ញ៉ាំ
ñam
The Khmer verb for 'eat' is ញ៉ាំ (ñam).
ញ៉ាំ is used to mean 'eat a meal'. In everyday conversation, it is very common to pair it with the word បាយ (rice) to form ញ៉ាំបាយ, which means 'to eat rice' or 'to eat a meal' in a general sense.
Meaning: eat a meal (verb)
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ញ៉ាំ is a common and neutral way to say 'eat'. For more formal or polite contexts, especially when speaking to elders or superiors, use ពិសា. In everyday colloquial speech, you may also encounter the informal alternative ហូប.
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate that an action is completed or to express the past tense, add ហើយ (already) after the verb, such as in the form ញ៉ាំហើយ (already ate).
How do you pronounce it?
ñam
Did you know?
- In very informal settings, the verb ញ៉ាំ can be used metaphorically to describe consuming or 'eating' something that isn't food, such as 'eating' a bribe.
- Khmer uses different verbs for 'eat' based on the status of the person, a system known as 'royal language' or រាជសព្ទ, which extends beyond just the word ពិសា.
- The formal verb ពិសា is also used for 'drinking' liquids, making it a versatile term for any form of consumption in polite company.
Examples in context
- ញ៉ាំ!Eat!This sentence shows how to use ញ៉ាំ as a simple command.Tatoeba #4965206 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #3628784 by MTC
- មកញ៉ាំ!Come eat!This sentence uses ញ៉ាំ to invite someone to eat.Tatoeba #4713257 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #4713256 by melisszr
- ចង់ញ៉ាំអី?What do you want to eat?This sentence shows how to use ញ៉ាំ when asking someone what they want to eat.Tatoeba #5670463 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #372015 by saeb
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maly and Sok are deciding on lunch.
- ម៉ាលី Malyសុខ ចង់ញ៉ាំបាយនៅពេលណា?Sok, chong nham bai nov pel na?Sok, when do you want to eat rice?
- សុខ Sokខ្ញុំចង់ញ៉ាំឥឡូវនេះ។Knhom chong nham ey lov nih.I want to eat right now.
- ម៉ាលី Malyតើយើងគួរញ៉ាំអី?Tae yeung kuor nham ey?What should we eat?
- សុខ Sokយើងទៅញ៉ាំគុយទាវទៅ។Yeung tov nham kuy teav tov.Let's go eat noodles.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ញ៉ាំ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
