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 (krou sar) 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 (ក្រុមគ្រួសារនុយក្លេអ៊ែរ / krom kruosaear nouyokleaer) or extended family (គ្រួសារ​ដែល​មាន​សមាជិក​ច្រើន / kruosaear​ del​ mean​ sameachik​ chraen).

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

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.

Meaning Of Thoa In Khmer

If you heard of the word Thoa then you might have an amazing grasp of Cambodia’s history. Thoa 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. Thoa roughly means adoptive/ foster parent or sibling in English. 

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
parentsឪពុកម្តាយeu puk mday
familyគ្រួសារkrou sar
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 / បិតាaupouk / pa/ beta
dadប៉ាpa
daddyប៉ាប៉ាpapa
husbandប្តី / ស្វាមីbtei / svami
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 / me / meada
momម៉ាក់mak
mommyម៉ែmeh
wifeភរិយា / ប្រពន្phriyea / braponth

 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
កូនkaunchild
ទារកtearkbaby
បងប្អូនបង្កើតbong paon bong ketsiblings/brothers and sisters

What Is Son In Khmer?

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
កូនប្រុសkaun prosson
បងប្រុសbong prosbrother

What Is Daughter In Khmer?

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
កូនស្រីkaun srei daughter
បងស្bong sreisister
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
ជីដូនជីតាchi daun chi tagrandparents
ចៅchaograndchild

Grandfather In Khmer

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
ជីតាchi tagrandfather
តាtagrandpa

Grandmother In Khmer

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
ជីដូនchidaungrandmother
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
មាmeauncle
មីងmingaunt
មួយប្រុសkmuoyobrosanephew
មួយស្រីkmuoyosreiniece
បងប្អូនជីដូនមួយbong paon chi don mouycousin
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
ក្រុមគ្រួសារនុយក្លេអ៊ែរkrom kruosaear nouyokleaernuclear family
គ្រួសារ​ដែល​មាន​សមាជិក​ច្រើនkruosaear​ del​ mean​ sameachik​ chraenextended family 
គ្រួសារ​របស់ខ្ញុំkruosaear khnhommy family
គ្រួសារ​របស់​អ្នកkruosaear​ robsa​ anakyour family
ឈ្មោះគ្រួសារchhmoh kruosaearfamily name
មែកធាង​គ្រួសារmektheang​ kruosaearfamily tree
បន្ទប់​គ្រួសារbantob​ kruosaearfamily room
សមាជិក​គ្រួសារameachik​ kruosaearfamily member
ក្រុម​គ្រួសារ​ម្ចាស់ផ្krom​ kruosaear​ mcheasa phhost 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. 

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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