The official language of Myanmar is Burmese. It is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family. As such, it shares various linguistic features with several languages spoken across Southeast Asia and the Himalayan region. According to the eLinguistics.net analysis using specific software modules to assess linguistic relationships, the five languages most similar to Burmese are Meitei, Mizo, Tibetan, Dzongkha, and Laotian.
- Meitei (36.9)
Manipur is an Indian state that borders Myanmar. Meitei is a commonly spoken language there. It has many structural and phonetic similarities to the Burmese language. Both share similar verb structures and use tones to distinguish meaning, which is characteristic of the Tibeto-Burman language family. - Mizo (36.2)
Another Indian state that borders Myanmar is Mizoram. The Mizo language is one of the official languages of the state. It is another Tibeto-Burman language that shares a number of linguistic features with Burmese. Furthermore, they have tonal properties and similar syntactic structures. - Tibetan (33.4)
Primarily spoken in the Tibet region of China, Tibetan shares its ancient roots with Burmese. Both languages have tonal variations, though Tibetan’s script and phonology differ more significantly. However, they share common historical origins and several grammatical structures. - Dzongkha (33.1)
The national language of Bhutan is Dzongkha. It is closely related to Tibetan. The language shares a number of similarities with Burmese in terms of tonal qualities and grammar. Like Burmese, Dzongkha has also retained many ancient Tibeto-Burman vocabulary roots. - Laotian (31.8)
Laos borders Myanmar, so it is no surprise that the Laotian language has some aspects in common with Burmese. Laotian belongs to the Tai-Kadai language family, but due to geographical proximity and historical interactions, Lao has some similarities with Burmese, particularly in terms of tones and phonology. The languages also share some borrowed vocabulary, reflecting cultural exchanges over centuries.
(to be considered for the list, the language must be spoken by at least one million people)