Bhasaly › Learn Khmer › Phrases
Khmer phrases for a short visit
ដំណើរខ្លី
The lines a visitor actually uses, and the ones you will hear back. Romanized first so you can say them today. Every phrase is recorded — open it in Bhasaly to hear it.
Hear these phrases →First words
baat for men, chaah for women
Polite yes depends on YOUR gender: men say baat, women chaah. chumreap suor comes with palms together — the sompeah; suosdey is the everyday hello.
| suosdey | hello | សួស្តី |
| chumreap suor | hello (formal, with the sompeah) | ជំរាបសួរ |
| arkun | thank you | អរគុណ |
| som toh | sorry · excuse me | សុំទោស |
| baat | yes (men say) | បាទ |
| chaah | yes (women say) | ចាស |
| te | no | ទេ |
| lea haey | bye | លាហើយ |
Being polite
Everyone is family
Address anyone slightly older as bong; your parents’ generation are pu and ming. arkun bong sounds warmer than arkun alone; min ei te smooths everything over.
| bong | older brother/sister — anyone a bit older | បង |
| pu | uncle — an older man | ពូ |
| ming | aunt — an older woman | មីង |
| som | please | សូម |
| arkun bong | thank you (to someone older) | អរគុណបង |
| min ei te | no problem · it is okay | មិនអីទេ |
Meeting someone
Introductions
khnhom chhmuoh … — I am named …. niyeay mdong tiet asks for a repeat without drama.
| khnhom chhmuoh | my name is … | ខ្ញុំឈ្មោះ |
| neak chhmuoh avey | what is your name? | អ្នកឈ្មោះអ្វី |
| khnhom min yol te | I do not understand | ខ្ញុំមិនយល់ទេ |
| niyeay mdong tiet | say it once more | និយាយម្តងទៀត |
| khnhom mok pi anglei | I come from England (swap yours) | ខ្ញុំមកពីអង់គ្លេស |
Sentence patterns
Four frames that do the work
Four frames cover most of what you need. Tap a word, hear the whole sentence.
What you will hear
Greetings that sound like questions
tov na — where are you going — and nham bay haey rue nov — eaten yet? — are greetings, not interrogations. A vague cheerful answer is the right answer: nham haey.
| tov na | where are you going? (a greeting) | ទៅណា |
| nham bay haey rue nov | eaten yet? (a greeting) | ញ៉ាំបាយហើយឬនៅ |
| nham haey | eaten already (the answer) | ញ៉ាំហើយ |
| maen haey | that is right! | មែនហើយ |
| som choul | please come in | សូមចូល |
Dollars & riel
Two currencies at once
Cambodia runs on both at once: prices in dollars, change in riel at 4,000 to the dollar. muoy poan riel — 1,000r — is a quarter; keep small notes for tuk-tuks.
| muoy | 1 | មួយ |
| pram | 5 | ប្រាំ |
| dop | 10 | ដប់ |
| muoy roy | 100 | មួយរយ |
| poan | 1,000 | ពាន់ |
| muoy poan riel | 1,000 riel (≈ 25 cents) | មួយពាន់រៀល |
| pram poan riel | 5,000 riel | ប្រាំពាន់រៀល |
| muoy meun riel | 10,000 riel | មួយមុឺនរៀល |
| dolla | dollar | ដុល្លារ |
| riel | riel | រៀល |
| do luy | to change money | ដូរលុយ |
Tuk-tuks
Agree the price first
Settle the fare before you climb in — tov phsar ponman? starts it. A few thousand riel crosses most towns; moto-taxis are half the price.
| tuk tuk | tuk-tuk | តុកតុក |
| moto | motorbike (taxi) | ម៉ូតូ |
| tov phsar ponman | how much to the market? | ទៅផ្សារប៉ុន្មាន |
| chhup ti nih | stop here | ឈប់ទីនេះ |
| yut yut | slowly! | យឺតៗ |
Directions
Catch one word of the answer
Ask with the nov na frame above, then listen for these.
| bot chhveng | turn left | បត់ឆ្វេង |
| bot sdam | turn right | បត់ស្តាំ |
| tov trang | go straight | ទៅត្រង់ |
| chit | near | ជិត |
| chhngay | far | ឆ្ងាយ |
| ti nih | here | ទីនេះ |
| ti nuh | there | ទីនោះ |
Eating
Rice early, coffee iced
bay is rice and the meal itself — lunch runs early, by eleven. kafe tuk kak — iced coffee — is the national drink, and num pang baguettes are the French inheritance.
