Best kennethwongsf Podcasts (2025)

1
On Dowry 34:54

2d ago34:54

34:54

As singles with no marital experience, my cohost Su and I are under-qualified to discuss this episode's theme: dowry. In Burmese context, it usually means what the groom and his family offer to the bride’s parents as gifts when asking for the girl’s hand in marriage. The so-called gifts could be cows for ploughing, a plot of farm to live on, a new …

1
On Burmese Slangs, from Being Broke to Having a Crush 35:00

2M ago35:00

35:00

If you’re going out to lunch with a Burmese friend who says he’s running low on water (ရေခမ်းနေတယ်), be prepared to pay for the meal. That means he’s broke. On the other hand, if you’re running low on water yourself, but he is overflowing, so to speak (ရေလျှံနေတယ်), you can probably ask him to pay for the meal. In English, if you need some type of …

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Drink a Cigarette, Strike a Photo, Dream a Dream 5:53

2M ago5:53

5:53

Would you ever drink a cigarette or a cigar? In English, you wouldn't, but in Burmese, you must. To describe smoking a cigarette or cigar, you must use the verb သောက်တယ် , the same verb for drinking coffee, tea, or Coca Cola. It may seem counterintuitive to use the verb to describe consuming liquid for smoking, but that's the correct form: ဆေးလိပ်သ…

1
On Thingyan and Thaan Jaat 32:50

3M ago32:50

32:50

Mid-April is when Burmese people celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of another one with a water festival, similar to the people of Thailand and several other neighboring countries. In modern times, young people driving around in open pickup trucks and shooting water through high-pressure tubes and cannons is the standard practice, …

1
On Chinese New Year 30:15

4M ago30:15

30:15

You might have noticed that, in Chinatown, red lanterns are going up, and lion dancers and dragon dancers are coming out, ready to parade the street. Mid-February is usually Chinese New Year, so both the Chinese community in Yangon, and the Chinese diaspora around the world are decked out in red dresses and new outfits, ready to welcome the new yea…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Straddling Two Boats at Once 8:53

5M ago8:53

8:53

If a politician speaks ambiguously without committing to one side or the other on an issue, you might call it political doublespeak in English, and accuse him or her of being wishy-washy. In Burmese, you might say he or she is "straddling the sides of two boats," လှေနံနှစ်ဖက်နင်းတယ် or လှေနံနှစ်ဖက်ခွတယ်. On the other other hand, if you can resolve …

1
On Culture Shock 39:09

5M ago39:09

39:09

In the 1980s, when I was growing up in Rangoon under Ne Win's Socialist Government, I remember how foreigners were shocked by, among other things, local people chewing betel quid and spitting out splashes of red betel juice all over the sidewalks. Today, if you come from a place like Japan, where nobody expects you to tip, you’re in for a shock whe…

1
On the Benefits and Risks of Social Media 32:04

7M ago32:04

32:04

Some homegrown businesses and neighborhood restaurants flourish in Burma, thanks for the power of viral posts and social media. But fake news of levitating monks and strange omens also spread online, like wildfire. While not exactly fake news, inaccurate news and old news also tend to resurface from time to time, stirring up racial tension or raisi…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Will You Drink the Bitter Rainwater? 5:22

7M ago5:22

5:22

Given a choice, would you rather drink the Kool-Aid, or the bitter rainwater (မိုးခါးရေ)? The phrase “to drink the Kool-Aid,” meaning to embrace an irrational, foolish, or dangerous popular ideology, is associated with the tragic episode involving the American cult leader Jim Jones. The Burmese equivelent is "to drink the bitter rainwater" (မိုးခါး…

1
On Tazaungdaing Festival and the Night of Mischief 49:45

7M ago49:45

49:45

Why are the robes woven on full-moon night of တန်ဆောင်မုန်း , the 8th month in the Burmese lunar calendar, called, မသိုးသင်္ကန်း , literally, unspoiled robes? What is the legend of the origin of the practice called ပံ့သကူ to leave out items that others can take away? And what kind of mischiefs or troubles are you allowed to cause on the night calle…

