តើអ្នកចេះនិយាយភាសាអង់គ្លេសទេ?
tae anak cheh nihyeay pheasaa angkaanglais te?
The phrase "can you speak english?" in Khmer is តើអ្នកចេះនិយាយភាសាអង់គ្លេសទេ? (tae anak cheh nihyeay pheasaa angkaanglais te?)
This phrase is used to ask if someone has the ability to communicate in the English language.
What does it mean word for word?
The literal breakdown of តើអ្នកចេះនិយាយភាសាអង់គ្លេសទេ? is: តើ (question particle), អ្នក (you), ចេះ (know how to/can), និយាយ (speak), ភាសា (language), អង់គ្លេស (English) and ទេ (question particle).
How does it change in a sentence?
The question is framed using the តើ…ទេ? structure, where តើ marks the beginning of the question and ទេ at the end turns the statement into a yes/no question. The verb ចេះ is used specifically for abilities acquired through learning, such as languages or skills, rather than physical capabilities.
How do you pronounce it?
tae anak cheh nihyeay pheasaa angkaanglais te?
When do people say it?
When answering this question, a common way to say "Yes (I can/know how)" is to simply say ចេះ. To say "No (I don't know how)", you can say អត់ចេះទេ.
Did you know?
- The word អង់គ្លេស for 'English' is derived from the French word 'Anglais', reflecting the long history of French colonial influence in Cambodia.
- The Khmer script used to write this phrase is an abugida, meaning consonants have an inherent vowel that is changed or removed by adding special marks around the letter.
- The word អ្នក (you) is a general term, but in many social situations, Cambodians prefer to use titles or kinship terms like 'brother' or 'sister' instead of the direct 'you'.
Examples in context
- សុំទោស តើអ្នកចេះនិយាយភាសាអង់គ្លេសទេ?som tos tae neak cheh niyay pheasa angley te?Excuse me, can you speak English?
Example conversation
Two strangers meet at a tourist information center.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyសួស្តី! តើអ្នកចេះនិយាយភាសាអង់គ្លេសទេ?Suostei! Tae neak cheh niyay pheasa angkles te?Hello! Can you speak English?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongបាទ ខ្ញុំចេះនិយាយបន្តិចបន្តួច។Baat, khnhom cheh niyay bontich bontoouch.Yes, I can speak a little bit.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyតើអ្នកអាចជួយបង្ហាញផ្លូវខ្ញុំបានទេ?Tae neak ach chuoy bong-hanh plov khnhom ban te?Can you help show me the way?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongបាទ ខ្ញុំនឹងជួយអ្នក។Baat, khnhom neng chuoy neak.Yes, I will help you.
