50+ Easy Words For Vegetables In Khmer

Have you ever found yourself in Cambodia and had no idea what you were eating? If so, that’s completely normal when you’re visiting other countries! In fact, that’s a good thing! Most of the time, when we’re traveling, we eat whatever we can find or what’s given to us. We might not know what the dish is, but we want to try something new!

Whether you’ve just returned from Cambodia or plan to travel there soon, you should take some time to learn Khmer and, more specifically, get to know these 50+ vegetables in Khmer! Not only will you learn how to say your favorite vegetables in the Khmer language, but you’ll learn about specific vegetables native to Cambodia and Southeast Asian cuisines.

We hope you’ve already eaten because you’re about to learn about some delicious food and vegetables!

What Defines Cambodian Cuisine?

Vegetables In Khmer

Before you go straight into learning about vegetables in Khmer, the vocabulary might be more interesting if you know the main characteristics of Cambodian cuisine beforehand.

Cambodian food is very healthy, often consisting of rice or rice noodles, fresh vegetables, and not too much meat. Most meals consist of sour fish soups and stews or different coconut milk curries.

You’ll also find that Cambodian cuisine, like other food in Southeast Asia, has a nice balance of sweet, bitter, sour, and salty flavors. However, a key difference is that Cambodian cuisine tends not to be as spicy as the food in its neighboring countries (for example, Thailand). So, if you’re not a fan of spicy food or can’t eat spicy food, you might want to consider going to Cambodia!

There are so many amazing flavors in Cambodian cuisine. No wonder eating is such a huge part of Khmer culture!

Common Ingredients Used In Cambodian Cuisine

Here are some ingredients that you’ll probably find in a Cambodian restaurant, whether you’re in the capital city of Phnom Penh or eating in beautiful rice fields.

  • Coconut milk – khteahdaung – ខ្ទិះដូង
  • Fish sauce – tukatrei – ទឹកត្រី
  • Flat rice noodles – kouyteav saambet – គុយទាវសំប៉ែត
  • Oyster sauce – tukachrolk​ ngeav – ទឹកជ្រលក់​ងាវ
  • Pickled vegetables – banle pickled – ជ្រក់បន្លែគ្រប់មុខ
  • Roasted peanuts – sa nte k dei ang – សណ្តែកដីអាំង
  • Soy sauce – tuk​ saiaiv – ទឹក​ស៊ីអ៊ីវ
  • White rice/plain rice – angkor s – អង្ករស

These are just some of the ingredients used in Cambodian cooking, so feel free to research and discover more on your own! In fact, comment down below any ingredients we might have left out!

Vegetables In Khmer To Learn By Heart

Vegetables In Khmer

If you’re a vegetable lover or just enjoy getting to know food terminology in other languages, this is the perfect list. We’ve divided our list according to how each vegetable is typically classified to make things easier. For example, onions are categorized as allium vegetables.

Below are the categories we’ve included, in case you want to skip down to a specific one:

  • Western Vegetables In Khmer
  • Alliums
  • Leafy Greens
  • Root Vegetables
  • All Other Veggies

In case you aren’t familiar with these categories, don’t worry, we’ll explain what each of them means!

Western Vegetables In Khmer

This category is mainly for vegetables in Western dishes, but we’ve found the corresponding Khmer word.

EnglishKhmerTransliteration
Broccoliផ្កាខាត់ណាខៀវphka khatna khiev
Brussel sproutពន្លកស៊ែលponlok sae l
Cabbageស្ពៃក្តោបspai ktaob
Carrotsការ៉ុតkarot
Cauliflowerខាត់ណាផា្កស្ពkhatna pha k s
Cornពោតpot
Kaleខាត់ណាkhatna
Lettuceស្ពៃសsalat
Potatoដំឡូងdamlaung
Sweet potatoដំឡូង​ផ្អែមdamlaung​ phaem
Tomatoប៉េងប៉ោះbengbaoh

Alliums

Did you know that the word allium is Latin for “garlic”? In general, alliums include anything with a bulb.

