Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
KHMER
Khmer is the national language of Cambodia. Unusually for the region, it is not a tonal
language, which theoretically makes it easier to master. However, the di
culty lies with
pronunciation, as there are both vowels and consonant clusters that are pronounced unlike
any sounds in English. What follows here is a phonetic approximation widely used for teaching
Khmer. (People and places throughout this chapter follow the commonly used romanized
spellings rather than the phonetic system used below.)
2
PRONUNCIATION
Most consonants follow English pronunciation, except the following:
bp
a sharp “p” sound, between the English
“b” and “p”
dt
a sharp “t” sound, between the English “d”
and “t”
hs
soft “h”
n'y/ñ
as in “canyon”
a
as in “ago”
aa
as in “bar”
ai
as in “Thai”
ao
as in “Lao”
ay
as in “pay”
ee
as in “see”
eu
as in the expression of disgust “uugh”
i
as in “fin”
o
as in “long”
oa
as in “moan”
oo
as in “shoot”
ou
similar to “cow”
OO
as in “look”
u
as in “fun”
GREETINGS AND BASIC PHRASES
Hello
soo-a s'day
How are you?
sok sa-bai jee-a
dtay?
Fine, thanks
sok sa-bai jee-a dtay
Goodbye
lee-a hou-ee
Excuse me
soam dtoah
Please
soam
Thank you
or-gOOn
Can you speak English?
nee'ak jeh
ni-yee-ay
Taxi
dtak-see
Car
laan toit
Bicycle
gong
Bank
tor-nee-a-gee-a
Post o
ce
bprai-sa-nee
Passport
li-keut ch'lorng dain
Hotel
son-ta-gee-a
Motorbike taxi
moto/motodub
Restaurant
poa-cha-nee-
reu dtay?
ya-taan
I don't understand
k'nyom s'dup
meun
Please stop here
soam chOOp tee
baan dtay
neeh
Yes (male)
baht
Left/right
ch'wayng/s'dam
Yes (female)
jahs
Do you have any
nee'ak mee-un
No
dtay
rooms?
bon-dtOOp dtay?
Where is the?
… noo-ee- naa?
How much is it?
t'lai bpon maan?
Ticket
som-bot
Cheap/expensive
taok/t'lai
Airport
jom nort yoo-un
Single room
bon-dtOOp
hoh/aa- gaah-sa-
A/c
graiy moo-ay maa-
yee-un-taan
seen dtro-chey-at
Boat (no engine)
dtook
Electric fan
dong-harl
Boat (with engine)
karnowt
Mosquito net
mOOng
Bus/coach
laan tom/
Toilet paper
gra-daah
laan krong
Telephone
dtoo-ra-sup
practice, it's absolutely fine to pay in
either dollars or riel (calculated
according to the $1 = 4000r exchange
rate), or even in a combination of the
two (equally, you'll often be given
change in a mix of currencies). It's a bit
of a headspin to start with, but worth
getting to grips with as soon as you can
in order to avoid rip-offs or
misunderstandings. Note too that the
Cambodian economy runs, unusually,
entirely on paper. here are no riel
coins
in circulation, and US coins aren't
recognized either. In addition, note that
Thai baht
, abbreviated to “B”, are also
widely used in the border areas.
he easiest way of accessing funds in
Cambodia is via the country's good
Search WWH ::
Custom Search