នាវិកនាយក
niəvɨk niəyŭək
The English word 'captain' is translated into Khmer as នាវិកនាយក (niəvɨk niəyŭək). If unsure, use នាវិកនាយក. Wiktionary also lists នាវិកបតី (niəvikaʼpaʼdəy) and នាយសំពៅ (niəy sɑmpɨw).
Meaning: the person lawfully in command of a sea-going vessel (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| នាវិកនាយក | niəvɨk niəyŭək |
| នាវិកបតី | niəvikaʼpaʼdəy |
| នាយសំពៅ | niəy sɑmpɨw |
| មេកប៉ាល់ | mee kaʼpal |
In a maritime context, these terms refer to the person lawfully in command of a sea-going vessel. Outside of the sea, the term គ្រូ is often used to refer to the captain of a sports team or a leader in a group.
What does it mean word for word?
The term នាវិកនាយក is composed of នាវិក (sailor/mariner) and នាយក (leader/director).
Which one should you use?
នាវិកនាយក is formal. In contrast, នាយសំពៅ is often used specifically for the person in command of a traditional or smaller vessel. For a more colloquial approach, you can use មេកប៉ាល់, which literally means 'boss of the ship'.
How do you pronounce it?
niəvɨk niəyŭək
Did you know?
- In traditional Khmer poetry, the term សំពៅ is often used metaphorically to represent a person's life or a journey through a great ordeal.
- The formal term នាវិកនាយក uses នាយក, a word derived from Pali and Sanskrit that is also used for 'Director' or 'Principal' of a school.
- The word សំពៅ in នាយសំពៅ refers specifically to a traditional junk or sailing vessel, reflecting Cambodia's history of trade with China.
Example sentences for Khmer are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Two people are talking about a cruise trip.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongតើ នាវិកនាយក នៃកប៉ាល់នេះជាជនជាតិអ្វី?tae neavika neayok nei kapal nis chea choncheat avei?What nationality is the captain of this ship?
- ស្រីនី Sreynyខ្ញុំគិតថាគាត់ជាជនជាតិអង់គ្លេស។khnhom kit tha koat chea choncheat angkles.I think he is British.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongខ្ញុំចង់ជួបគាត់ពេលនេះ។khnhom chong chuob koat pel nis.I want to meet him now.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyសូមទៅជួបគាត់នៅបន្ទប់បញ្ជា។som tov chuob koat nov bantub banhchea.Please go meet him in the control room.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “captain” translations and entries នាវិកនាយក, នាវិកបតី, នាយសំពៅ, មេកប៉ាល់, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
