រីករាយថ្ងៃកំណើត
Riek reay thngai kamnaet
To say "happy birthday" in Khmer, use រីករាយថ្ងៃកំណើត (Riek reay thngai kamnaet).
This phrase is the standard way to offer good wishes for a birthday. While រីករាយថ្ងៃកំណើត is the translation, many Cambodians also use the English phrase "Happy Birthday" directly in casual settings.
Meaning: good wishes for a birthday (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of រីករាយ (happy/joyful), ថ្ងៃ (day) and កំណើត (birth).
How do you pronounce it?
Riek reay thngai kamnaet
Did you know?
- While រីករាយថ្ងៃកំណើត is used for birthdays, Cambodians traditionally value the 'birthday' of their Buddhist faith or their monkhood ordination date more than the day they were born.
- Khmer uses the word ថ្ងៃ for both 'day' and 'sun', reflecting a linguistic connection between the time of day and the celestial body that creates it.
- In Khmer culture, birthdays are often seen as an opportunity to accumulate 'merit' through giving, so the phrase is frequently accompanied by an act of charity or food offering.
Examples in context
- រីករាយថ្ងៃកំណើត!rik reay thngay kom nert!Happy birthday!
- សូមជូនរីករាយថ្ងៃកំណើត!soum joun rik reay thngay kom nert!Wishing you a happy birthday!
- រីករាយថ្ងៃកំណើត សម្រាប់មិត្តសម្លាញ់។rik reay thngay kom nert som rab mit som lanh.Happy birthday, my dear friend.
Example conversation
Sreyny gives a gift to Rotanak on his birthday.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyរីករាយថ្ងៃកំណើត រតនៈ!Rikreay thngai komneurt Rotanak!Happy birthday, Rotanak!
- រតនៈ Ratanakអរគុណច្រើន ស្រីនី!Or-kun chreun Sreyny!Thank you very much, Sreyny!
- ស្រីនី Sreynyនេះជាកាដូសម្រាប់អ្នក។Neh chea kado samrab neak.This is a gift for you.
- រតនៈ Ratanakអ្នកល្អណាស់ អរគុណច្រើន។Neak l'or nah, or-kun chreun.You are so kind, thank you very much.
