សួស្តី
suəsdəy
The English phrase "hi" is translated into Khmer as សួស្តី (suəsdəy).
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
Which one should you use?
While សួស្តី is informal, ជម្រាបសួរ is the formal and polite way to say hello to elders or superiors.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
សួស្តី is an informal greeting used among friends or people of equal social status. Chum Reap Suos is a formal greeting used for older individuals, respected figures or in business settings.
How do you pronounce it?
suəsdəy
Did you know?
- The Sanskrit root of សួស្តី is the same source for the English word 'swastika', which originally meant 'well-being' or 'auspiciousness' in ancient contexts.
- In very casual settings among close friends, Cambodians often skip សួស្តី entirely and instead ask ញ៉ាំបាយហើយឬនៅ? meaning 'Have you eaten rice yet?'
- While you can say សួស្តី to a friend, it is almost always accompanied by a 'Sampeah', a gesture of placing your palms together near your chest.
Examples in context
- សួស្តី មិត្តសម្លាញ់!suosdei mit samlanh!Hi, dear friend!
- សួស្តី ថ្ងៃនេះយ៉ាងម៉េចដែរ?suosdei thngay nis yang mech der?Hi, how are things today?
Example conversation
Two friends meet at a cafe.
- សុខា Sokhaសួស្តី ណារ៉ុង!Suosdey Narong!Hi Narong!
- ណារ៉ុង Narongសួស្តី សុខា! ថ្មីៗនេះសុខសប្បាយទេ?Suosdey Sokha! Thmey thmey nis sok sabbay te?Hi Sokha! How have you been lately?
- សុខា Sokhaខ្ញុំសុខសប្បាយទេ។ ចុះអ្នកវិញ?Knhom sok sabbay te. Choh neak vinh?I am doing well. How about you?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongខ្ញុំក៏សុខសប្បាយដែរ។Knhom kor sok sabbay dae.I am doing well too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hi” translations and entries សួស្តី, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries សួស្តី, CC BY-SA 4.0.
