Counting 101: Easy Guide To Numbers In Khmer

Numbers In Khmer

Supposed you are shopping in a local store in Cambodia, and the seller asked you about the number of pieces you’re buying; what will you say? From shopping, dining, and traveling, learning about counting and numbers in Khmer like មួយ (mouy), ពីរ (pii), បី (bei) and is really important. This is as important as the basic words and phrases and travel phrases in the Khmer language you need to learn when planning a trip to Cambodia. This is what you will learn in this blog post. But, if you want to learn more beyond this, you can check out Ling App.

Let’s ride a time machine and go back to our childhood. Remember how we are taught how to count? Numbers and counting are essential in our daily lives. From the day we’ve come to our senses until now, numbers surround us. Upon reading this blog, you’ll surely know how to count perfectly in your native language and maybe in English. But this time, let’s learn how to count in Khmer – the Cambodian language.

 

Khmer Numerals: Brief History

In the Khmer language, Cambodians use Khmer numerals since the early 7th century. Khmer Numerals was known in early AD 604 and was found written in the stele (stone or wooden slab; ancient monument) located in Prasat Bayang, Cambodia.

Nowadays, Cambodians use the modern Khmer numerals, which were derived from Hindu numerals. So, if you want to know more about the modern Khmer numerals, just keep on reading.

 

Khmer Numbers And Counting

Khmer Numbers And Counting

If you have a strong grasp of English counting numbers, you will find numbers in Khmer easy to understand. In this blog post, we will break the numbers into groups to make it easier for you to learn.

Numbers In Khmer From 0-5

Let’s start with the numbers from 0-5. This is the most important part you should learn because if you have understood this very well, it will be easier for you for the rest of the numbers. So to learn how to count in Khmer, always remember the numbers from 0-5.

KhmerPronunciationKhmer NumeralsEnglish Translation
សូន្យSounzero
មួយMouyone
ពីរPitwo
បីBeithree
បួនBuonfour
ប្រាំPramfive

Just a quick trivia. In Cambodia, taking pictures with three (បី bei ) people is bad luck. It is believed that the person in the middle will die early.

Numbers In Khmer From 6-9

Now that you have learned the Khmer numbers from 0-5, let’s move on to 6-10. To write these numbers, use 5 as the base number or just remember the format: “5 + n”. So if you want to write the number six in Khmer, it will look like this 5 (pram) + 1 (mouy) = 6 (pram mouy). See more examples below.

KhmerPronunciationKhmer NumeralsEnglish Translation
ប្រាំមួយPram Muoysix
ប្រាំពីរPram Piseven
ប្រាំបីPram Beieight
រាំបួនPram Buonnine

Numbers In Khmer From 10-19

After learning the numbers 1-9, the rest will be easier for you. For numbers 10-19, you may apply the format above, but now, you’ll use ten (ដប់ dop) as your base. After that, you can use the format 10+n. So if you want to write the number 6 in Khmer, the process will be 10 (ដប់ dop) + 1 (មួយ muoy) = 11 (dop muoy ដប់មួយ). See more examples below.

KhmerPronunciationKhmer NumeralsEnglish Translation
ដប់Dab១០ten
ដប់មួយDab Muoy១១eleven
ដប់ពីរDab Pi១២twelve
ដប់បីDab Bei១៣thirteen
ដប់បួនDab Buon១៤fourteen
ដប់ប្រាំDab Pram១៥fifteen
ដប់ប្រាំមួយDab Pram Muoy១៦sixteen
ដប់ប្រាំពីរDab Pram Pi១៧seventeen
ដប់ប្រាំបីDab Pram Bei១៨eighteen
ដប់ប្រាំបួនDab Pram Buon១៩nineteen

Numbers In Khmer From 20-29

Did counting from numbers 10-19 come easy for you? Well then, you’ll find it also easy to count from 20-29. Just follow the format, but this time use 20 (ម្ភៃ mpei ) as your base number or just follow the same format “20+n”.

