or 'Ma thi bu lay' to sound cute or casual.
The 'Par' Rule
When in doubt, always add 'par' (မသိပါဘူး). It never hurts to be too polite in Myanmar.
Avoid Bluntness
A flat 'Ma thi bu' can sound like 'I don't care.' Soften it with a smile or 'Sait ma shi par nè' (Sorry).
Meaning
Stating lack of knowledge.
The 'Par' Rule
When in doubt, always add 'par' (မသိပါဘူး). It never hurts to be too polite in Myanmar.
Avoid Bluntness
A flat 'Ma thi bu' can sound like 'I don't care.' Soften it with a smile or 'Sait ma shi par nè' (Sorry).
Body Language
A slight shake of the head often accompanies this phrase. Avoid pointing while saying it.
Texting
Use 'mtb' to sound like a local when chatting on Messenger or Viber.
Test Yourself
How do you say 'I don't know' politely to a teacher?
Choose the correct form:
Adding 'par' (ပါ) makes the phrase polite and suitable for a teacher.
Complete the negation sandwich.
____ သိ ____ (I don't know)
The standard negation frame in Burmese is 'Ma...bu'.
Match the phrase to the situation.
You are asked if you can swim.
'Ma tat bu' is used for skills like swimming, while 'Ma thi bu' is for information.
Complete the dialogue.
A: သူဘယ်မှာလဲ။ (Where is he?) B: _________။
If you don't know where someone is, 'Ma thi bu' is the logical answer.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
Practice Bank
4 exercisesChoose the correct form:
Adding 'par' (ပါ) makes the phrase polite and suitable for a teacher.
____ သိ ____ (I don't know)
The standard negation frame in Burmese is 'Ma...bu'.
You are asked if you can swim.
'Ma tat bu' is used for skills like swimming, while 'Ma thi bu' is for information.
A: သူဘယ်မှာလဲ။ (Where is he?) B: _________။
If you don't know where someone is, 'Ma thi bu' is the logical answer.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
10 questionsNot inherently, but it can be blunt. Add 'par' to make it polite.
'Thi' is for information/facts. 'Tat' is for skills/abilities.
Yes, to say you don't know who someone is. But to say you aren't 'acquainted' with them, 'Ma thi bu' is still used.
Say 'Ma thi thay bu' (မသိသေးဘူး).
It's the polite version used with elders and strangers.
Yes, 'Ma thi bu har' or 'Ma thi bu lay'.
မသိဘူး
No, that is 'Na-le ma bu'.
Yes, but use the polite 'Ma thi par bu' and follow up with an offer to find out.
It is the creaky tone (short and high).
Related Phrases
မမှတ်မိဘူး
similarI don't remember
မသေချာဘူး
similarI'm not sure
မတတ်ဘူး
contrastI don't know how to
နားမလည်ဘူး
similarI don't understand
သိတယ်
contrastI know
