37 Khmer Vocabulary For Family That Is Easy To Learn

Khmer Vocabulary For Family

Family (គ្រួសារ / krou sar) is the foundation of Cambodians social life. Before we learn some Khmer vocabulary for family, let us first discover what a typical Cambodian family looks like. គ្រួសារ (Kruosar) is the term for a family in the Khmer language. This is just a simple word but for Cambodians, it is one of the most important things in their life. A typical Cambodian family can either be made up of nuclear family (គ្រួសារតូច / Kruosar Touch) or extended family (គ្រួសារធំ / Kruosar Thom ).

Even if the nuclear family (គ្រួសារតូច / Kruosar Touch) is the core, Cambodians also have a strong attachment to the members of the extended family. In fact, they also care so much for their friends and neighbors. This might be the reason why they are very welcoming to foreigners who are visiting their country

Basic Khmer Vocabulary For Family

Now that you have learned a little bit about a typical Cambodian family, let us now learn some Khmer vocabulary for the family. Learning these will help you expand your Khmer vocabulary. This can also be useful if you are planning to go to Cambodia with your family. Here is a list of some Basic Khmer vocabulary to learn:

Parents In Khmer Vocabulary

English TranslationKhmerPronunciation
parentsឪពុកម្តាយAupok-Mday
familyគ្រួសារKruosar
Khmer Vocabulary For Family Father

What Is Father In Khmer?

The father, just like what is stated above, is the main provider for the family. There are different ways that Cambodians use to address their father.

English TranslationKhmerPronunciation
fatherឪពុក / ប៉ា / បិតាAupok / Pa / Beida
dadប៉ាPa
daddyប៉ាប៉ាPapa
husbandប្តី / ស្វាមីBdei / Svamei
Khmer Vocabulary For Family Mother

What Is Mother In Khmer?

The mother is considered the homemaker. Just like in any other culture, the mother is responsible for taking care of the family but in Cambodia, mothers tend to have more control over the household budget and education of the children. Here are different ways how Cambodians address their mother:

English TranslationKhmerPronunciation
motherម្តាយ / ម៉ែ / មាតាMday / Mae / Meada
momម៉ាក់Mak
mommyម៉ែMae
wifeភរិយា / ប្រពន្ធPheakriyea / Prapon

 Children In Khmer Vocabulary For Family

Cambodian children are expected to learn values and pay respect to their parents just like any other culture. Upon reaching the right age, Cambodians are encouraged to marry before leaving their home. Of course, they are free to choose whom they are going to marry but parents will be a part of the preparations. Here is some Khmer vocabulary for family related to children:

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
កូនKounchild
ទារកTearokbaby
បងប្អូនបង្កើតBong-P’oun-Bangkaeutsiblings/brothers and sisters

What Is Son In Khmer?

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
កូនប្រុសKoun-Prosson
បងប្រុសBong-Prosolder brother

What Is Daughter In Khmer?

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
កូនស្រីKoun-Srei daughter
បងស្រីBong-Sreiolder sister
Khmer Vocabulary For Family Grandparents

Grandparents In Khmer

Grandparents are highly respected and valued by Cambodians. For them, they symbolize wisdom. Here is some Khmer vocabulary for family related to grandparents:

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
ជីដូនជីតាChidoun-Chitagrandparents
ចៅChaugrandchild

Grandfather In Khmer

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
ជីតាChitagrandfather
តាTagrandpa

Grandmother In Khmer

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
ជីដូនChidoungrandmother
យាយYeaygrandma

 Other Extended Family Members

Other members of the extended family, are also important for Cambodians. Here is a person some Khmer vocabulary for family related to extended family members:

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
មាMaeuncle
មីងMingaunt
ក្មួយប្រុសKmuoy-Prosnephew
ក្មួយស្រីKmuoy-Sreiniece
បងប្អូនជីដូនមួយBong-P’oun-Chidoun-Muoycousin
Illustrations of Family Members in Khmer and how they are called in Cambodia

More Khmer Vocabulary For Family

Learning the Khmer language might be useful in different situations. Learning simple words and phrases will go a long way especially when you want to visit Cambodia. Whatever your purpose is, there is nothing for you to lose. Here is a list of some additional Khmer vocabulary for a family:

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
គ្រួសារតូចKruosar-Touchnuclear family
គ្រួសារ​ធំKruosar-Thomextended family 
គ្រួសារ​ខ្ញុំKruosar-Khnhommy family
គ្រួសារ​​អ្នកKruosar-Neakyour family
ត្រកូលTrakoulfamily name
មែកធាង​គ្រួសារMektheang-Kruosarfamily tree
បន្ទប់​ទទួលភ្ញៀវBantob-Toutuol-Phnhievfamily room
សមាជិក​គ្រួសារSamachik​-Kruosarfamily member
ក្រុម​គ្រួសារ​ម្ចាស់ផ្ទះKrom​-Kruosar​-Mchas-Phteahhost family

They say that blood is thicker than water. In every culture, people always give importance to their families. Yes, there may be misunderstandings and conflicts. There will be times that family will not get along but at the end of the day, please remember that it is part of a strong relationship. No matter what page of your life you are on right now, you can always go home to your family. 

Meaning Of Thoa In Khmer

If you heard of the word ធម៌/Thoar then you might have an amazing grasp of Cambodia’s history. ធម៌/Thoar is a kind of relationship that is closer than friends but farther than blood relations. This term emerged during the Khmer Rouge regime when there was a large number of deaths. During these times, the number of orphans, widows, and single-parent families increased. This gave way to this kind of relationship. ធម៌/Thoar roughly means adoptive/ foster parent or sibling in English. 

Household And Structure

Just like in any other culture, each family member has a significant role in the household. Cambodians respect both roles of men and women. There is also a difference in the household structure between families from urban and rural. Families who live in rural area is more conservative than those who live in urban. But during the Khmer Rouge regime, women played a big role in civil service.

The roles of Cambodian family members are similar to most of the culture. The father is the head of the household and the main provider for the family while the mother is the homemaker. Think about your own family structure. Is it the same as the Cambodians? There are still a lot of things to learn about Cambodian families but this can be a good head start in learning Khmer vocabulary for the family.

Learn Khmer With Ling app

Want To Learn The Khmer Language?

Did you find this article interesting? Did you get the information you need? If the answer is yes, then it’s time for you to learn more Khmer words and phrases through the Ling app. Yes, English is enough for you to learn but you can still expand your vocabulary. Just click on the links in this blog post, go to the website, or you can just simply learn Khmer online.

The Ling app will give you an amazing language learning experience that includes a series of lessons, practice words and phrases, and even exams. You can also read more blog posts like this. Each second will be worth it. You don’t have to worry about how hard the grammar is because you will also learn this through the Ling app.

Many people will say that learning a language is really hard but with the right tool and motivation, you can learn new languages easily and conveniently. Don’t waste this great opportunity to bring the best out of you – Download the Ling app from the App Store and Google Play Store. Start learning new languages now!

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One Response

  1. In Khmer, is there different names for grandparents depending on which side of family they are from? For example, what is the father and mother of the father called?
    thank you!

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