ល្ងង់
lngong
The Khmer word for 'dumb' is ល្ងង់ (lngong).
The term is an adjective used to describe someone or something as being stupid or lacking intelligence.
Meaning: stupid (adj)
How do you pronounce it?
lngong
Did you know?
- While in English 'dumb' can mean unable to speak, in Khmer, ល្ងង់ strictly refers to a lack of intelligence and cannot be used to describe someone who is mute.
- In Cambodia, calling someone ល្ងង់ can be significantly more offensive than the English word 'dumb' due to the high cultural value placed on social harmony and face.
- The word ល្ងង់ shares a deep linguistic root with the Teochew Chinese word 戇, meaning 'stupid'.
Examples in context
- ក្មេងនោះល្ងង់ណាស់។kmeng noh lngon nah.That child is very stupid.
- កុំធ្វើខ្លួនល្ងង់ពេក។kom thveu khluon lngon pek.Don't act too stupid.
- សំណួរនេះពិតជាល្ងង់។somnour nih pit chea lngon.This question is truly stupid.
Example conversation
Maly and Ratana are talking about a difficult puzzle.
- រតនៈ Ratanakអាសីលាបនេះពិបាកពេកហើយ។ah sela bah nis pibak pek haey.This puzzle is too difficult.
- ម៉ាលី Malyអ្នកគ្រាន់តែល្ងង់ក្នុងការដោះស្រាយវា។neak kroun tae lnong knong dous sray vea.You are just dumb at solving it.
- រតនៈ Ratanakម៉ាលី កុំនិយាយបែបនោះមកកាន់ខ្ញុំ!Maly kom niyay beb noh mok kan khnhom!Maly, don't talk to me like that!
- ម៉ាលី Malyខ្ញុំគ្រាន់តែនិយាយការពិតទេ។khnhom kroun tae niyay kar pit te.I'm just telling the truth.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ល្ងង់, CC BY-SA 4.0.