| bay | rice · a meal | បាយ |
| bay chha | fried rice | បាយឆា |
| num pang | baguette | នំប៉័ង |
| tae | tea | តែ |
| kafe | coffee | កាហ្វេ |
| tuk kak | ice | ទឹកកក |
| chhnganh | delicious | ឆ្ងាញ់ |
| hoeu | spicy | ហឹរ |
| kit luy | the bill, please | គិតលុយ |
At the phsar
The friendly game
Bargaining is a smiling sport at the market. thaok cheang nih mean te? asks for cheaper; ot mean luy te — no money on me — waves off persistent sellers kindly.
| phsar | the market | ផ្សារ |
| thlai pek | too expensive! | ថ្លៃពេក |
| thaok | cheap | ថោក |
| thaok cheang nih mean te | anything cheaper? | ថោកជាងនេះមានទេ |
| luy | money | លុយ |
| ot mean luy te | no money on me | អត់មានលុយទេ |
Staying somewhere
Rooms & cool air
In this heat the question is the fan or the aircon, not hot water. saat — clean — is worth confirming with a look at the room first.
| santhakea | hotel | សណ្ឋាគារ |
| bantup | room | បន្ទប់ |
| kaun sao | the key | កូនសោ |
| masin trocheak | air-conditioner | ម៉ាស៊ីនត្រជាក់ |
| saat | clean | ស្អាត |
Getting help
Serious words, hopefully unused
chuoy khnhom phang! — please help me — is the sentence to know; say it clearly. hav polih calls the police; carry your guesthouse card for the ride home.
| chuoy khnhom phang | please help me! | ជួយខ្ញុំផង |
| hav polih | call the police | ហៅប៉ូលិស |
| monti pet | hospital | មន្ទីរពេទ្យ |
| kru pet | doctor | គ្រូពេទ្យ |
| thnam | medicine | ថ្នាំ |
| khnhom trov ka chumnuoy | I need help | ខ្ញុំត្រូវការជំនួយ |
| prayat | careful! | ប្រយ័ត្ន |
Staying in touch
Phone, wifi & photos
Cafe wifi is everywhere and fast. A local SIM needs your passport. Ask thot rup ban te? before photographing people.
| turasap | phone | ទូរស័ព្ទ |
| lek | number | លេខ |
| vay fay | wifi | វ៉ាយហ្វាយ |
| thot rup ban te | may I take a photo? | ថតរូបបានទេ |
Ask where anything is
Where is the ___?
| phsar nov na? | Where is the market? | ផ្សារនៅណា |
| santhakea nov na? | Where is the hotel? | សណ្ឋាគារនៅណា |
| bangkun nov na? | Where is the toilet? | បង្គន់នៅណា |
| monti pet nov na? | Where is the hospital? | មន្ទីរពេទ្យនៅណា |
| hang nov na? | Where is the shop? | ហាងនៅណា |
| bantup nov na? | Where is the room? | បន្ទប់នៅណា |
Ask if something is there
Do you have ___?
| mean tuk te? | Do you have water? | មានទឹកទេ |
| mean tae te? | Do you have tea? | មានតែទេ |
| mean kafe te? | Do you have coffee? | មានកាហ្វេទេ |
| mean bay te? | Do you have food? | មានបាយទេ |
| mean bantup te? | Do you have a room? | មានបន្ទប់ទេ |
| mean tuk kak te? | Do you have ice? | មានទឹកកកទេ |
Order at a stall
One ___, please.
| som tuk muoy | One water, please. | សុំទឹកមួយ |
| som tae muoy | One tea, please. | សុំតែមួយ |
| som kafe muoy | One coffee, please. | សុំកាហ្វេមួយ |
| som bay chha muoy | One fried rice, please. | សុំបាយឆាមួយ |
| som num pang muoy | One baguette, please. | សុំនំប៉័ងមួយ |
Ask any price
How much is ___?
| nih thlai ponman? | How much is this? | នេះថ្លៃប៉ុន្មាន |
| bantup thlai ponman? | How much is the room? | បន្ទប់ថ្លៃប៉ុន្មាន |
| tae thlai ponman? | How much is the tea? | តែថ្លៃប៉ុន្មាន |
| kafe thlai ponman? | How much is the coffee? | កាហ្វេថ្លៃប៉ុន្មាន |
| num pang thlai ponman? | How much is the baguette? | នំប៉័ងថ្លៃប៉ុន្មាន |
Common questions
How do you say hello in Khmer?
Suosdey. The greetings section above has the full set, including the reply you are likely to hear back.
Do I need an account to use these Khmer phrases?
No. Every phrase on this page is open to read, and you can hear all of them in Bhasaly without signing up.
Do I need to read the Khmer script to use these?
No. Every line is romanized first, so you can say it straight away. The script is there alongside if you want to start reading it.
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