ក្មេងប្រុស
kmeeng proh
The English word "boy" translates to ក្មេងប្រុស (kmeeng proh) in Khmer.
ក្មេងប្រុស is used to refer to a male child. In broader contexts, the component ប្រុស can be used to refer to any male individual, including grown men, while the component ក្មេង refers to young children or can be translated as "kid" or "little one".
Meaning: male child (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of ក្មេង (kmeeng), meaning "child" and ប្រុស (proh), meaning "male".
How do you pronounce it?
kmeeng proh
Did you know?
- In Cambodia, the word ប្រុស is used not only for gender but also to describe the 'male' side of objects, such as certain types of plants or tools.
- In many Southeast Asian cultures including Cambodia, addressing a boy by his name is often preceded by an honorific that changes based on his age relative to yours.
- The word ក្មេង (kmeeng) used in this phrase can also be used to describe someone who is acting 'childish' or 'immature' in a social setting.
Examples in context
- ក្មេងប្រុសម្នាក់នោះកំពុងលេងបាល់។kmeng bros mnak noh kampong leng bal.That boy is playing ball.
- ក្មេងប្រុសៗទាំងនោះរៀនពូកែណាស់។kmeng bros bros teang noh rien pou ka nah.Those boys are very good at studying.
Example conversation
Sreyni and Narong are looking at a group of children playing.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongមើលក្មេងប្រុសនោះចុះ!meul kmeng bros noh chos!Look at that boy!
- ស្រីនី Sreynyគាត់កំពុងលេងបាល់។koat kompong leng bal.He is playing football.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongក្មេងប្រុសនោះពូកែណាស់។kmeng bros noh poukae nah.That boy is very skilled.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyមែនហើយ គាត់លេងពូកែមែន។men haey, koat leng poukae men.Yes, he really plays well.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “boy” translations and entries ក្មេងប្រុស, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
