ឆ្ងាញ់
chngañ
The Khmer word for "delicious" is ឆ្ងាញ់ (chngañ).
ឆ្ងាញ់ is an adjective used to describe food that is pleasing to the taste. To express that something is "very delicious," it is common to add the particle ណាស់ after the word, resulting in ឆ្ងាញ់ណាស់.
Meaning: pleasing to taste (adj)
How do you pronounce it?
chngañ
Did you know?
- The word ឆ្ងាញ់ is a cognate with the Northern Khmer word จงัญ, showing the linguistic connection between Cambodian Khmer and the Khmer spoken in Thailand.
- While ឆ្ងាញ់ describes the taste, Khmer speakers often use a separate word for 'delicious' when referring to the smell of food, as the two senses are treated distinctly.
- The concept of 'deliciousness' in Khmer culture is deeply tied to the balance of flavors, so a dish is often described by its specific salty or sweet profile rather than just the word ឆ្ងាញ់.
Examples in context
- ឆ្ងាញ់Tasty
- ម្ហូបនេះឆ្ងាញ់ណាស់This food is very delicious
- ម្ហូបនេះឆ្ងាញ់ណាស់។mhoup nih chhnganh nah.This food is very delicious.
- តើអាហារនេះឆ្ងាញ់ទេ?tae a-ha nih chhnganh te?Is this food delicious?
- នំនេះពិតជាឆ្ងាញ់។nom nih pit chea chhnganh.This cake is truly delicious.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “delicious” translations and entries ឆ្ងាញ់, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ឆ្ងាញ់, CC BY-SA 4.0.
