សត្វ
sat
The word for "animal" in Khmer is សត្វ (sat).
សត្វ refers to any living organism that is not a human.
Meaning: organism other than human (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
In Khmer, សត្វ is used as a classifier for animals.
How do you pronounce it?
sat
Did you know?
- In certain contexts, calling a person a សត្វ is a severe insult, implying they have lost their human dignity or morality.
- The word សត្វ is a direct relative of the Sanskrit word 'sattva', which can also mean 'purity' or 'true existence' in a philosophical context.
- While សត្វ is the general term, Khmer often uses different specific classifiers for different types of animals, such as using ក្បាល (head) to count large animals like cows.
Examples in context
- សត្វឆ្មាCat
- ខ្ញុំស្រឡាញ់សត្វទាំងអស់។khnhom srolanh sat teang os.I love all animals.
- តើនេះគឺជាសត្វអ្វី?tae nih kue chea sat avay?What animal is this?
Example conversation
At a small local zoo.
- រតនៈ Ratanakមើលសត្វនោះមើល ចិន្តា!meul sat noh meul, Chinda!Look at that animal, Chinda!
- ចិន្តា Chindaអូ! វាពិតជាស្អាតណាស់ រតនៈ។oh! vea pit chea saat nah, Ratanak.Oh! It is really beautiful, Ratanak.
- រតនៈ Ratanakតើអ្នកដឹងថាវាជាសត្វអ្វី?tae neak deung tha vea chea sat avay?Do you know what animal it is?
- ចិន្តា Chindaខ្ញុំមិនប្រាកដទេ។khnhom min prakod te.I am not sure.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry សត្វ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries សត្វ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
