2.3 Subject Pronouns with Verb “To be” in Khmer

Personal Pronouns with Verb “to be”

The word for “To be” is Jia.​​​​ However, Jia is omitted when it is used with adjective. For example, “she is beautiful” = Niang jia s’art.

Examples: 

  • Khnhom jia kruu-bɔng-rian. “I am a teacher.”
  • Koat jia kruu-bpeet. “He is a doctor.”
Table 1
Singular Pronouns and Verb “to be” Plural Pronouns and Verb “to be”
Transliteration English Khmer Transliteration English Khmer
Khnhom jia_. I am_. ខ្ញុំជា Neak jia_. You are_. អ្នកជា
Neak jia_. You are_. អ្នកជា Yəəng jia_. We are_. យើងជា
Koat jia_. He is_. គាត់ជា Bpuak-kee jia_. They are_. ពួគគេ/ពួកគាត់ជា
Niang/Koat jia_. She is_. នាងជា

 

1. Listening and Reading

Listen to following conversation and put the sentences of the conversation in the correct order.

 

 

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Basic Khmer Copyright © 2022 by Vathanak Sok is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book