Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| យាយ | yiəy |
| ជីដូន | cii doun |
| អយ្យកា | ʼayyĕəʼkaa |
All forms of the word refer to the mother of someone's parent. The most common term, យាយ, is used in everyday speech and can also be used colloquially to directly address any elderly woman, regardless of whether she is your biological grandmother.
Which one should you use?
The forms differ primarily by their level of formality and literary tone. យាយ is the standard everyday term, while ជីដូន is a more formal or literary version. អយ្យកា is the most distinct, serving as a highly formal, poetic or archaic term.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For everyday conversation, use the common term យាយ. If you are writing in a formal or literary context, use ជីដូន. For highly formal, poetic or archaic purposes, use អយ្យកា.
How do you pronounce it?
yiəy
When do people say it?
In Khmer culture, យាយ is frequently used as a direct way to address an elderly woman, even if there is no biological relation.
Did you know?
- The everyday term យាយ is actually a shortened version of the word និយាយ, which means 'to speak' or 'to talk'.
- If you use the word អយ្យកា in a casual conversation at a market, it will sound as out of place as using 'matriarch' in a text message.
Examples in context
- យាយរបស់ខ្ញុំចិត្តល្អណាស់។yeay robas khnom chet la-or nah.My grandmother is very kind.
- តើលោកយាយនៅឯណា?tae lok yeay nov ena?Where is the grandmother?
- ខ្ញុំទៅលេងយាយនៅជនបទ។khnom tov leng yeay nov chon-na-bot.I am going to visit my grandmother in the countryside.
Example conversation
Sreyni is showing a photo of her family to Vibol.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyនេះគឺជាយាយរបស់ខ្ញុំ។nih keu chea yeay robos khnhom.This is my grandmother.
- វិបុល Vibolគាត់មើលទៅក្មេងណាស់។koat merl tov kmeng nah.She looks very young.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyចាស យាយខ្ញុំចូលចិត្តហាត់ប្រាណ។chas yeay khnhom chol chet hat pran.Yes, my grandmother likes to exercise.
- វិបុល Vibolពិតជាអស្ចារ្យមែន!pit chea aschar men!That is really amazing!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grandmother” translations and entries យាយ, ជីដូន, អយ្យកា, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries យាយ, អយ្យកា, CC BY-SA 4.0.
