Mong RPA

MONG

Mong writing was created around 1953 to translate Christian songs and the bible into the Mong language as Mong didn't have a writing system prior to this. Listed below are the basic consonants, vowels, and tone markers including a free primer book that you can download to use.

CONSONANTS
Single (17): C D* F H K L M N P Q R S T V X Y Z
Double (24): CH DH* DL HL HM* HN* KH ML NC NG NK NQ NP NR NT NY PH PL QH RH TH TS TX XY
Triple (16): DLH HML* HNY* NCH NDL NKH NPH NQH NTH NRH NTS NTX NPL PLH TSH TXH
Quadruple (4): NDLH NTSH NTXH NPLH

*Use exclusively by those who speak the White Hmong dialect only.

VOWELS
Single (5): A E I O U W
Double (8): AA AI AU AW EE IA OO UA

TONE MARKERS
B - cim sab (liver)
D - cim tod (at/across)
G - cim neeg (horse)
J - cim ntuj ( sky)
M - cim nam (mother)
S - cim ntus (duration)
V - cim kuv (I/me)
Ua* - cim ua (to do)

*The Ua marker is used to signify the absence of a tone marker in words, i.e., cua (wind), no (cold), qha (teach), etc.

MONG PRIMER BOOK (FREE! Click to download!)
This Mong Primer is designed for beginners. It is free to download and use. Copies may be made for personal use only provided that credit is given to the authors.

Thao, P. (2025, Aug. 23). The orthography: Historical development of the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA) System. Handout for the presentation for the 1st Expert Panel of the RPA. St. Paul, MN: Concordia University.

Thao, P. (2025, Aug 27). The orthography: Historical development of the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA) System. [Videotaping]. Marina, CA.

MONG RPA WRITING