8.7 Key Vocabulary and Useful Expressions
| IPA | English |
|---|---|
| dtom-nee | available/free |
| roo-vol | busy |
| ey-jəng | so/therefore |
| kaa-ri-yaa-lai | office |
| nat bpeel | to make an appointment |
| mian nat | to have an appointment |
| IPA | English |
|---|---|
| khnhom jɔng juab koat. | I want to meet him. |
| Koat kɔm-pong brɔɔ-jom. | He is in the meeting. |
| Niang dtom-nee dtee? | Is she available? |
| som toh! | Excuse me! |
| look mian kaa ey daer? | How may I help you? |
| Khnom som ni-yiay jia-muay look Sok baan dtee? | May/can I speak to Mr. Sok? |
| ɔɔ-kun chraən! | Thank you very much! |
| soom jam bɔng dtech. | Please wait a moment. |
| Grammar Point | Summary |
|---|---|
| Sub-consonant under Final Consonant of a Word | In written Cambodian, sub-consonant placed under a final consonant of a word are not pronounced. For example: សាន្ត (saan) and ពេទ្យ (bpeet).
Please also note that generally if there is a sub-consonant under a final consonant of a word, the word itself is a Pali or Sanskrit word and it is not pronounced as it spelled, for example, រដ្ឋ (roat) and ចក្រ (jak). |
| The Pattern សុំ…បានទេ? and សូម “Please” | To make a request, the pattern សុំ…បានទេ is used. For example: ខ្ញុំសុំជួបលោកស្មីតបានទេ? “Can I meet Mr. Smith?”. While សូម “Please” is used to indicate the politeness. However, from time to time, the word “សូម” and “សុំ” are interchangeably used.
Compare:
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