ជំរាបសួរ
chom reap sour
The formal way to say greetings in Khmer is ជំរាបសួរ (chom reap sour), a respectful hello.
Use ជំរាបសួរ when greeting elders, teachers, superiors or people you do not know well, to show respect.
Meaning: formal way of saying "hello" (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
ជំរាប (chom reap) literally means to inform or to report and is used as a respectful way to address someone. សួរ (sour) means to ask or to inquire.
Which one should you use?
សួស្តី is the common, less formal hello used with friends and peers. សួរស្ដី is an informal greeting, like hi or hey.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced chom reap sour.
When do people say it?
When saying ជំរាបសួរ, it is customary to perform the sampeah, placing your palms together in a prayer-like gesture near your chest or face.
Did you know?
- In Cambodia, the height of the hands during the sampeah signifies social hierarchy. To show maximum respect to a monk, one must place the palms almost at the level of the eyebrows.
- While ជំរាបសួរ is the formal greeting, the response is often the same phrase. However, the person of lower status must always perform the sampeah first to initiate the respectful exchange.
- In Cambodia, it is common to avoid using the informal សួស្តី with anyone significantly older, as doing so can be perceived as a lack of upbringing or an intentional insult.
Examples in context
- ជំរាបសួរ លោកគ្រូ។chum reap suor lok kru.Hello, teacher.
- ជំរាបសួរ ចាស៎ អ្នកស្រី។chum reap suor chas neak srey.Hello, ma'am.
- ខ្ញុំសូម ជំរាបសួរ លោកប្រធាន។khnom som chum reap suor lok prodhean.I would like to say hello to the president.
Example conversation
Sokha and Sok meet for a formal business meeting.
- សុខា Sokhaជំរាបសួរ សុខ។choum reap sour Sok.Hello, Sok.
- សុខ Sokជំរាបសួរ សុខា។choum reap sour Sokha.Hello, Sokha.
- សុខា Sokhaតើលោកសុខសុខសប្បាយទេ?tae lok Sok sok sabay te?Are you doing well, Mr. Sok?
- សុខ Sokបាទ ខ្ញុំសុខសប្បាយទេ។bat, khnom sok sabay te.Yes, I am doing well.
