បងប្រុស
bɑɑng proh
In Khmer, the term for brother is បងប្រុស (bɑɑng proh). Wiktionary also lists ប្អូនប្រុស (pʼoun proh) and ភាតរ (phéatrô).
Meaning: male sibling (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| បងប្រុស | bɑɑng proh |
| ប្អូនប្រុស | pʼoun proh |
| ភាតរ | phéatrô |
| ភាតា | phiətaa |
The English word 'brother' is translated into several different Khmer terms depending on the age of the sibling and the level of formality required.
What does it mean word for word?
The term បងប្រុស is composed of បង, meaning older sibling or elder. Similarly, ប្អូនប្រុស is composed of ប្អូន, meaning younger sibling or junior.
Which one should you use?
Khmer distinguishes between age-based roles: បងប្រុស refers specifically to an older brother, while ប្អូនប្រុស refers specifically to a younger brother.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While បងប្រុស and ប្អូនប្រុស are used in everyday speech, ភាតរ is a formal or literary term for brother, often used in poetic or high-register contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
bɑɑng proh
Did you know?
- The term បង can also be used as a romantic term of endearment by a woman for her husband or boyfriend, similar to 'honey' or 'darling'.
- The formal term ភាតរ is a direct descendant of the Sanskrit/Pali word 'bhātṛ', which is the same root found in the English word 'brother'.
- If you want to address a man slightly older than you in a shop or restaurant, you would call him បង even if you have no biological connection.
Examples in context
- បងប្រុសរបស់គាត់ចិត្តល្អណាស់។bong bros robos koat chet la-or nah.His brother is very kind.
- តើបងប្រុសរបស់អ្នកនៅឯណា?tae bong bros robos nek nov ae na?Where is your brother?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their families.
- រតនៈ Ratanakសុខា តើអ្នកមានបងប្រុសទេ?Sokha, tae neak mean bong proh te?Sokha, do you have a brother?
- សុខា Sokhaចាស ខ្ញុំមានបងប្រុសម្នាក់។chas, khnhom mean bong proh mnak.Yes, I have one brother.
- រតនៈ Ratanakគាត់អាយុប៉ុន្មានឆ្នាំ?koat ayu ponman chhnam?How old is he?
- សុខា Sokhaគាត់អាយុម្ភៃឆ្នាំ។koat ayu mpei chhnam.He is twenty years old.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “brother” translations and entries បងប្រុស, ប្អូនប្រុស, ភាតា, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries បងប្រុស, ប្អូនប្រុស, ភាតា, CC BY-SA 4.0.