1
On Burmese Ghosts, Witches, and Sorcerers 27:25

8M ago27:25

27:25

Do you know the legend of မဖဲဝါ Ma Phe Wah, the graveyard guardian spirit in disheveled hair, dressed in a yellow outfit? And do you know the origin of the Burmese word စုန်း for witches? How about the two different branches of sorcery, အထက်လမ်း and အောက်လမ်း, quite literally the high path and the low path? If you don’t, grab your wicked candies, y…

1
On Thadingyut (or) Festival of Light 39:11

9M ago39:11

39:11

In Myanmar or Burma, October is the month of Thadingyut, the festival of light. For the children, it's a rare excuse to play with fireworks, sparkles, and even firecrackers. For young people and couples, it’s a chance to take a stroll along the bright-lit streets and the festival market, to sample the crispy fritters and grilled meat in the food st…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: The Brother from Another Belly 6:44

10M ago6:44

6:44

Do you have a brother or sister from another belly? Most of you probably do. The Burmese term အကိုတစ်ဝမ်းကွဲ or ညီမတစ်ဝမ်းကွဲ , literally brother or sister from another belly, refers to the son or daughter of your uncle or aunt -- in other words, your first cousin. In English, you wouldn't refer to such relatives as your "brother" or "sister," but …

1
On Pop Song Lyrics 39:10

11M ago39:10

39:10

In a song about timid lovebirds too shy to confess their feelings for each other, the lyrics says "မျက်လုံးချင်းစကားပြောနေပြီ (Their eyes are speaking to each other)." In the song "ရတနာသူ (Jeweled Lover)," the lyrics compares the girl's bodyparts to precious gemstones, ending with "အသည်းနှလုံးကိုကျောက်စိမ်းနဲ့မွမ်းမံခြယ် (her heart should be adorne…

1
On Superstition 29:28

11M ago29:28

29:28

In the western culture, people often shrink from number 13. Noone wants to go out on Friday the 13th, and some businesses go so far as to skip the 13th floor's button in their elevators. In Burmese culture, people love number nine. When looking for a new place, many would look for a house address divisible by nine. And if they’re about to go on a s…

1
On Chin People and Their Customs 35:30

12M ago35:30

35:30

For the most part, people associate Burma, or Myanmar, with pagodas and Buddhist monks, but in reality, the country is much more diverse. Its multi-faith population comprises Christians, Hindus, and Muslim communities in addition to the majority Buddhist Burmans. The population's ethnic makeup also includes Shan, Karen, Kachin, Kayah, Mon, and Chin…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Why is the Garuda Cooking Salt? 9:25

1y ago9:25

9:25

What do you do when you’re in a pinch, out of options, and desperate? In English, you might make a Last-Ditch Effort. If you’re a football player, you might throw a Hail Mary Pass. But in Burmese, you might do what the mythical bird Garuda did: cook salt. To understand the Burmese expression အကြံကုန် ဂဠုန်ဆားချက် (when the Garuda runs out of ideas,…

1
On Work-Related Words and Phrases 21:14

1y ago21:14

21:14

The phrase လက်ဖက်ရည်ဖိုး literally translates to "cost of tea" or "tea money," but in workplaces, especially in government offices known for corruption, it takes on a different meaning. လက်ဖက်ရည်ဖိုးတောင်းတယ် or "to ask for tea money," is "to demand a bribe"; and လက်ဖက်ရည်ဖိုးပေးတယ် or "to offer tea money" is "to offer a bribe." Just like in Englis…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Oh, the Humanity! 9:36

1y ago9:36

9:36

Humane, inhumane, humanitarian, humanize, humanist, subhuman—there are examples of English words derived from the root word Human . In Burmese, if you want to publicize something, you have to do it so that "men would know and monks would hear (လူသိရှင်ကြား)." If you have lost your influence, you'd become someone who "men don't respect and dogs don'…

1
On Airport-Related Words and Phrases 25:31

1+ y ago25:31

25:31

To talk about modern-day travel means to talk about air travel primarily. In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol from BLAY (Burmese Language Academy of Yangon) and I teach you all the terms and phrases associated with airport, from custom officers and immigration officers to flight attendants and x-ray machines. We can’t help you avoid excess luggage f…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: A Word on Words to Describe How People Speak 8:24