KhmerPronunciationKhmer NumeralsEnglish Translation
ម្ភៃMphei២០twenty
ម្ភៃ​មួយMphei Mouy២១twenty-one
ម្ភៃ​ពីរMphei Pi២២twenty-two
ម្ភៃ​បីMphei Bei២៣twenty-three
ម្ភៃបួនMphei Buon២៤twenty-four
ម្ភៃប្រាំMphei Pram២៥twenty-five
ម្ភៃប្រាំមួយMphei Pram Muoy២៦twenty-six
ម្ភៃប្រាំពីរMphei Pram Pi២៧twenty-seven
ម្ភៃប្រាំបីMphei Pram Bei២៨twenty-eight
ម្ភៃប្រាំបួនMphei Pram Buon២៩twenty-nine

Numbers In Khmer From 30-90

Learning the Khmer numbers from 1-29 above has surely given you a strong understanding of counting in the Khmer language. The format above is also used for the remaining numbers. You just have to learn the Khmer terms for the following numbers, and you’re good to go.

KhmerPronunciationKhmer NumeralsEnglish Translation
សាមសិបSamsoeb៣០thirty
សែសិបSaesoeb៤០forty
ហាសិបHasoeb៥០fifty
ហុកសិបHoksoeb៦០sixty
ចិតសិបChetsoeb៧០seventy
ប៉ែតសិបPaetsoeb៨០eighty
កៅសិបKausoeb៩០ninety

 

Numbers In Khmer From 100-1, 000, 000

For larger numbers, you can use the following Khmer words.

Learning the Khmer numbers is essential in multiple situations. First, the Cambodian Khmer system is easy to understand for beginners language learners. All you have to do is memorize the words, the format and use them in conversations. See? You don’t need to take a course or flip a book page to learn about numbers in Khmer.

KhmerPronunciationKhmer NumeralsEnglish Translation
មួយរយMuoy Rouy១០០one hundred
មួយពាន់Muoy Poan១០០០one thousand
មួយម៉ឺនMuoy Meun១០០០០ten tousand
មួយសែនMuoy Saen១០០០០០one hundred thousand
មួយលានMuoy Lean១០០០០០០one million

 

Phrases Related To Numbers

Learning should always be strengthened through practice and experience. So, expose yourself to the Khmer language and use it in daily conversation. Start with the following phrases related to numbers.

KhmerPronunciationEnglish Translation
សង់ទីមែត្រSangtimetcentimeter
គីឡូក្រាមKilokramkilogram
មាន តម្លៃMean Tamlaito cost
នំបុ័ង មានតម្លៃមួយដុល្លារ។Nom Pang Mean Tamlai Muoy DolaThe bread costs one dollar.
កាហ្វេមួយកែវ មានតម្លៃបី ដុល្លារ។Ka Fe Muoy Kaev Mean Tamlai Bei DolaA cup of coffee costs three dollars.
ខ្ញុំ ញ៉ាំផ្លែប៉ោមបីផ្លែ។Khnhom Nham Phlae paom Bei PhlaeI eat three apples.
ឪពុករបស់ ខ្ញុំមានទម្ងន់ ៨៥ គីឡូក្រាម។Ov Pok Robos Khnhom Mean Tomngun Paet Soeb Pram KilokramMy father weighs 85 kilograms.
ក្មេងស្រីនេះ មានកម្ពស់មួយរយ​សង់ទីម៉ែត្រ។Kmeng Srei Nih Mean Kampuos Muoy Rouy Sang Ti MetThis girl is 100 centimeters tall.
គាត់ មានលុយ ប្រាំម៉ឺនដុល្លារ។Koat Mean Luy Pram Meun DolaHe has fifty thousand dollars.
មនុស្ស មួយសែននាក់រស់ នៅទី នេះ។Mounus Muoy Saen Neak Ros Nov Ti NihA hundred thousand people live here.
មនុស្ស ប៉ែតសិបលាននាក់រស់ នៅអាល្លឺម៉ង់។Mounus Paet Soeb Lean Neak Ros Nov Ah Leu MangEighty million people live in Germany.

 

Numbers Don’t Lie: Learn Khmer With Ling App

With over 5 million downloads, 50 thousand ratings, and 4.7 stars on the Play and App store, Ling App will surely provide you an effective Khmer language learning experience.

Through Ling App, you’ll have access to free language lessons that are arranged into categories and designed like a game to maintain fun and engagement. A variety of topics are available to choose from. You’ll also learn the correct pronunciation of each word because of audio recordings spoken by native speakers. All you have to do is go to the Ling App’s website or download the app online. You can also read more blog posts like this. Just follow the links in this blog.

Learn Languages Ling App

Through Ling App, you can learn a number of languages, not just Khmer! So, don’t wait any longer. Learn Khmer with Ling App now!

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