ក្មេង
kmeeng
The Khmer word for "child" is ក្មេង (kmeeng).
ក្មេង is used to describe a person by their developmental stage, specifically referring to a young person or a kid.
Meaning: son or daughter, someone's child (noun)
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between ក្មេង and កូន. While ក្មេង refers generally to a child or a young person based on age, កូន is the specific term used to mean one's own offspring, such as a son or a daughter or to describe the relationship to a parent.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the plural "children" or "kids", you can repeat the word or use the reduplication marker to form ក្មេងៗ.
How do you pronounce it?
kmeeng
Did you know?
- The word កូន can also be used to describe the young of animals, such as a puppy or a kitten, whereas ក្មេង is reserved only for humans.
- When referring to children in a formal or royal context, the vocabulary changes entirely to a specialized register called រាជសព្ទ, where different words for 'child' are used.
- In Khmer, the word for 'child' can change based on the child's birth order, with specific terms used to distinguish the eldest from the youngest.
Examples in context
- ក្មេងម្នាក់នេះគួរឱ្យស្រឡាញ់ណាស់។kmeng mnak nih kuor oy srolanh nah.This child is so cute.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a newborn baby.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongមើលក្មេងនេះចុះ!meul kmeng nih chos!Look at this child!
- សុខា Sokhaពិតជាគួរឱ្យស្រឡាញ់មែន។pit chea kuor oy srolanh men.It really is cute.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongតើក្មេងនេះជាកូនរបស់អ្នកមែនទេ?tae kmeng nih chea koun robos neak men te?Is this child your child?
- សុខា Sokhaចាស នេះជាកូនរបស់ខ្ញុំ។chas nih chea koun robos khnhom.Yes, this is my child.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ក្មេង, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
