If you are a foreigner and having tours within Cambodia, your most frequent conversations with Cambodians are likely to involve telling them your name, nationality and perhaps something about your work and ask for information. There are some kind of statements you will probably need to be able to make about yourself. Tours Within Cambodia will guide you to Cambodian environment.
Consonant Clusters
A lot of Cambodian words begin with a consonant clusters – that is, two or more consonant sounds at the beginning of a word. Some consonant clusters, such as sl … and kr … are straightforward, as they are similar to sounds that exist in English. Others, however, such as a l sound after a t or a ng sound after a ch at first sound very strange to the western ear. The clusters are marked in the transcription with an apostrophe (e.g. t’lai, s’rok etc.); when pronouncing these words it is important not to insert a short a vowel between the two initial consonants.
Consonant
Note that dt, ng and ny represent a single consonant sound.
| bp | is a sharp p sound, somewhere between English b and p. (don’t actually pronounce the b) e.g. bpairt ‘doctor’ |
| dt | is a sharp t sound, somewhere between English d and t. (don’t actually pronounce the d) e.g. dteuk ‘water’, dtou ‘go’ |
| g | as in ‘get’ e.g. goy ‘customs’ |
| ng | as in ‘ring’; but note that unlike English, this sound can occur at the begging of a word e.g. ra-ngee-a ‘cold’; t’ngai ‘day’ |
| ny/ñ | as in ‘canyon’; but this sound can also occur at the beginning or end of a word e.g. n’yum ‘eat’; ch’nguñ ‘tasty’ |
Vowels
For the western learner, the Cambodian vowels are probably the most difficult area of pronunciation. Certain vowels, so obviously distinct to a Cambodia ear, seem totally indistinguishable, while others seem impossible to pronounce. The important thing is not to despair. You do not have to be able to pronounce everything perfectly within weeks. Many language learners of modest ability find that with perseverance their pronunciation will improve gradually over a long period of time.
If you can spell words in Cambodian script, it will help to clarify the pronunciation.
-a as in ‘ago’ e.g. la-or ‘good’
-aa a long a sound similar to English ‘car’, ‘far’ etc. e.g. baan ‘can’
-ai as in ‘Thai’ e.g. t’lai ‘expensive’ t’gnai ‘day’
-ao as in ‘Lao’ e.g. gao seup ‘ninety’
-ay as in ‘pay’ e.g. dtay ‘question word’
-ee as in ‘see’ e.g. bpee ‘two’
-eu similar to the English sound of repugnance ‘ugh’! The Cambodian writing system
distinguishes between a short –eu sound and a long –eu, but for the sake of simplicity and encourage you to learn the Cambodian script – this distinction has not been made in the transcription. e.g. dteuk ‘water’ meun ’10,000’
-i as in ‘fin’ e.g. ni-yee-ay ‘speak’
-o a short vowel similar to English ‘long’ e.g. dop ‘ten’
oa a long ‘o’ similar to English ‘loan’, ‘phone’ e.g. goan ‘child’
-oo a long vowel as in ‘boot’ e.g. poom ‘village’
-ou a short vowel e.g. dtou ‘go’, nou ‘live’, ‘be situated’
-OO a short vowel, as in ‘cook’ e.g. yOOp ‘night’
-u a short vowel as in ‘run’ e.g. ch’nguñ
Conversation
A: Hello! joohm reep-up soo-a; soo-a s’day.
B: Hello! joohm reep-up soo-a; soo-a s’day.
A: How are you? Sok-sa bai jee-a tay?
B: I’m fine, thank! K’nyom Sok-sa bai, or-kun.
A: And you? Joh neak?
B: The same to you. K’nyom gor Sok-sa bai dai.
A: My name is Sally, K’nyom ch’moo-ah Sally.
I come from London. K’nyom moak bpee London.
What’s your name? Dta nee-uk ch’moo-ah a-vwai?
B: My name is Dara. K’nyom ch’moo-ah Dara.
I come from Phnom Penh. K’nyom moak bpee Phnom Penh.
I work in Phnom Penh. K’nyom t’wer gaa nou Phnom Penh.
And you? Neak vign?
A: I work in Siem Reap. K’nyom t’wer gaa nou Siem Reap.
Accommodation
Hotel son-ta gee-a
guesthouse p’dia som-nak
room baan-dtoop
a/c room baan-dtoop marsan tra-cheek
single room baan-dtoop moy kreh-moy
double room baan-dtoop moy kreh-pee
Do you have a room vacant? Mee-un baan-dtoop dtum-neh tay?
Yes, I have. Baat / Chas mee-un.(Baat ‘yes’ for man; Chas ‘ yes’ for lady)
Could I see the room? K’myom suom merl baan-dtop baan tay?
Ok! Baat / Chas, baan.
How much per night? Moy yOOp t’lay bpon-maan?
30 dollars per night. Moy yOOp t’lay saam seup dollar.
Thank you, Goodbye! Or-kun! joohm reep-lee-a / lee-hai
See you again! Joo-up k’neer dee-ut!
Transport / Getting around
bicycle gong
motorcycle taxi motodup
car laan
taxi laan ch’nool
bus laan krong
train ra-dtayh plerng
plane g’bul hoh
Where is the market? Psar noo ai-naa?
I want to go to… K’nyom chong dtao…
I’m lost… K’nyom vong wayng plow.
Does this road go to [place name]? Plow nih dtau [place name] dtrau-dtay?
stop here chop tee-nih
turn left bot ch’wayng
turn right bot s’dum
go straight ondtao dtrong ra-hoat
Emergency / Medicine
emergency kree-a ason
help me! joo-ay k’nyom!
doctor bpairt
hospital moo-un dtee bpairt
I want to go to a doctor. K’nyom chong dtau bpairt.
I am diabetic. K’nyom mee-un chum ngoo dteuk nom pha-em.
I’m allergic to Penicillin. K’nyom mee-un pboah-te-kam ch’muoy t’num payniseelin.
I’m sick / I hurt K’nyom cheu
I have a fever’. K’nyom mee-un krun.
I hurt her. K’nyom cheu tee-nih
medicine t’num bpairt
insulin angsuleen
Penicillin payniseelin
sanitary towel tawnpong / sawmluh-ee tro-ap
diarrhea roak ree-uk
vomit ga-oo-ut
headache cheu-k’bahl
Numbers
1 |
moy |
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 40 60 80 100 10000 |
dop-moy |