1+ y ago8:24

8:24

If you can butter up someone into doing something in English, you can also “စကားချိုသွေး” or "sweettalk" someone in Burmese. In English, you might describe someone as “a foul mouth”; in Burmese it takes the verb form: “ပါးစပ်ကြမ်းတယ်” or his or her “mouth is foul." If you need to fish for information, you might “စကားချူ” or “siphon words." Some peo…

1
On the Word Mingalah for Auspiciousness 24:51

1+ y ago24:51

24:51

You have probably heard the Burmese phrase မင်္ဂလာပါ Mingalah bah--typically used by hotel receptions and restaurant staff to greet you. Derived from Pali, the word roughly means to be auspicious, to have good omen, and to have good tidings -- a general word of positivity. But do you know that you can also spawn other compound words with it, like a…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Show Me Your Face and I'll Tell You How You're Feeling 9:41

1+ y ago9:41

9:41

In Burmese, the face is a great way to express your helplessness, pride, shame, or outrage--figuratively. When you’re feeling awkward, you might say, your face is burning (မျက်နှာပူတယ်). When you’re feeling insecure, your face is small (မျက်နှာငယ်တယ်). And when you favor someone, you give them face time (မျက်နှာပေးတယ် or မျက်နှာသာပေးတယ်). By the sa…

1
On Burmese Folk Tales and Bedtime Stories 29:59

1+ y ago29:59

29:59

What is your favorite bedtime story? Cinderella? Snow White? For Burmese kids, most likely it’s a story associated with a proverb, like Maung Po and the Tiger, or one of the jatakas, a retelling of the Buddha’s past lives that brought him to enlightenment. In this episode, I speak to A Zun Mo, the coauthor of Burmese Stories for Language Learners, …

1
On Mon Language and Culture 26:28

1+ y ago26:28

26:28

The Mons, an ethnic group with its own distinct language and culture, exist in both Burma and Thailand. The Mon script is considered a source of the current Burmese script. The conventional view is Bagan’s conquest of the Mons in 1057 reshaped the character of Bagan, the first Burmese empire, as a Buddhist kingdom. Mon also happens to be the mother…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Gone to Live in the Village of the Spirits 10:52

2y ago10:52

10:52

Gone to live in the village of the sacred spirits (နတ်ရွာစံတယ်), flown away (ပျံလွန်တော်မူတယ်), has taken up residence in Nirvana (ပရိနိဗ္ဗာန်စံတယ် ) ... They all mean "to die," but depending on the type of person involved, some terms may be appropriate, others may not be. Then there are also monosyllabic terms you might use to describe death disda…

1
How is Burmese Different From, and Similar to, English? 34:02

2y ago34:02

34:02

Is Burmese difficult to learn--in particular, for English speakers? What’s the difference between Burmese and English grammar and sentence structures? And how do Burmese tones affect Burmese learners? How does the Burmese expression ရေးတော့အမှန် ဖတ်တော့ အသံ sum up a hurdle Burmese learners must face? To discuss these, I invited Professor Justin Wat…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Between Heaven and Earth 10:42

2y ago10:42

10:42

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the prince of Denmark told his trusted friend Horatio, "There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy." In this episode, I introduce you to Burmese phrases that stemmed from the word မိုး (sky, heaven) and မြေ (ground, earth). You might say "someone is on cloud nine" in English. We say in B…

1
On Reading Burmese Books 28:06

2y ago28:06

28:06

For today’s episode, I invited a special guest – the mesmerizing voice behind the podcast စာဖတ်ပြမယ် or “I’ll read you stories.” The podcaster Win Ei regularly uploads recorded audio clips of Burmese short stories and essays to entertain us weekly with her voice. For many Burmese booklovers, her voice is what they hear before going to bed. In this …

1
On Burmese Donation Rituals and Terms 26:33

2y ago26:33

26:33

What might inspire someone in Burma to donate? The reasons can range from celebrating a birthday or remembering a loved one who has passed away to supporting a monastery or nunnery. A rite of passage, such as a young man becoming a novice monk or a young woman getting her ears pierced, could also prompt a community to hold a general feast, where ev…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Plain Janes and Hidden Talents Under the Leaves 8:02

