Hmong (lus Hmoob / lug Moob / lol Hmongb)

Hmong is a Hmong-Mien language spoken by about 2.6 million people in China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, USA, and French Guiana. There are two major varieties of Hmong: White Hmong (Hmoob Dawb) and Green/Blue Hmong (Moob Leeg/Hmoob Ntsuab), which are named after the traditional colours worn by women of the different groups.

In China Hmong is known as Miao and is written with Chinese characters or with an alphabet known as Pollard Miao. In Thailand, it is written with the Thai alphabet. In Vietnam Hmong is sometimes written with the Pahawh Hmong alphabet. During the 1980s and 1990s several other alphabets were invented to write Hmong: Ntawv Paj Ntaub, based on Thai letters and Chinese characters, and Ai Ao Lo.

Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA)

Today most Hmong write their language with the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), a version of the Latin alphabet developed mainly by American missionary linguists in the 1950s in Laos. In the RPA tones are indicated by final consonants.

Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA) for Hmong

Sample text in Hmong (Miao) of northeastern Guizhou

Laix laix diangl dangt lol sob dab yangx ghax maix zit yef, niangb diot gid zenb nieef haib gid quaif lit gid nongd jus diel pinf denx. Nenx dol maix laib lix xent haib jox hvib vut, nenx dol nongt liek bed ut id xit deit dait.

Sample text in Hmong (Miao) of southeastern Guizhou

Leb leb nis zib youl nangs, mex ad sheit nangd zend yanl nhangs njanl lib. Mix mex lix xinb gaot liangt send, leb leb lies nhangs ghob nab ghob geud nangd.

Sample text in Hmong (Miao) of Sichuan/Guizhou/Yunnan

Cuat lenx cuat dol bongb deul ndax dex douf muax zif youx, nyaob shout zunb yinx tab ndas dos id, dax zis ib suk. Nil buab daf lol jaox muax lid xinf hlub hout tab liangx xinb shab nzhuk, yinf gaib keuk suk gud dix mol lol nit jinb shenx lol shib daf shib hlad.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Sample video in Hmong

Information about Hmong | Phrases | Tower of Babel in Blue Hmong, White Hmong and Iu Mien | Hmong books

Links

Information about the Hmong language and people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_language
http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=195&menu=004
http://www.hmongnet.org
http://www.sytra.cn/hmong-translation-services.html

Information about the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanized_Popular_Alphabet

Online Hmong dictionary
http://www.HmongDictionary.com

Hmong phrases
http://www.davecurtis.net/phrasebook/phrasebook.en.mww.html
http://dcehmong.weebly.com/common-hmong-wordsphrases.html

Free Pahawh Hmong fonts
http://hmongscript.cwjmemhmong.info/download.html
http://www.pahauhhmong.org/downloadfont.html
http://www.hmongnet.org/hmongfonts/

Hmong Language Institute of Minnesotta
http://www.pahauhhmong.org

Hmong Nationality Archives
http://www.hmongarchives.org

Center for Hmong Studies, Concordia University, Saint Paul
http://www.csp.edu/hmongcenter/

Hmong-Mien languages

A-Hmao, Dananshan Miao, Hmong, Hmong Dau, Hmong Njau, Hmu, Iu Mien, Luobohe Miao, Mashan Miao, Qo Xiong

Other languages written with the Latin alphabet

If you need to type in many different languages, the Q International Keyboard can help. It enables you to type almost any language that uses the Latin, Cyrillic or Greek alphabets, and is free.

If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.

Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site.