Reading Khmer (Cambodian) road signs

Khmer, the script of Cambodia, has a large alphabet, consonants written small under others, and vowels that sound different depending on the consonant they follow.

Place names are short, though, and the same pieces come back. Learn the common ones and សៀមរាប (Siem Reap) or ភ្នំពេញ (Phnom Penh) read themselves.

Khmer at a glance

Khmer is the script of Cambodia. It is read left to right, with no spaces between the words of a name.

Vowel signs sit all around the consonant, and in a cluster the second consonant is written small, underneath the first.

The first group: read with ‘a’

Khmer consonants come in two groups. With no vowel sign, a letter of the first group is read with an ‘a’. It is not written, so below it is shown in a lighter colour.

• កka
• ខkha
• ចcha
• ឆchha
• ដda
• តta
• ថtha
• បba
• ផpha
• សsa
• ហha
• អ–

The second group: read with ‘o’

A letter of the second group is read with an ‘o’, shown lighter below. Several sound like a first-group letter: ក and គ are both k.

• គko
• ឃkho
• ងngo
• ជcho
• ញnho
• ទto
• ធtho
• នno
• ពpo
• ភpho
• មmo
• យyo
• រro
• លlo
• វvo

Vowels depend on the group

The same vowel sign is read differently after each group: កា is ka, but គា is kea. That is why Khmer names in Latin letters can look so unlike each other.

• កាka
• គាkea
• កិke
• គិki
• កុko
• គុku
• កោkao
• គោkou
• កែkae
• កំkam

Letters underneath

When two consonants meet, the second is written small under the first, often in a different shape.

• ក្រkr
• ត្រtr
• ព្រpr
• ស្រsr
• ស្វsv
• ស្ទst
• ភ្នphn
• ខ្មkhm
• ថ្មthm

Small marks

A few small marks on top change a letter: ៉ and ៊ move it to the other group (ប៉ is p), ់ shortens the vowel, and ៍ silences its letter. A final រ is not sounded.

• ប៉p
• ស៊s
• ក់k
• ង់ng

Name parts worth knowing

Some pieces come back again and again. Spot them and half the name is read.

Khmer names are spelled in many ways: ភ្នំ is Phnom or Phnum, កោះ Koh or Kaoh. When you type, the common spellings count.

Try it

Which city is on the sign?

All the letters

Consonants read with a

• កk
• ខkh
• ចch
• ឆchh
• ដd
• ឋth
• ណn
• តt
• ថth
• បb, p
• ផph
• សs
• ហh
• ឡl
• អ–

Consonants read with o

• គk
• ឃkh
• ងng
• ជch
• ឈchh
• ញnh
• ឌd
• ឍth
• ទt
• ធth
• នn
• ពp
• ភph
• មm
• យy
• រr
• លl
• វv

Vowel signs, shown on ក and គ

• កា គាka, kea
• កិ គិke, ki
• កី គីkei, ki
• កឹ គឹkoe, kue
• កុ គុko, ku
• កូ គូkou, ku
• កួ គួkuo
• កើ គើkaeu, keu
• កៀ គៀkie
• កេ គេke
• កែ គែkae, keae
• កៃ គៃkai, key
• កោ គោkao, kou
• កៅ គៅkau, kov
• កំ គំkam, kum
• កះ គះkah, keah

Clusters

• ក្រkr
• ត្រtr
• ព្រpr
• ស្រsr
• ស្វsv
• ស្ទst
• ស្នsn
• ស្ដsd
• ខ្មkhm
• ខ្សkhs
• ភ្នphn
• ថ្មthm
• ឆ្នchhn
• ត្បtb
• ក្ដkd
• ល្វlv

Words that keep coming back

• កំពង់kampong, port
• ភ្នំphnum, hill
• កោះkaoh, island
• ស្ទឹងstueng, river
• ព្រៃprey, forest
• ស្វាយsvay, mango
• បន្ទាយbanteay, fort
• អង្គរangkor, city
• ព្រះpreah, sacred
• ត្រពាំងtrapeang, pond
• ទឹកtuek, water
• អូរou, stream
• ថ្មthma, stone
• ព្រែកprek, canal
• ប្រាសាទprasat, temple
• គិរីkiri, mountain

Digits

• ០0
• ១1
• ២2
• ៣3
• ៤4
• ៥5
• ៦6
• ៧7
• ៨8
• ៩9

Every consonant belongs to one of two groups, and the same vowel sign sounds different after each: កា is ka, គា is kea. With no vowel sign the first group is read with a, the second with o.

A vowel sign sits before, above, below or after its consonant. In a cluster the second consonant is written small underneath, often in another shape.

ប៉ is p. The marks ៉ and ៊ move a consonant to the other group, ់ shortens the vowel before it, and ៍ silences its letter. A final រ is not sounded.

The 200 places in the quiz

The quiz has 200 places in Cambodia: Phnom Penh, the provincial capitals, most districts and a few towns known from the road.