2y ago8:02

8:02

Where are your hidden talents hiding? If you’re speaking Burmese, they might be hiding under the leaves. The Burmese expression for someone with a hidden talent is ရွက်ပုန်းသီး -- meaning "a fruit hidden under the leaves." And someone you might call a Plain Jane in English is ရွက်ကြမ်းရေကျို or "tea brewed with plain leaves" in Burmese. Someone who…

1
Burmese Insults: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 32:05

2+ y ago32:05

32:05

My students -- not all, but the rowdy and curious ones -- often ask me, how do you curse in Burmese? What is the Burmese version of the F-word or the C-word? Since this is supposed to be a G-rate podcast, I won’t be going anywhere near those. But there are well-worn insults, acceptable forms of name calling for the deserving ones. The terms range f…

1
What's in a Burmese Name? Destiny, for a Start. 31:48

2+ y ago31:48

31:48

The peculiar nature of traditional Burmese names is, they usually do not have last names or family names. Instead, they’re chosen based on the day of the week a person is born. In other words, when you hear someone’s full name, you can often tell which day of the week he or she was born on. Not only that, in Burmese astrology, the weekday of your b…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Chinese Shutters, British Drinks, and Gurkha Fruits 10:34

2+ y ago10:34

10:34

When are Venetian blinds not Venetian? In Burmese language, they become Chinese shutters (တရုတ်ကပ်). (Variations of the design are also known as Louvre window or Jalousie window.) The spiky chayote, called Buddha's palm in Chinese (佛手瓜) due to its shape, is called Gurkha fruit (ဂေါ်ရခါးသီး) in Burmese. Cement, even when locally made with Burmese di…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: On Four-Letter Words 7:56

2+ y ago7:56

7:56

Balderdash, baby talk, pillow talk, a clumsy act, a half-ass job, or a cuddly pet? Chances are, there's a four-letter, four-syllable word to describe it. They give your speech a certain meter and rhythm and make you sound musical. But many of them also sound quite similar. For language learners, the challenge is not to mix them up and use the wrong…

1
On Ghostly Encounters in Burma 30:04

2+ y ago30:04

30:04

In this special Halloween episode, my cohost Mol Mol from the Burmese Language Academy of Yangon (BLAY) and I delve into things that go bump in the night. We share stories of haunted trees, school corridors, and college dormitories. And we trade spine-chilling, goosebump-inducing urban legends. Do you know how to tell a ghost story in Burmese? If n…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Green-Branch Breakup, Green Death, and Green-Faced Folks 12:05

3y ago12:05

12:05

In English, green is the color of jealousy, but in Burmese romance, a green-branch split (သစ်စိမ်းချိုး ချိုးတယ်) is a cruel, hurtful breakup. If a cold shoulder is the precursor to a breakup, in Burmese, the sign is a green-wind blowing (လေစိမ်းတွေတိုက်နေတယ်). Strangers and unfamiliar faces are green men (လူစိမ်း) and green faces (မျက်နှာစိမ်း). S…

1
On Burmese Proverbs and Maxims 31:11

3y ago31:11

31:11

In English, to talk about making the best use of time and circumstances, you’d say, make hay while the sun shines. But in Burmese, it’s to weave while the moon shines. To do things in the wrong order is to put the cart before the horse in English. In Burmese, it’s to put the plough before the ox. If someone is thinking too far ahead, you might say,…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Droplets of Destiny and Romance Written on the Forehead 11:09

3y ago11:09

11:09

Destiny comes in many shapes and forms, but in Burmese, figuratively speaking, it comes as water droplets, or ရေစက်။ People became friends, neighbors, or lovers because they share some droplets of fate (ရေစက်ဆုံလို့၊ ရေစက်ရှိလို့), as a result of some acts of merit they had done in past lives. By the same token, when the supply of fate or merit run…

1
On Pagoda Fairs and Fortunetellers 23:02

3y ago23:02

23:02

What might you expect to find at a Burmese pagoda fair? What kind of food, souvenirs, and attractions would you likely encounter? Aside from cotton candy stands, Ferris wheel rides, and souvenir shops with paper tigers and paper demons, the fair might also give you a chance to have your fortune read by a fortuneteller. There may also be gambling go…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Keep Your Butterfly Safe 6:53

