សង្ហា
sangha
The Khmer word for handsome is សង្ហា (sangha).
សង្ហា is an adjective used specifically to describe a man's attractive appearance.
Meaning: of man: attractive (adj)
Which one should you use?
While the word ស្អាត (s'at) can mean "beautiful" or "pretty" for both men and women, សង្ហា is reserved specifically for describing men.
How do you pronounce it?
sangha
Did you know?
- While សង្ហា describes a man's appearance, you might notice that the word sounds very similar to the Pali-derived word for the Buddhist community, សង្ឃ, though they carry entirely different meanings.
- The word សង្ហា is a loanword from the Thai word สง่า (sa-nga), which refers to a dignified or stately appearance rather than just facial features.
- The concept of being 'handsome' in Khmer culture is often tied to the idea of 'cleanliness' and 'neatness', which is why the word ស្អាត (clean/beautiful) is the most common way to praise someone's looks.
Examples in context
- គាត់អួតថា គាត់សង្ហារជាងគេ ។He bragged that he was the most handsome.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use the word សង្ហា when describing someone's appearance.Tatoeba #4674467 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #4695797 by Jesse
- បុរសម្នាក់នោះសង្ហាណាស់។boros mnak noh sangha nah.That man is very handsome.
- គេមើលទៅសង្ហាខ្លាំងណាស់។kay merl tov sangha khlang nah.He looks very handsome.
Example conversation
Sreyni is complimenting Ratana on his appearance.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyថ្ងៃនេះ រតនៈ មើលទៅសង្ហាម៉្លេះ!thngay nih Ratana merl tov sangha mleh!Ratana, you look so handsome today!
- រតនៈ Ratanakអរគុណ ស្រីនី។orkun Sreyni.Thank you, Sreyni.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyពិតជាសង្ហាណាស់!pit chea sangha nah!Truly handsome!
- រតនៈ Ratanakតើអ្នកគិតថាខ្ញុំសង្ហាមែនទេ?tae neak kit tha khnhom sangha men te?Do you really think I'm handsome?
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
