Dha is the Burmese word for "knife" and "sword" similar term to daab or darb in Thai language for a single edge sword. The term dha is conventionally used to refer to a wide variety of knives and swords used by many people across Southeast Asia, especially present-day Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Yunnan, Laos, and Cambodia.
Burmese Sword (Dha) with scabbard; 19th century
Soldiers at the Bayon temple (12th/13th century) wielding curved swords. Located at the ruins of Angkor.
A man from Siam(Thailand) carrying a sheathed sword. This is from the boxer codex which is from around c.1590 A.D.
A man from Kampuchea(Cambodia) wielding a curved sword. This is from the boxer codex which is from around c.1590 A.D.
Dao are single-edged Chinese swords, primarily used for slashing and chopping. They can be straight or curved. The most common form is also known as the Chinese sabre, although those with wider blades are sometimes referred to as Chinese broadswords. In China, the dao is considered one of the four traditional weapons, along with the gun, qiang (spear), and the jian, called in this group "The General of Weapons".
A Chinese dao and scabbard of the 18th century
Han dynasty steel ring headed dao of different sizes (bottom).
Two Sui dynasty zhibeidao with ring-shaped pommels.
Zhanyinbao, an Imperial bodyguard, wearing a sheathed dao. Notice the lanyard through the handle. (1760)