You’ve already learned a bunch of Khmer phrases and sentences to use in everyday conversations, and that’s great! But are you still struggling to speak fluently? That may be because you don’t know how to connect words and sentences by using Khmer conjunctions.
We know that there aren’t a lot of Khmer resources to study grammar by yourself but no worries! You’ll learn the most commonly used Khmer conjunctions with examples in this article. And once you start inserting these conjunctions into your speech, you’ll see that you sound much more fluent.
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Why Should You Learn Khmer Conjunctions?
Conjunctions are essential language items that allow you to make relationships between words, phrases, and clauses. They help you connect similar ideas, highlight contrast, and make cause-and-effect relations in a sentence.
Without conjunctions, your sentences would lack coherence in meaning and fluency in speaking. So, understanding and using conjunctions correctly is vital to effective communication in Khmer, as in any language.
Types Of Khmer Conjunctions
In the Khmer language, we can divide conjunctions into three categories, each serving a different purpose.
- Coordinating Conjunctions
- Subordinating Conjunctions
- Correlative Conjunctions
Let’s learn some of the most commonly used conjunctions below.
1. Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions are like the traffic cops of a language. They join similar elements, such as words, phrases, or independent clauses, giving them equal importance in a sentence. These little words play a big role in making our sentences flow smoothly and connecting ideas in an easy-to-understand way.
Here are the most commonly used coordinating conjunctions in Khmer:
- And – និង (nikɨɲ)
- Or – ឬ (ə)
- But – ប៉ុន្តែ (bɑntae)
- Yet – បើកំពុងនោះ (bɔəkɑmpɔɔŋ)
Examples
| English | Khmer | Pronunciaiton |
|---|---|---|
| I want to buy and create it. | ញុំចង់ទិញនិងបង្កើតគេបាន | knyom cɑŋ tʰin nikɨɲ bɑŋkɑət ke ban |
| I want to buy or create it. | ញុំចង់ទិញឬកកើតគេបាន | knyom cɑŋ tʰin ə kɑət ke ban |
| I want to buy, but I can’t. | ញុំចង់ទិញប៉ុន្តែខ្ញុំអាច | knyom cɑŋ tʰin bɑntae knyom ɑc |
| I want to buy, yet it’s expensive. | ខ្ញុំចង់ទិញបើកំពុងនោះឡើង | knyom cɑŋ tʰin bɔəkɑmpɔɔŋ ləəŋ |
2. Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions connect dependent clauses, which rely on main clauses to make complete sense. They make one idea less important, making it dependent on the main clause, the more important idea. You can use these conjunctions when you’re making cause-and-effect relationships, contrasts, time sequences, or conditions.
Here are the most common subordinating conjunctions in Khmer:
- Because – ដោយសារ (dɑj sɑː)
- Although – ប៉ុន្តែ (pɔəkɑmpɔɔŋ)
- When – ពេលដែល (pəl deːl)
Examples
| English | Khmer | Pronunciaton |
|---|---|---|
| I like all fruits because I am a vegetarian. | ញុំផ្លែទាំងអស់ដោយសារខ្ញុំបានស្រី | knyom plaə tamɑɑj dɑj sɑː knyom ban srəy |
| I want to buy it, although it’s expensive. | ខ្ញុំចង់ទិញប៉ុន្តែវាគ្មានសារ | knyom cɑŋ tʰin pɔəkɑmpɔɔŋ veeəə kɑmɑɑj sɑː |
| I am working when it arrives | ញុំកំពុងធ្វើពេលដែលវាមកដល់ | knyom kɑmpɔɔŋ tvəəl pəl deːl veeəə mɔək dɑl |
3. Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions always work together in pairs to connect similar elements in a sentence. You can use correlative conjunctions when you want to emphasize two related things. These conjunctions help you highlight choices, similarities, or exclusions, giving your sentences a punchy vibe.
Here are the most common correlative conjunctions in Khmer:
- Both…and – ទាំងពីរ (tamɑɑj pɨː)
- Neither…nor – ទេព្រេងនិង (təːprienɲɨɲ)
- Either…or – រួចហើយទេ (ruːc həːj təː)
- As…as – ដូចគ្នានិង (douc knyəəŋ)
Examples
| English | Khmer | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I bought both the first and the second ones. | ញុំទិញទាំងពីរលើកទី១និងទី២ | knyom tʰin tamɑɑj pɨː lerʔ tiː mɔəj nɨɲ tamɑɑj pɨː |
| I didn’t buy neither the black one nor the white one. | ញុំមិនទិញទេព្រេងនិងបាក់ទេ | knyom mɨn tʰin təːprienɲɨɲ preŋ nɨɲ bɑːk tʰəː |
| I prepared either this one or that one. | ញុំរៀបការរួចហើយទេ | knyom riep kaː ruːc həːj təː |
| The work is as easy as you have. | ការងាររួចហើយទេដូចគ្នានិងអ្នកដែលមាន | kaː kɑːnɲəəŋ ruːc həːj təː douc knyəəŋ nɨɲ nɨːk deːl mɨən |
Other Khmer Conjunctions You Should Know
| English | Khmer | Prounciation |
|---|---|---|
| Rather than | ទោសពី | tʰɔh pɨ |
| Like, as | ដូចជា | douc cie |
| Then | ហើយ | hɨəy |
| So | ដូច្នេះ | dounieh |
| Whenever | ពេលណាមួយ | peal neə mʊəy |
| Again | ទៅវិញ | tʰɨv vɨɲ |
| However | តែម្តង | te mətɗɑŋ |
| Together with | ជាមួយ | cɨə mʊəy |
| Gradually | ដើរតួច | dəət tʰɔəc |
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