Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| បងស្រឡាញ់អូន | bɑɑng srɑɑlañ ʼoun |
| អូនស្រឡាញ់បង | ʼoun srɑɑlañ bɑɑng |
| ខ្ញុំស្រលាញ់អ្នក | khñom srɑlañ nĕək |
This phrase is used to affirm romantic feelings. In Khmer, romantic affection is almost always expressed using kinship terms (older/younger sibling) rather than 'I' and 'you'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase បងស្រឡាញ់អូន literally breaks down to "older brother loves younger sister" (used as romantic pronouns). Similarly, អូនស្រឡាញ់បង literally breaks down to "younger sister loves older brother" (used as romantic pronouns).
Which one should you use?
Use បងស្រឡាញ់អូន when the speaker is the older partner (male or female) and the listener is the younger partner. Use អូនស្រឡាញ់បង when the speaker is the younger partner and the listener is the older partner. The phrase ខ្ញុំស្រលាញ់អ្នក is a more neutral, less intimate way to say "I love you" compared to the gendered/age-based pronouns.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The use of បង (older sibling) and អូន (younger sibling) is the standard, intimate way for romantic couples to address each other. The form ស្រលាញ់បង is also an informal way to say "I love you".
How do you pronounce it?
bɑɑng srɑɑlañ ʼoun
Did you know?
- Because the word ស្រឡាញ់ means both 'to love' and 'to be fond of', it is used for everything from a romantic partner to a favorite fruit or a family member.
- The term អូន ('younger sibling') can be used by a man to refer to his female partner, showing that these romantic roles are not strictly tied to biological sex.
- In many romantic contexts, Khmer speakers omit the subject 'I' entirely and simply say ស្រឡាញ់ (love) or ស្រលាញ់បង (love you), as the context makes the speaker obvious.
Examples in context
- បងស្រឡាញ់អូនណាស់។bong sralanh oun nah.I love you so much.
- បងស្រឡាញ់អូនតាំងពីដំបូង។bong sralanh oun tang pi domboung.I loved you from the beginning.
- បងស្រឡាញ់អូនមែនទែន។bong sralanh oun men ten.I really love you.
Example conversation
A couple is having a romantic moment at a park.
- រតនៈ Ratanakអូនស្អាតណាស់ថ្ងៃនេះ។oun s-at nah thngai nis.You look beautiful today.
- សុខា Sokhaពិតមែនឬ? អរគុណបង។pit men reu? or kun bong.Really? Thank you.
- រតនៈ Ratanakបងស្រឡាញ់អូន។bong sralanh oun.I love you.
- សុខា Sokhaអូនក៏ស្រឡាញ់បងដែរ។oun kor sralanh bong dae.I love you too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I love you” translations and entries បងស្រឡាញ់អូន, អូនស្រឡាញ់បង, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
