3.7 Introduction to Khmer Vowels
The Positions of Khmer Vowel Symbols
There are 24 dependent vowel symbols. The vowel symbol can be placed in front of, on top of, below, or around the consonant. However, the consonant sound always precedes the vowel sound. Vowels can either have long or short sounds. Please note that the dotted zero represents the position of the consonant.
Vowel Symbols: ុ/ូ/ួ/េ/ែ/ៃ
Vowel symbols with phonetic scripts.
Use the audio and Table 1 to learn how to pronoun the vowel symbols.
| No. | Vowel Symbol | Phonetic Script | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ុ | /o/ | តុ (table) |
| 2 | ូ | /oo/ | អូរ (stream)/ដូរ (to exchange)
/កូរ (to stir) |
| 3 | ួ | /ua/ | សួរ (to ask)/ខួរ (brain) |
| 4 | េ | /ee/ | ភេ (Otter) |
| 5 | ែ | /ae/ | ខែ (moon)/កែ (to mark)/តែ (tea) |
| 6 | ៃ | /ai/ | ដៃ (hand)/ចៃ (lice) |
1. Listening
In the following audio clip, one of the three words will be read out loud. Mark the word you hear using the following app.
2. Writing
Download the worksheet below to practice writing the first 6 vowels by following the directional arrows.
3. Reading
Match the Khmer words with their English translations.