3y ago6:53

6:53

If your conscience or your courage were an insect, what might it be? In Burmese imagination, it’s a butterfly. There are some Burmese expressions where the delicate creature represents your conscience, confidence, courage, or life. Do you have a clear conscience or a troubled conscience? Are you a timid, faint-hearted soul? Are you scared out of yo…

1
On Burmese Movies, from the Black-and-White Era to the Age of Surround Sound 26:56

3y ago26:56

26:56

In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol from BLAY (Burmese language academy of Yangon) and I discuss the movie-going experiences in our own times. In my boyhood in the 80s, movie theaters in Yangon were weather-beaten colonial buildings, with only a few offering air condition -- a luxury confined to the embassies and high-end hotels. On the other hand, …

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Don't Show Up Without a Musical Prelude 6:23

3y ago6:23

6:23

Theatrical performances, dance drama, and shows are such an integral part of Burmese culture that quite a number of everyday expressions can be traced back to them. In this episode, I'll introduce you to two such sayings: ဆိုင်းမဆင့် ဗုံမဆင့် (to show up without a musical prelude) မီးစင်ကြည့်ကတယ် (to dance wherever the spotlight falls) The first on…

1
On Travel in Burma, Prophetic Verses, and Cursed Trees 24:27

3y ago24:27

24:27

In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol and I discuss the joy of travel. Mol Mol has just returned from a trip to Tarchileik, a city in the Shan State bordering the notorious Golden Triangle region. While I have not been back in Burma recently, I still have fond memories of my last pilgrimage to the temple-dotted ancient city of Bagan. Mol Mol recounts …

1
Bite-Size Burmese: The Shadows of Social Intercourse 7:07

3y ago7:07

7:07

Hello! My cohost Mol Mol is on vacation this week. Rest assured, when she returns, we will resume our Learn Burmese from Natural Talk series, but in this episode, I'll give you a bite-size lesson. This is the first of what will become a series of mini lessons sandwiched between our regular talks. I’ll call it Bite-Size Burmese. It’s intended for in…

1
On Dance, Drama, and Comedians 23:27

3+ y ago23:27

23:27

Anyeint, Zat, Pwe: these are terms associated with classical music, dance, and drama, sometimes performed in respected public halls but more often in open spaces and fields, under makeshift tents and on temporary stages lit with torches or dangling lightbulbs. What kind of instruments can you expect to hear in these performances? What is the role o…

1
On Ethnic Cuisine and Memorable Meals 20:50

3+ y ago20:50

20:50

Time to talk about food! From Ramen bowls that rival the best in Tokyo to Kayah sausages stuffed with spiced minced meat, Burma’s big cities and small towns offer a rich variety of dishes to tickle your fancy and palate. In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol from Burmese Language Academy of Yangon (BLAY) and I discuss fritters from the roadside stalls…

1
On Witches, Wizzard, and Nats 14:30

3+ y ago14:30

14:30

Hello everyone! It’s my pleasure to bring you the debut episode of a new podcast series for intermediate Burmese learners. My cohost is Mol Mol (မိုမို), a teacher from the Burmese Language Academy of Yangon, also known as BLAY. Our goal here is not to offer formal instructions and practice drills, but rather, to expose you to how people talk in re…

1
On Dating and Courtship 21:19

3+ y ago21:19

21:19

Hello everyone! In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol from BLAY (Burmese Language Academy of Yangon) and I discuss the dating and courtship rituals in Burma. How does a man express his romantic interest? What are the protocols for serenading a girl? How might a girl reveal to a suitor that she, too, is interested? How have technology and social media …

1
Teashop Culture in Burma 21:11

3+ y ago21:11

21:11

Welcome to another episode of Learn Burmese from Natural Talk! In Burmese teashops, have you ever listened closely to how regular customers order tea, and how the waiters and waitresses relay these orders to the kitchen? What do people mean when they ask for cho pawt, pawt kya, pawt seint, kyauk badaung or see lone tea? What type of people tend to …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Kennethwongsf Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide