Ana is a Burmese cultural and social value that has no direct English equivalent and is manifested by very strong inhibitions (hesitation, reluctance, restraint, or avoidance) against asserting oneself in human relations based on the fear that it will offend someone or cause someone to lose face, or become embarrassed, or be of inconvenience. Ana also involves a strong sense of consideration for others' feelings and a desire not to cause them to feel psychological distress, unease, or burden. Ana significantly shapes interpersonal relationships and pervades everyday social interactions, as well as political and social behaviors in Burmese society. Comparable values are found throughout Asian societies, including in Thailand, where it is called kreng jai and in Japan, where it is called enryo.

Etymology

Ana literally means to have one's strength (အား) hurt (နာ). Ana-pana (အားနာ ပါးနာ) is synonymous to ana, with the suffix pana (ပါးနာ, lit. "cheek hurts." The term anade (အားနာတယ်) is a sentence describing one's feeling of ana. The term ana has been borrowed into several regional languages, including into Shan as and into Jingpho as.

Usage

Ana typically informs interactions with strangers, acquaintances, elders, social superiors and other respected persons, not with immediate family members and close friends. Ana is most commonly felt as self-restraint on self-assertiveness, requiring another's best interests to take priority over one's own interests. In fact, ana contributes to a strong sense of hierarchy and inequality within social relations, as frankness and directness is considered aggressive or confrontational behavior. The value involves an unwillingness to prevent others from feeling uncomfortable. The feeling is also applied to situations when one wishes to behave in a certain manner but is restrained from doing so, for fear of causing the other party to feel angry, embarrassed or disappointed.

Elements

The major elements of ana include the following: • #Sympathy, pity, empathy • #Timidity in new social situations • #Fear of distressing others • #Desire to share or give • #Inability to resist social pressure • #Self-restraint • #Respect to elders • #Fear of offending others • #Consideration for others • #Prevention of aggression or confrontation • #Giving or receiving hospitality • #Shyness • #Loss of face and shame • #Response to suffering • #Gratitude for favors or assistance • #Etiquette, propriety • #Observance of sex taboos • #Failure to achieve • #Sense of duty

Examples

This social value is exemplified in many everyday situations, including the following examples: