Knowing a few Khmer words will help you earn some respect while in Cambodia.
If you are male the word for 'yes' is pronounced 'baht'(បាទ) as in the sound of a sheep followed by a hard T.
If you are female the word for 'yes' is pronounced 'jah'(ចា) as in the first part of 'jar'.
The word for 'no' is pronounced 'Awt Tay'(អត់ទេ/ទេ).
The word for 'thank you' is pronounced 'aw-koon'(អរគុណ) sounds a little like raccoon.
To express greater thanks (thank you very much), use the word 'aw-koon ch'ran'(អរគុណច្រើន).
The word for 'hello' is pronounced 'Sues-Day" Sues is pronounced exactly like author Dr. Seuss
The word for 'sorry' is pronounced 'somtoh'(សុំទោស).
The word for 'toilet' is pronounced 'dakuhn' or 'pahkuhn'(បង្គន់/បន្ទប់ទឹក)) Similarly to how you would pronounce the kunh in thank you, but with a short 'ba' in front.
Scooter/mopeds with carriages pulled behind are called a 'tuk-tuk'(តុកតុក) better pronounced with the U sound from the back of your throat, like tulk-tulk.
Scooter/mopeds by themselves are pronounced 'moto'(ម៉ូតូ) with an emphasis on 'mo'.
Rickshaws are called 'cyclo'(ស៊ីក្លូ). The cy is pronounced like the word see.
Although Khmer uses base-10 numbers, the numbers for 1-9 are effectively spoken as base-5. Thus, six (prahm muay) literally means five (prahm), one (muay); whereas sixteen (dahp prahm muay) is ten (dahp), five (prahm), one (muay).
In practice, the word 'sep' is often omitted from the numbers for 30-90. However, it is generally considered more proper to include the word.
