It all started in India
thousands of years ago. And came to Cambodia at least 1,300 years ago. We know this from examining the writings on the temples of the Angkor Wat complex. Also, the sounds of the current Khmer alphabet are very similar to the modern day Hindi alphabet and several words sound similar.
Since those times, the writing has been made much more complex (and difficult to read) by adding letters and extra swirls and lines to the the letters.
This original Hindi language is one of the root languages, not only of Khmer (Cambodian Language), but also of Thai, Laos, and Burma. While the written system of the language has many similarities throughout all these countries, the numbers are all written the same or very similar.
Khmer is written from left to right, top to bottom, withnospacesbetweenthewords and with very little punctuation There are 3 styles of writing: the standard textbook style which is used in handwriting, a block form based on the standard style used in magazines and newspapers, and a rounded style used on signs, titles of books and magazines, and in places on official documents and formal invitations.
The Khmer alphabet is considered to have 33 consonants and 23 vowels. There are many more consonants and vowels not included in the standard alphabet.
The spoken language has no particular tone, as the Thai and Vietnamese languages do. There are no regional dialects, but people from the countryside do speak a little differently from the people in the cities.
And now..... on to some Khmer words and phrases.
| What is your name? Nayaak chmooa away? Where are you from? Nayaak chun cheeit away? How old are you? Nayaak ayoo poonmaan hi? Where are you coming from? Mao pee na? Where are you going? Dto na? ("dt" is a cross between a "d" and a "t") How much does it cost? Tlai poonmaan? I Kinyum you Nayak He or She Go aht Us Yoong They Poouk Gay |
Please Som Thank You Aakoon One more please Som mooey teeut I don't want it Awt yaw or Awt chung baan Yes (for a man) Baat Yes (for a woman) Chaa No Awt tay O.K. O.K. Stop Choop sun Go Dto Wait a minute Cham mooey plet |
| I don't understand what you say kinyum sadaap aut baan I understand what you say kinyum sadaap ban I don't understand Kinyum aut jool I understand Kinyum jool hi How much for one beer Be yair mooey tlai poonmaan Check please Ketloy |
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| One Mooey Two Pee Three Bay Four Booun Five Bram Six Bram Mooey (same as five one) Seven Bram Pee Eight Bram Bay Nine Bram Booun Ten Dawp Eleven Dawp Mooey (numbers from 11 to 19 are pronounced as the word ten, followed by the second number. 16 would be Dawp (10) Bram Mooey (6). 20 Maapay 21 Maapay Mooey 30 Saamsup 40 Sie Sup 50 Haasup 60 Hoke sup 70 Jetsup 80 Bairtsup 90 Gaowsup 100 Mooey Roy 1000 Mooey Pawn 10,000 Mooey Mun |
There is a fly in my soup Meeun roy kanung soop kinyum Where is the bathroom? Bantoop duk no I na? No problem Aut bine yaha How are you? Saak sabai tay? I'm fine Sok sabai Goodbye Som leea hi See you tomorrow Sa aik chooup kaneea I want to go to Sihanoukville Kinyum chung dto Sayhanoo veel |