លាហើយ
liə haəy
លាហើយ (liə haəy) is the Khmer way to say bye.
The phrase is used when a person is actually departing or ending a conversation, rather than as a casual way to say 'see you later'.
Meaning: short for goodbye (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the verb លា (liə), meaning 'to part/say goodbye' and ហើយ (haəy), meaning 'already' or acting as a particle to indicate a completed state.
How do you pronounce it?
liə haəy
Did you know?
- The word លា (liə) can also refer to a 'rhinoceros' in Khmer. While the meaning is entirely different from the verb 'to part', the two words are homonyms.
- Khmer culture often employs 'indirect' goodbyes. Rather than saying លាហើយ, people frequently say ញ៉ាំបាយនៅ? ('Have you eaten yet?') to show care before the other person departs.
- The act of saying លាហើយ is often accompanied by a sampeah, where the palms are pressed together like a prayer. The higher the hands are held, the more respect is being shown to the person leaving.
Examples in context
- លាហើយ!lea haeuy!Bye!
- លាហើយ ម៉ាក់។lea haeuy mak.Bye, mom.
- ខ្ញុំទៅមុនហើយ លាហើយ។khnhom tov mun haeuy lea haeuy.I'm leaving first, bye.
Example conversation
Sreeni and Vipul are finishing a short meeting.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyថ្ងៃនេះចប់ត្រឹមនេះទេ។ លាហើយ វិបុល។thngay nih chob trem nih te. lea haeuy Vipul.That is all for today. Bye, Vipul.
- វិបុល Vibolបាទ លាហើយ ស្រីនី។bat lea haeuy Sreeni.Yes, bye, Sreeni.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyជួបគ្នាថ្ងៃស្អែក!chuop khnea thngay sa-aek!See you tomorrow!
- វិបុល Vibolបាទ ជួបគ្នា! លាហើយ។bat chuop khnea! lea haeuy.Yes, see you! Bye.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bye” translations and entries លាហើយ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
