Khmer phrasebook

Khmer is the main and official language of Cambodia.

Khmer script

Pronunciation guide

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 'otDay'(អត់ទេ/ទេ) with a short 'ot with an emphasis on the D following.
• The word for 'thank you' is pronounced 'awkunh'(អរគុណ) sounds a little like raccoon.
• To express greater thanks (thank you very much), use the word 'awkunh ch'ran'(អរគុណច្រើន).
• The word for 'hello' is pronounced 'sue-saw-day'(សួស្តី) with sue as in a woman's name, saw as in a thing you cut with, and day as in sunday.
• 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.

Phrase list

Basics

Common signs OPEN  CLOSED  ENTRANCE  EXIT  PUSH  PULL  TOILET  MEN  WOMEN  FORBIDDEN

Hello. 

(chum reap suor)

Hello. (informal) 

(sous-dey)

Hello. (answering the phone) 

(allo)

How are you? 

(naek sok sabai teh?)

Fine, thank you. 

(sok sabai)

What is your name? 

(naek chmuah ey?)

My name is ______ . 

(knyom chmuah _____ .)

Nice to meet you. 

(reak reay dae bahn skoal loak )

Please. 

(soum)

Thank you. 

(aw khun)

Welcome 

(soum swa-khom)

You're welcome. 

(mun ay te or un-juhn)

Yes. 

(jaah female) (baht men)

No. 

(ot teh)

Excuse me. 

(soum toh)

I'm sorry. 

(soum toh)

Goodbye 

(chum reap leah)

Goodbye (informal) 

(leah seun hai)

I can't speak name of language. 

(k'nyom ot seu cheh niyeay pia'saa khmae teh)

Do you speak English? 

(cheh niyeay pia'saa Anglais baan teh?)

Is there someone here who speaks English? 

(miean naek na cheh Anglais teh?)

Help! 

(chuy!)

Look out! 

(mer seun!)

Good morning. 

(arun sous-dey )

Good afternoon. 

(tiveah sous-dey )

Good night. 

(reatrey sous-dey )

I don't understand. 

( k'nyom min yul teh)

Where is the toilet? 

(bakun noew ey nah?)

Happy Birthday! 

(reak reay t'gnai khom-not)

Numbers

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.

0  

๐ (soan)

1  

๑ (muay)

2  

๒ (pee)

3  

๓ (bei)

4  

๔ (buan)

5  

๕ (prahm)

6  

๖ (prahm muay)

7  

๗ (prahm pel)

8  

๘ (prahm bei)

9  

๙ (prahm buan)

10 

๑๐ (dahp)

20 

(ma'pei)

30 

(sam sep)

40 

(sae sep)

50 

(haa sep)

60 

(hok sep)

70 

(chet sep)

80 

(paet sep)

90 

(kao sep)

100 

(muay roy)

1,000 

(muay poan)

10,000 

(muay meun)

100,000 

(muay saen)

1,000,000 

(muay liean)

Time

Time 

(Maong)

Clock time

What time is it? 

(Maong bon maan?)

Maong mouy t'ngai (day) 

(1 pm)

Maong mouy yop (night) 

(1 am)

Duration

Hour 

(Maong)

Minute 

(Neatii)

Days

Day 

(T'ngai) (ថ្ងៃ)

One day 

(Mouy t'ngai) (១ ថ្ងៃ)

Monday 

(Chhan) (ច័ន្ទ)

Tueday 

(Angkea) (អង្គារ)

Wednesday 

(Pout) (ពុធ)

Thursday 

(Pra-hoah) (ព្រហស្បត្តិ៍)

Friday 

(Sok) (សុក្រ)

Saturday 

(Sao) (សៅរ៍)

Sunday 

(A-thut) (អាទិត្យ)

Months

Year 

(Chnam)

Month 

(Khae)

January 

(Makara)

February 

(Kompheak)

March 

(Mea-neah)

April 

(Mae-sa)

May 

(Osaphea)

June 

(Maytona)

July 

(Kakada)

August 

(Seyha)

September 

(Kanya)

October 

(Tola)

November 

(Vicheka)

December 

(Ta Nou)

Colors

Color 

(Phoa)

Red 

(Phoa Krahom)

Blue 

(Phoa Khiev)

Yellow 

(Phoa Leung)

White 

(Phoa Saw)

Black 

(Phoa Khmao)

Green 

(Phoa Bai Thong)

Orange 

(Phoa Teuk Kroit)

Pink 

(Phoa Pkah Chouk)

Purple 

(Phoa Swai)

Brown 

(Phoa Thnout)​

Silver 

(Phoa Prahk)

Gold 

(Phoa Meas)

Transportation

Ride 

(Chis)

Car 

(Lanh)

Auto rickshaw 

(Tuk Tuk)

Bus and train

Train 

(Ah-teh-plerng)

Directions

Stop 

(Choup)

Turn 

(Bot)

Right 

(Sa-dahm)

Left 

(Ch-wang)

Straight 

(Throng)

Backward 

(K'roy)

Accommodation

Pthaes - house

Pthaes kynom- my house

dtoh pthaes kynom- go to my house

Money

Money- Loiiy

Eating

Eat 

(Nham)

Food 

(Mahop)

Rice 

(Bai)

Bars

One beer 

(Som beer moi)

One more beer 

(Som beer moi teit)

Bill/Check 

(Kiet loi)

Drunk 

(Sro Vung)

Drunk Beer

(Sro Vung Beer)

Drunk Ganja

(Sro Vung Kan-ja)

Driving

baok (to drive) lanh (car)

Authority

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Learning more

• Listen to some basic Khmer by native speakers at Wikiotics