Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

Mara language

Mara is a Kuki-Chin language spoken by Mara people, mostly the Tlosai tribe living in 30 villages of Chhimtuipui district, southern Mizoram, India; 9 villages in Thantlang District, Chin State, Burma; and several more in Matupi District, Chin State, Burma.

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Mara
Mara Reih (Tlosai)
Pronunciation[mərà]
Native toMizoram, India; Burma
EthnicityMara people
Native speakers
(Estimated over 100,000 (India, Myanmar, Malaysia, United States, and Australia)12 cited 1994–2026)3
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3mrh – inclusive code
Individual code:
shl – Shendu
Glottologmara1382
shen1247  Shendu
ELPMara

Mara (Mara Chin: Mara reih, pronounced [mərà reɪ]; Burmese: မရာဘာသာစကား, pronounced [mərà bàθàzəɡá]) is a Kuki-Chin language spoken by Mara people, mostly the Tlosai tribe living in 30 villages of Chhimtuipui district, southern Mizoram, India; 9 villages in Thantlang District, Chin State, Burma; and several more in Matupi District, Chin State, Burma.

The Mara (Tlosai) languages belong to the Kuki-Chin branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The speakers of the languages are also known as Mara (Tlosais). Shendu is a colonial name.

Mara is a recognised language in the Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) school curriculum. Mara is a compulsory subject for all schools up to class VII (middle school) under the Board of School Education, MADC.

Written script

A written script for Mara was first created in 1852 by Captain S.R. Tickell.4 Further scripts were invented in 1869 by Captain T.H. Lewin, in 1908 by Rev. F.W. Savidge and by R.A. Lorain.4

Mara alphabet (capital letters)

A, AW, Y, B, CH, D, E, F, H, I, K, L, M, N, NG, O, Ô, P, R, S, T, U, V, Z

Mara alphabet (lowercase letters)

a, aw, y, b, ch, d, e, f, h, i, k, l, m, n, ng, o, ô, p, r, s, t, u, v, z

Mara diphthongs

ao, yu, ai, ei, ia, ie, ua.5

Grammar

Plurals

The plural form of a noun is formed by affixing one of the following terms to the end of the noun:

  • zy (zeu)
  • zydua (zeu-dua)
  • nawh
  • sahlao (sha-hlawh)

Today the Mara language has its own alphabet; words inside brackets show author N.E. Parry's transliterations from 1937.

Interrogative words in Mara

  • What: Khâpa, Khâpa e, Khâpa maw
  • Where: Khataih lâ, Khataih liata
  • How: kheihta, kheihawhta, Khatluta, Kheihta maw
  • How much?: Khazie?
  • How long?: Khachâ e, Khachâ maw?
  • When: Khatita, Khatita e, Khâpa nota, nota, tita, nahta, pata Conj. thlaita, khati nota
  • Why: Khazia, Khazia-e, Khazia maw, Khâpa vâta
  • Why not: Khazia a châ vei chheih aw
  • Whose: Kheihawhpa, Kheihawhpa he, Kheihawhpa-e, Kheihawhpa maw, ahy he maw
  • Which: Kheihawhpa, Kheihawhpa he, Kheihawhpa-e, Kheihawhpa maw, ahy he maw
  • Friend: Viasa
  • Male Friend: Viasa Paw
  • Female Friend: Viasa Nô
  • Walk/Go: Sie (Phei ta Sie)
  • Run: Arâ, â râ
  • Sleep: Amô, Azia, Apazawh, â mô, â zia, â pazawh
  • See: Mo, hmô
  • Sit: Â tyuh, atyuh
  • Stand: Â duah, aduah
  • Jump: Â pathluah, apathluah
  • Hit: Â chô, achô
  • Eat: Nie
  • Drink: Doh

Pronouns

Singular

  • 1st person: keima, kei - I
  • 2nd person: nâma, na - you
  • 3rd person: ano, a or ama' - he, she, it

Plural

  • 1st person: eima - we
  • 2nd person: nâmo, nâma - you
  • 3rd person: âmo - they

Possessive Pronouns

Singular

  • Keima, ei - my
  • Keima eih, kei eih - mine
  • Nâma, na - thy (you)
  • Nâma eih, na eih - thine (yours)
  • Ama, a - him, her, it
  • Ama eih, a eih - his, hers, its

Plural

  • Keimo - our
  • Keimo eih - ours
  • Nâmo - your
  • Ahyrai - anyone
  • Ahy tlyma - someone, a certain one
  • A tlâhpi - some . . . others
  • A hropa - another, others
  • Ama zydua ta - all

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Dental/
Alveolar 		(Alveolo-)
palatal 		Velar Glottal
Plosive/
Affricate 		voiceless p t tɕ k (ʔ)
aspirated pʰ tʰ tɕʰ kʰ
voiced b d dʑ
Fricative voiceless f s h
voiced v z
Nasal plain m n ŋ
murmured mʰ nʰ
Trill voiced r
voiceless r̥
Lateral voiced l
voiceless l̥
Approximant w ɹ̥ j
  • A glottal stop [ʔ] may occur in onsets as a result of morphological combinations.
  • /t/ can be dental as [t̪] before /ɑ/ or /i/.
  • /k/ can also be heard as uvular [q] before /ɑ/ or /i/.
  • /s, z/ when preceding /i/ can be heard as alveolo-palatal [ɕ, ʑ].
  • Pre-aspiration can also be heard among nasals as [ʱm, ʱn].6

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i y ɨ u
i̞ u̞
Mid e ø o
Open ɑ̝
ɑ
  • Sounds /o/ and /ɑ̝/ can be heard in free variation as [ɔ, ɐʊ] and [ʌ].6
References

References

  1. "Mizoram". 2011 Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  2. Khaing, Ram Kyin; Khaivatha (July–September 2019). "Evolution of Dormitory Tradition in Mara Tribe" (PDF). International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research. 7 (3). Research Publish Journals. ISSN 2348-3164. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  3. Mara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Shendu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  4. Lian, Salai Van Cung; Salem-Gervais, Nicolas (November 2020). "How Many Chin Languages Should Be Taught in Government Schools? Ongoing developments and structural challenges of language-in-education policy in Chin State". Parami Journal of Education. 1 (1).
  5. In the Mara language, ie is a diphthong and should not be changed to i.e., which is an English abbreviation.
  6. Arden, Michelle J. (2010). A phonetic, phonological, and morphosyntactic analysis of the Mara language (MA thesis). San Jose State University. doi:10.31979/etd.v36r-dk3u.
External links