យាយ
yiəy
យាយ (yiəy) is the Khmer word for grandma.
យាយ is an informal term used colloquially to address your own grandmother or to refer to an elderly woman in a familiar setting.
Meaning: grandmother (informal) (noun)
Which one should you use?
While យាយ is the informal way to say grandma, the term លោកយាយ is used when you want to be more formal and respectful when addressing or referring to a grandmother.
How do you pronounce it?
yiəy
Did you know?
- In some contexts, the word យាយ might actually be a shortened version of the verb 'to speak', which is និយាយ (niyiəy).
- In Cambodia, you can call an elderly woman យាយ even if you are not related to her. This is a way of showing affection and respect by treating her as a member of the family.
- While យាយ is used for grandmothers, Cambodian culture has separate, specific terms for maternal and paternal grandparents to clarify the family line.
Examples in context
- យាយរបស់ខ្ញុំចិត្តល្អណាស់។yeay robos khnom chet laor nah.My grandma is very kind.
- តើយាយនៅផ្ទះទេ?tae yeay nov pteah te?Is grandma at home?
- ខ្ញុំចង់ទៅលេងយាយ។khnom chong tov leng yeay.I want to visit grandma.
Example conversation
Narong and Sreiny are talking about their families at home.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyណារ៉ុង តើ យាយ របស់អ្នកសុខសប្បាយទេ?Narong, tae yeay robos neak sok sabbay te?Narong, is your grandma doing well?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongបាទ យាយ ខ្ញុំសុខសប្បាយទេ។bat, yeay khnhom sok sabbay te.Yes, my grandma is doing well.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyតើគាត់រស់នៅទីណា?tae koat ros nov ti na?Where does she live?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongគាត់រស់នៅឯស្រុកកំណើត។koat ros nov ae srok kamnaet.She lives in the hometown.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry យាយ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries យាយ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
