ជំរាបសួរ
chum reap suor
The Khmer phrase for "hello formally" is ជំរាបសួរ (chum reap suor).
ជំរាបសួរ is the standard way to greet teachers, elders or superiors in a professional or formal environment.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of two parts: ជំរាប, which means to inform or to report in a respectful manner and សួរ, which means to ask or to inquire.
Which one should you use?
While ជំរាបសួរ is used for formal or respectful situations, សួស្តី is the informal version used among friends or people of equal or lower status.
How do you pronounce it?
chum reap suor
When do people say it?
When saying ជំរាបសួរ, it is customary to perform the sampeah gesture by placing your palms together in a prayer-like position at chest level.
Did you know?
- The accompanying sampeah gesture has five distinct levels based on the social status of the person being greeted, which change the height of the hands from the chest to the nose or forehead.
- Performing a sampeah and saying ជំរាបសួរ to someone of lower status, such as a child or a student, can be seen as sarcastic or mock-formal in modern Cambodian society.
- The word ជំរាប historically relates to the act of reporting or informing a superior, framing the greeting as a formal announcement of one's presence.
Examples in context
- ជំរាបសួរ លោកគ្រូ។chumreap sour lok kru.Hello, teacher.
- ខ្ញុំសូមជំរាបសួរ លោកប្រធាន។khnhom som chumreap sour lok prodhean.I greet you, Mr. President.
- ជំរាបសួរ អ្នកគ្រប់គ្រង។chumreap sour neak krup krong.Hello, manager.
Example conversation
Maly greets her manager Sok at the office.
- ម៉ាលី Malyជំរាបសួរលោកសុខ។Choum reap sour lok Sok.Hello, Mr. Sok.
- សុខ Sokសួស្តីម៉ាលី តើអ្នកសុខសប្បាយទេ?Soursdey Maly, tae neak sok sabay te?Hi Maly, how are you?
- ម៉ាលី Malyខ្ញុំសុខសប្បាយទេ ចុះលោកវិញ?Knhom sok sabay te, choh lok vinh?I am doing well, and you?
- សុខ Sokខ្ញុំក៏សុខសប្បាយដែរ។Knhom kor sok sabay dae.I am doing well too.
