ល្អ
lʼɑɑ
The English word "good" is translated into Khmer as ល្អ (lʼɑɑ).
ល្អ is an adjective used to describe something as pleasant or enjoyable. To specifically describe a person's character as kind-hearted or good-natured, the idiomatic phrase ចិត្តល្អ is used.
Meaning: pleasant, enjoyable (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The idiom ចិត្តល្អ literally means "good heart".
How does it change in a sentence?
To say "very good", you can intensify the adjective by adding the word ណាស់ after it, resulting in ល្អណាស់.
How do you pronounce it?
lʼɑɑ
Did you know?
- In Cambodia, the concept of being 'good' is often tied to the word គុណ ('merit' or 'virtue'). A 'good' person is frequently described as someone who has accumulated enough merit through previous positive actions.
- While ល្អ means 'good', it is also frequently used as the primary word for 'beautiful'. In many contexts, describing a person or an object as ល្អ focuses on their aesthetic appeal rather than their moral quality.
- When praising a child, adults often use ល្អ not just to mean 'good' but specifically to mean 'obedient'. A 'good boy' is primarily one who follows instructions without questioning.
Examples in context
- ចាប់បានល្អ។Good catch.Tatoeba #11486004 by Vethya, translation #3589147 by Ooneykcall
- ចាប់បានល្អ!Good catch!Tatoeba #11486015 by Vethya, translation #6890442 by Eccles17
- ថម ចិត្តល្អ ។Tom is good-hearted.Tatoeba #4581719 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #4581717 by CM
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a movie they just watched.
- សុខ Sokតើអ្នកគិតថា រឿងនេះ ល្អ ទេ?tae neak keut tha reueng nis l-or te?Do you think this movie is good?
- ចិន្តា Chindaបាទ ចិន្តា គិតថាវា ល្អ ណាស់។bat chinda keut tha vea l-or nah.Yes, Chinda thinks it is very good.
- សុខ Sokខ្ញុំក៏គិតបែបនោះដែរ។khnhom kor keut baeb noh dae.I think so too.
- ចិន្តា Chindaយើងគួរតែមើលវាម្ដងទៀត។yeung kuor tae meul vea m-dorng tiet.We should watch it again.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ល្អ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
