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Cambodian words with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 4:24 am
by explorer
People learning Khmer will learn there are some words with no English equivalent. There are also English words with no Khmer equivalent. You can normally explain these using a number of words.
There are also words where the meaning is similar, but not exactly the same.
I hope this will be beneficial for those learning Khmer.
oosaa
oosaa is the opposite of lazy. You could say a good student, a hard worker, or a person who puts in a lot of effort.
gaaj and sloet
gaaj means a ferocious animal, an aggressive animal, or an animal which may attack you.
sloet means a tame animal.
The same words are used for people. We dont normally say a tame person. Maybe we should introduce this into the English language.
If someone says a girl is gaaj, she may be argumentative, uncooperative, get angry often, and yell a lot.
If someone says a girl is sloet, she may be easy to get along with, cooperative, not normally get angry, and not normally raise her voice.
You also learn, the only way to get good at a language, is by communitating in that language. You will meet Cambodians learning English, and translating everyting into Khmer. That is how one starts out. But the only way to get good at English is by communicating in English. The same applies for people learning Khmer.
I would encourage others to make contributions. Most of us are still learning. We can all learn from each other.
Next time someone asks you what type of girl you would like. One of the most important qualities is being sloet. Being oosaa is also important.
Re: Cambodian words with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 6:12 am
by Jamie_Lambo
explorer wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 4:24 am
gaaj and sloet
gaaj means a ferocious animal, an aggressive animal, or an animal which may attack you.
sloet means a tame animal.
The same words are used for people. We dont normally say a tame person. Maybe we should introduce this into the English language.
If someone says a girl is gaaj, she may be argumentative, uncooperative, get angry often, and yell a lot.
If someone says a girl is sloet, she may be easy to get along with, cooperative, not normally get angry, and not normally raise her voice.
I would encourage others to make contributions. Most of us are still learning. We can all learn from each other.
Next time someone asks you what type of girl you would like. One of the most important qualities is being sloet. Being oosaa is also important.
សាហាវ - Sahav is also a similar word - to be savage, wild, untamed, violent, fierce, ferocious, cruel, brutal, inhuman, primitive, pitiless, barbarous...
Re: Cambodian wtheords with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 6:20 am
by taabarang
Please continue to share your cultural insights with us but please drop the "preachy"/tone; the general tone of your posts is condescending. They assume reader ignorance and poster enlightenment when neither may be the case.
Re: Cambodian words with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 6:54 am
by jmagic
Nom officially translates to cake, but in use it often refers to any starchy snack, sweet or salty. Its a useful word.
Re: Cambodian wtheords with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 7:30 am
by Brody
taabarang wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 6:20 am
the general tone of your posts is condescending. They assume reader ignorance and poster enlightenment
Wow, I didn't get that feeling from his post at all. Maybe you're projecting?
To be on the safe side we should probably have a sticky thread...
"Taabarang's guide to proper posting etiquette and decorum so as not to annoy easily irascible posters such as taabarang"
Re: Cambodian wtheords with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 7:43 am
by taabarang
Brody wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 7:30 am
taabarang wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 6:20 am
the general tone of your posts is condescending. They assume reader ignorance and poster enlightenment
Wow, I didn't get that feeling from his post at all. Maybe you're projecting?
To be on the safe side we should probably have a sticky thread...
"Taabarang's guide to proper posting etiquette and decorum so as not to annoy easily irascible posters such as taabarang"
It would actually be simpler to silence my posts with the ignore button. As you noted in a previous post you fail as a comedian. Don't lose the day job.
Re: Cambodian words with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 8:26 am
by Felgerkarb
jmagic wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 6:54 am
Nom officially translates to cake, but in use it often refers to any starchy snack, sweet or salty. Its a useful word.
Also can refer to a woman's coochie. Nom akow laung aht? Has the akow cake risen/swollen up? Double entendre for is the coochie swollen, i.e. ready to rock.
Re: Cambodian words with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 9:02 am
by violet
You sweet talker lol
Re: Cambodian words with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 9:16 am
by Duncan
I had a run-in with my friend.
What word would Cambodians use for run-in.
Re: Cambodian words with no English equivalent
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 9:17 am
by taabarang
explorer wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 4:24 am
People learning Khmer will learn there are some words with no English equivalent. There are also English words with no Khmer equivalent. You can normally explain these using a number of words.
There are also words where the meaning is similar, but not exactly the same.
I hope this will be beneficial for those learning Khmer.
oosaa
oosaa is the opposite of lazy. You could say a good student, a hard worker, or a person who puts in a lot of effort.
gaaj and sloet
gaaj means a ferocious animal, an aggressive animal, or an animal which may attack you.
sloet means a tame animal.
The same words are used for people. We dont normally say a tame person. Maybe we should introduce this into the English language.
If someone says a girl is gaaj, she may be argumentative, uncooperative, get angry often, and yell a lot.
If someone says a girl is sloet, she may be easy to get along with, cooperative, not normally get angry, and not normally raise her voice.
You also learn, the only way to get good at a language, is by communitating in that language. You will meet Cambodians learning English, and translating everyting into Khmer. That is how one starts out. But the only way to get good at English is by communicating in English. The same applies for people learning Khmer.
I would encourage others to make contributions. Most of us are still learning. We can all learn from each other.
Next time someone asks you what type of girl you would like. One of the most important qualities is being sloet. Being oosaa is also important.
Actually the word more closely resembles "slot" (long o) when correctly pronounced and is frequently used to describe my father-in-law.
No need to introduce a new word into English here; we already have the word "gentle."