EnglishKhmerTransliteration
Garlicខ្ទឹមkhtoem
Lemongrassស្លឹកគ្រៃsloekakrei
Onionទឹមបារាំងkhtoembareang
Shallotស្ពៃក្តោបspai ktaob
Spring onionsស្លឹកខ្ទឹមsloekakhtoem

Leafy Greens

Leafy greens is a term that refers to edible plant leaves.

EnglishKhmerTransliteration
Agatiអង្គាដីa hka ti
Cambodian mintមីន​ខ្មែរmin khmer
Chinese cabbage (bok choy)ស្ពៃក្តោបចិនspai ktaob chen
Cilantro/corianderវ៉ាន់ស៊ុយveansaouy
Climbing wattleស្អំsam
Moringaម្រុមmroum
Morning gloryត្រកួនseriroungrueng pelopruk
Pandanស្លឹកតើយphe n da n
Pennywortត្រចៀកក្រាញ់trachiekakranh
Rat earក្រសាំងទាបkrasaeangteab
River leafវល្លិថ្នឹងvolli thnoeng
Thai basilជីរនាងវងchirneangovong
Thai holy basilម្រះព្រៅmreahprow
Water mimosaកញ្ឆែតkanhchhet
Yardlong beanសណ្ដែកកួរsandekkuor

Root Vegetables

Root vegetables are the parts of a largely underground plant, yet we eat them for nutrients.

EnglishKhmerTransliteration
Chinese gingerខ្ជាយkhchay
Daikon radishឆៃថាវchaithav
Galangalរំដេងromdeng
Gingerខ្ញីkhnhei
Jicamaប៉ិកួbe kuo
Taroត្រាវta rau
Turmericរមៀតrmiet

All Other Veggies

EnglishKhmerTransliteration
Bamboo shootsទំពាំងtompeang
Banana flowersផ្កាចេកphkachek
Bean sproutsសណ្ដែក​បណ្ដុះsandek​ bandoh
Bitter melonម្រះmreah
Bottle gourdឃ្លោកkhlok
Chilliម្ទេសខ្ចីmtesa khchei
Eggplantក្រាម​រមាសkram​ rmeas
Green beansស​ណ្តែ​ក​ខៀវsa​ nte​ k​ khiev
Kaffir limeក្រូចឆ្មាkrauch chhma
Lotus seedឈូកchhouk
Mung beansសណ្តែកសៀងsanteksieng
Mushroomsផ្សិតphsaet
Okraពោតបារាំងpot barang
Pea eggplantលំញងlomnhong
Tamarindអម្ពិលampil
Water chestnutsដើមទ្រូងទឹក។daemotroung tuk
Winged beanប្រពាយbrapay

That’s all! Now you’ve learned 50+ vegetables in Khmer! You know what they say, the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach (i.e., cooking)! Maybe you can impress your next date by cooking Cambodian food!

Learn More Useful Vocabulary With The Ling App!

Vegetables In Khmer

If you loved learning about vegetables in Khmer, you could learn more helpful vocabulary with the Ling App!

Ling is a revolutionary language learning app designed to teach you a language as effectively and efficiently as possible. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced learner, or you want to spend 10 minutes or 1 hour per day studying, Ling has lessons to accommodate everyone! The app is even available for iOS, Android, and desktop devices, so you can learn no matter the device you have.

Some of the app’s main features include engaging and digestible lessons, relevant vocabulary and phrases that can be used to communicate with the locals, exercises to practice writing skills, practice features through our AI chatbot, and an easy-to-navigate interface.

Aside from the app, Ling has a fantastic free language blog with thousands of resources related to languages, different countries, cultures, food, and even helpful language learning tips. If you ever want to extend your knowledge, this is the blog you need.

Want to see for yourself? Try out the Ling App today, and happy learning!

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