My main job is teaching Khmer as a second language, and I thought I would share some very interesting words with you all. Every language always has some expressions or words that don't translate to English well or are strange concepts to a native English speaker.
I have chosen 5 words/expressions from the Khmer language that I have tried to explain in English as best as possible. This is a short post, so take a quick read and enjoy yourself!
Β Β Β Β Β All the Khmer names for diseases and illnesses are very to-the-point, but diabetes wins the cake, or the low glycemic load cake. So, to break it all down word-by-word, we have disease (cumΕΙ¨Ι¨) liquid (tΙ¨k) to urinate (noom) sweet (pΚaem). Diabetes is the disease of sweet pee. I wonder who the first person was to discover this fact...
Β Β Β Β Β Such an appropriate comparison between a dragonfly and a helicopter. Even though the word helicopter (α’αααΈαα»αααα-ΚeeliikoptΙΙ) is in the Khmer language as a loanword from French, many Khmers still choose to call a helicopter a dragonfly.
Β Β Β Β Β The word for crocodile is krΙpΙΙ as listed above, but the secondary slang usage is what's very creative. An ingrate, or ungrateful person is often referred to as a crocodile in the Khmer language. Crocodiles are a very utilitarian animal, and seem to have no empathy or sympathy, so I think this comparison is spot-on.
Β Β Β Β Β The word bΙΙΕ literally means "elder sibling" in Khmer. The word tΚ°om is basically the word for big. By merging these two words, the word gangster is formed, literally meaning a "big older sibling." That is certainly someone to be feared. My older brother use to terrorize me when we were young.
Β Β Β Β Β Every language in the world always has multiple creative slang words for fornication, but I wanted to share my favorite one from the Khmer language. bok basically means smash, while knie literally means "reciprocally." Well, a car crash is never a good thing, but maybe some "reciprocal smashing" is needed from time to time between two consenting adults.
Β Β Β Β Β When learning new languages I love dissecting words into their literal translations. In doing this, I always discover valuable insights into the culture and psyche of the native speakers of said language.
Β Β Β Β Β The Khmer names for diseases and illnesses are very literal, super easy to understand. I also love phrasal verbs, for they reveal a lot as well.
Β Β Β Β Β "Shut up" is a very hard expression for me to teach to Cambodian English students, although English speakers take it for granted. The Cambodian equivalent is "close mouth," which doesn't need much explanation when teaching it to non-native Khmer speakers.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post.
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